Torin Stone

Ms. McKenna
Writing 1010
10/28/2014

Lincoln MKC
The September 2014 issue of Women's Health featured an advertisement for the Lincoln
MKC. This ad was financed, of course, by the Lincoln Motor Company and was exhibited across
two pages, immediately after the cover of the magazine. By utilizing text, as well as a contrast of
textures this advertisement manages to appeal to an audience which values both exclusiveness
and excitement, or adventure. This would likely consist of educated middle aged people with a
mid-life crisis mentality.
Primarily, what is noticed concerning the advertisement is likely the word frenetic,
written above the car. This word is then separated into the word free by placing the remaining
letters in the background relative to free. The word frenetic is defined as fast or energetic in a
rather wild and uncontrolled way while the word free is defined as not subject to or
constrained by engagements or obligations. The combination of meaning between frenetic and
free creates an essence of adventure concerning the car, largely due to the connotation of the
word adventure. Typically, one wouldn't think of adventure as being something that is
particularly structured, but instead as being a more natural progression of disordered liberty. By
comparing the definitions, one can see that this connotation conforms to the combined words.
This sense of adventure is then furthered through the phrase printed towards the base of
the advertisement, Live in your moment. The connotation of Live in this context would
essentially be identical to the meaning of adventure. The repetition of meaning, first with free
and frenetic having definitions which effectively make them interchangeable in the situation,
and then with the connotation of adventure with the connotation of Live, assists in
consolidating the cars appeal. Furthermore, it compensates for the public being unaware of the
definition of frenetic in the case of Live. All of this culminates into a feel which would be
admired by an audience seeking an escape from restraint. Consequently, this is likely targeted
towards people who have the most constraints, such as children, career, finances, etc. but also
remain open to excitement. More specifically, an age group of approximately 30-40.
An additional notable feature of the advertisement is the environment. More specifically,
an environment consisting of a mountainous forest landscape, apparently populated by no
artificial structures or people. An absence of society, or at least a lack of an especially
recognizable setting, would seem inherently necessary when portraying adventure. Consequently,
the car can be related to general adventure as a result of it existing within such an environment.
Furthermore, the blurring of everything, save the car, the sky and the objects existing
furthest from the car, in combination with features such as the clouds and what appears to be a
sizable flock of birds, results in a setting which is particularly chaotic. Comparatively, the
Lincoln MKC has a reflective metallic luster that creates an image of the car being basically
flawless. The setting on the other hand, represents nothing exceptional. The trees are average
height; the mountains are un-detailed and uninteresting; the birds are simply dots. The car
therefore stands out amongst the pedestrian background. This strengthens a theme of
exclusiveness. The car is portrayed as something special in comparison to the remainder of the
scene, which covers the majority of the advertisement.
Add to the apparent perfection of the car body, its apparent order relative to the blurred
background. The setting exists as a chaotic space while the car has obviously been carefully

designed and constructed. Such a comparison is likely done in order to reassure the audience
that, despite the opportunity for adventure, the car is reliable and ordered. The group which the
advertisement appeals to would likely be reliant on structure for reasons of finance or career, so a
complete discarding of these themes would be inadvisable in their minds. Consequently, an
inclusion of these themes would seem relevant in order to assure the potential customer that the
car is reliable.
Additionally, the theme of exclusiveness is exhibited when observing the road which the
car is driving along. Aside from the Lincoln MKC, the road is entirely vacant of other cars. This
again distinguishes the car as something special. It is actually separated from all other cars.
Further distinguishing it as something unavailable to the majority, are the windows. All the
windows of the car are tinted black, such that one can see nothing of its interior. This means that
even if there were other cars on the road, they would not have the privilege of observing the
Lincoln MKC in its entirety, or even the driver. Ultimately, this creates an atmosphere of
inaccessibility to those who do not have, or are not in the car.
While the sun is not in fact visible within the advertisement, the lighting would indicate
that it is early in the day, so the sun would be rising. A sun rise, of course, signifies the beginning
to a new day, and could consequently symbolize a beginning in general. The car is ahead of the
sunrise and, presuming the symbol of a sun rise is applicable, this could mean that the car is
ahead of what is just beginning. Therefore, the theme of exclusiveness is again advanced by
distinguishing the car as something special. It is portrayed as being ahead of the curve, and
consequently being something which would not be present elsewhere. An educated and middle
aged audience would likely be familiar with things only awarded to the exceptional as a result of
academic or career scenarios and would likely also then share in the mentality that such things
are to be sought out and appreciated. Ultimately this signifies that the Lincoln MKC is presented
as something which signifies superiority, and importance. It becomes a potential trophy for the
owner.
Overall, portraying the Lincoln MKC as a car which affords the owner both an
opportunity for adventure and exclusiveness is accomplished through various means, including
lighting, color, text and others. Contrasting the blurred background and the glossy car offers an
appealing aesthetic, while the text substantiates this appeal with the potential for new
experiences. The advertisement succeeds in demonstrating the car as something desirable to a
person who is educated and around the age group of 30-40.