Wenstrom 1

Collin Wenstrom

Kelly Silvka

English 250

February 3, 2017

Dissecting an Ad

Luxurious, sleek, and sporty are

some words that come to mind when I

think of a BMW. I picture a speedy

automobile with an aggressive look and

the performance that backs it up. I do

not think of is a person that has lost their

leg due to a drunk driving crash. Every

two minutes someone is injured in a

Figure 1, Advertisement from BMW (2010)
drunk driving accident (MADD). BMW

wants to do their part to try to decrease the number of drunk drivers on the road. BMW takes a

serious tone with this ad; a change from their usual ads that strictly showcase their cars. This

advertisement from BMW uses rhetorical appeals such as, emotional appeal, logical appeal, and

ethical appeal, to persuade against drinking and driving.

The ad catches the viewers attention instantaneously with a vivid picture of a person

with a prosthetic leg and the words, Dont Drink and Drive. (Fig 1) BMW plays off the idea

that the amputee will catch and keep the viewers attention. The ad uses emotional appeals by

making the viewer see the consequences of driving under the influence. A car accident where
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someone is seriously injured, like the person in the ad, invokes many emotions. Most of the

viewers cannot say that this scenario could never happen to them because it could. Think about

all the people that travel on the roads each day; whether they are the passenger or the driver they

can still be involved in a drunk driving crash. The point is, drunk drivers affect much more than

just themselves. The enormous target audience is a strength of this ad. Also, BMW does a great

job of picking colors that appeal to the viewers emotions. The background colors are soft and

plain to really draw the attention to the black prostatic leg. It is also interesting that they chose a

person with only one prosthetic leg rather than two. Again, they did this to make the prosthetic

leg stand out. I also believe they want to show how fast a persons life can change when being

involved in a drunk driving crash.

After the viewer sees the ad, they are hooked. Next, they read the text to find out what

the message is. The ad says, Spare parts for humans are not as original as those for cars. Dont

Drink and Drive. (Fig 1) This statement uses a logical appeal by saying that human limbs are

not as easy to replace as a part on a car. Most people in this world know, and agree, that drinking

and driving is dangerous and should be avoided. BMW puts this statement out knowing that

everyone will agree with it. This creates a sense of teamwork with the audience to fight against a

common problem. The design of this ad is also simple and logical with the picture on the left

and words on the right. Wisely, BMW did not try to do anything glamorous or fancy in this ad.

By putting out this ad BMW is conveying that they are a company that cares about the people,

and they are doing their part to prevent drunk driving. This ad indirectly tries to sell cars by

showing the consumer that BMW is a trustworthy and caring company that wants to keep the

population safe. Another thing the viewer recognizes right away is the logo. This induces a

sense of trust from the viewer.

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The famous BMW logo puts credibility in this ad. BMW is a German company that was

founded in 1916 (BMW Group). The fact that BMW has been around for more than one hundred

years is all the credit this ad needs. BMW is using their credibility in a good way by trying to

prevent drunk driving. In 2011, BMW also started an ad campaign to combat the problem of

texting and driving (Boeriu). With these types of ad campaigns, BMW shows that they do not

only focus on creating better cars and increasing sales; they also focus on creating a better

society where people are safer on the roads. In turn, these ads have pushed BMW to have record

sales for the past five years (BMW Group).

With the perfect storm of the latest innovations in the automobile industry, and

masterfully crafted advertisements, it is no shock to see BMWs sales sky rocketing. This shows

what using rhetorical appeals in advertisements can do for a companys success, and in this case

help prevent drunk driving. Rhetorical appeals are everywhere - just look around.
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Works Cited

BMW. Don't Drink and Drive. N.d. Mad Over Marketing. Web. <https://www.google.com/url?

sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwi9gczm

r_zRAhXnz4MKHXDCAmgQjhwIBQ&url=https%3A%2F%2Fmadovermarketing.com

%2F2014%2F06%2F14%2Fdont-drink-and-drive-campaign-by-bmw

%2F&psig=AFQjCNEmLNq_f3egBIpKkQJ1gFRIMVGg0w&ust=1486501458019877>.

"BMW Group - Company - History." BMW Group. BMW, n.d. Web. 04 Feb. 2017.

<https://www.bmwgroup.com/en/company/history.html>.

"BMW Group Achieves Fifth Consecutive Record Sales Year." BMW Group. BMW, 1 Nov.

2016. Web. 04 Feb. 2017.

<https://www.press.bmwgroup.com/global/article/detail/T0249765EN/bmw-group-

achieves-fifth-consecutive-record-sales-year?language=en>.

Boeriu, Horatiu. "BMW Launches "Don't Text and Drive" Campaign." BMW BLOG. BMW

BLOG, 02 June 2011. Web. 04 Feb. 2017. <http://www.bmwblog.com/2011/06/02/bmw-

launches-don%E2%80%99t-text-and-drive-campaign/>.

"Drunk Driving Statistics." MADD. MADD, 2015. Web. 03 Feb. 2017.

<http://www.madd.org/drunk-driving/about/drunk-driving-statistics.html?referrer=https

%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2F>.