Persuasive Fire Advertising

This is a public service announcement, Dodge products are not for you…or are they? Sometimes the best ads tell us we don’t even want the product or service we are being advertised. In Dodge’s ad entitled “Warning”, the opening is a set of what has become iconic headlights known by car enthusiasts as the infamous Dodge Challenger’s headlights. The blinking headlights are met with a flashing warning sign. This gives the commercial a great hook for anyone in the room. The flashing lights and warning sign are followed by an almost comically, fast speaking voice over. The voice over begins to recite a warning to anyone who intends to drive a Dodge vehicle. Slowly the words being recited flow upwards onto the screen. The flashing lights remain in
They claim such things as “Dodge may cause loss of…bodily functions” and “increased blood flow to the genitalia”, or “angry neighbors”. These claims all point toward actual possibilities, but they are still absolutely ridiculous. Dodge uses these great tactics to make us viewers laugh and giggle at their claims, but to also pull your attention to the possibility that their vehicle could be a lot of fun, and possibly for you.
Dodge ends their warning by making a disclaimer and saying, “Consult physician, psychiatrist, and the holy trinity before driving dodge.” This final warning statement pulls our attention back to the ridiculousness of the ad, and quite frankly it is my favorite part of the ad. This play on a typical warning label for medication or a possibly dangerous product gives the ad a humorous vibe while keeping a viewers attention.
Finally the ad flashes the statement “You have been warned” across the screen pulling the ad to a serious tone, followed by heavy metal music and fireworks. This attacks a viewer’s senses after a mainly dark ad with a monotone voice over. The fireworks and music elude to the lighting up of the three vehicles. These vehicles glow from the fireworks and their tail lights as well as one set of headlights. This ominously dark set gives the heavy metal music and the lighting a boost into your senses, almost waking you up after being lulled to
That is why Dodge has perfected the “you can’t handle our product so you have to buy it” mentality. This form of advertising is extremely successful when it comes to selling a product like a vehicle. The mentality of “you can’t”, is a popular form of peer pressure that pushes a person to do exactly what they are told they cannot. Almost like a dare to their customers dodge is calling them out and letting them know that Dodge products are for real and might just be too strong and powerful for those of the faint of