“Drive Safe” Campaign by the Frontier Essay Example
“Drive Safe” Campaign by the Frontier Essay Example

“Drive Safe” Campaign by the Frontier Essay Example

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  • Pages: 5 (1275 words)
  • Published: November 8, 2021
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Introduction

Advertisements use appeal to capture the hearts of the audience. They also use persuasive strategies including pathos, logos and symbolism not only to convince, but also to pass serious messages such as the negative effects of dangerous driving. If an advertisement lacks this specific appeal to it, then it is not successful. For example, the "Drive safe" campaign by The Frontier is one advertisement that uses personal appeal, pathos, logos and symbolism to influence the audience against dangerous driving. This ad by the Frontier uses terrifying images like a shadowy image of a key, which form the shape of a gun, to inform drivers of the detrimental effects of drunk driving to persuade the audience against it. The ad employs an appeal that is rarely used in modern-day advertisements. The ad is rather graphic since the vehicle is comp

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letely destroyed; the viewer is subconsciously forced to imagine how the victim of such an accident would be destroyed. It uses striking scenes and vivid images it is stylistic, dull, and uses trendy aesthetics to promote safe driving. The key image effectively promotes safe driving through symbolism, pathos, language choice, and clever punctuation

To begin with, many people are tragically lost every day in car accidents. This is why this ad is particularly important to the driving population. In the ad, a screech of overworked engines reverberates off the uneven rocky shoulder of Placerita Canyon Road in the night. Graphic representations of the vehicle engaged in a serious accident are both shocking and disturbing. We can see the vehicle being crushed and completely destroyed. The peeling metal that cracks and crunches like a potato chip under a boot

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can be seen from within the bush that will soon consume it from a few steps off the road. Having seen the ad, one can only imagine the great impact that this scene has on the viewer, especially if he or she is a reckless driver. The car was destroyed by the recklessness of the driver who was lost in the accident and is now beaten by the new generation of ridge racers that disseminate rock down onto the car crushed like aluminum can, thoughtlessly. And the most tragic of it all is that it is not always the driver who is taking the brunt of it; passengers in the car and the other cars being hit are at as risk as much as the driver.

As mentioned earlier, we see the image of a key in shape of a gun. This can be referred to as symbolism or symbolic representation. The safe driving advertisement consists of only a key and what appears to be a leather pad on a key ring. The keys are cleverly placed in the shape of a gun. The image combines dull colors such as grey and black with a little bit of white to mirror the image of the gun-shaped key. These colors are specifically meant to highlight the serious nature of the advertisement. The grey wall in the background is reminiscent of a jail cell and the shadowy black surrounding the keys seems to represent how close a driver is to death every time behind the wheel. The gun here symbolizes danger or death even though guns are not directly related to driving. On the other hand, the key

stands for driving. By combining these two symbols in one picture, the ad effectively relates dangerous driving and danger or death. Underneath the key, we can see a statement centered in plain sight. This statement carries a strong message, “Takes one life every 25 seconds*”(Frontier Post). In addition we can also see another clear statement at the bottom of the image, “Drive Safe” (Frontier Post). This statement is written in capital letters to emphasize the importance of the message. The picture is simple but carries a strong message.

Other symbols have been employed in the ad. For instance, at first glance we can see the overemphasized grayish appearance and dark colors, representing evil and peril related to dangerous driving. In addition, the simplicity of the visual parts of the image introduces a lot of contemplation and imagination on the viewer’s part. It makes an observer think of the consequences of dangerous driving. Dangerous driving not only affects the driver, but also the people around him.

In addition, it is important to note that pathos is used in this ad to convince the viewer to always drive safe. The sentence under the keys uses pathos to help convince the viewer to drive carefully. The phrase “takes one life ever 25 seconds*”(Frontier Post) is carefully placed under the image to reinstall the fear that holds people back from driving carelessly and forgetting the gravity of the situation every time they are behind the wheel. The sentence placed under the keys is undoubtedly looking to inspire fear into the viewer by showing the astounding amount of lives that are lost to car accidents. The fear of harming oneself as well

as others is the only possibility that holds people back from driving recklessly. The image does an excellent job in presenting the viewer’s fear of pain and of causing unnecessary harm to others that can be caused by dangerous driving.

Furthermore, ethos has been used in this ad to enhance its reliability. For instance, how reliable is The Frontier Company in this particular advertisement? Many commercials are successful when the audience knows that they come from companies which are both reliable and possess a good reputation in the general population. The Drive safe ad effectively uses ethos to ensure that the audience acknowledges and appreciates the message being conveyed because it originates from an ethical unit. The company demonstrates that apart from making profit, they care about the wellbeing of their clients.

Additionally, punctuation has also been used in the ad as a significant strategy to ensure its effectiveness. Punctuation has been used to target young people and promote action. Firstly, the use of the asterisk has become popular within the young generation of people and can be seen in all types of social media. The way in which young people use it is parallel to how the asterisk is used in the sentence. It is usually added to indicate that something is adjusted form it’s previously incorrect version, important, or an action. Perhaps this is the illustrator’s way of subtly hinting that action needs to be taken by everyone to save lives that can easily be taken away by dangerous driving. Obviously, the loss of a life is not something that can be fixed or changed, inciting the use of the asterisk.

What’s more, the use of

the asterisk seems to challenge the younger demographic in an indirect way. The image is showing this group how dangerous the roads are with them on it and goes on to challenge the whole to be more cautious and to drive safely. This makes the image a more effective and persuasive piece because it addresses the most valuable viewer. By targeting young drivers, the image is sending the important message to the most dangerous drivers on the road. The advertisement does this with hope to persuade young drivers to drive safely. In return, this would result in the most accidents prevented because young drivers are in the most car accidents. This technique is the same used by stores targeting the audience most likely to buy the largest amount of product. This is the most effective way to send the message out because it will definitely reach and send a message to the highest valued viewers as well as others who see it.

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