You watch the little boy in his Darth Vader costume, and you cannot help but to say "awww." This advertisement is something out of a story book. It is the perfect home life, and this car is what facilitates that awww moment. While you think it may be hard to criticize such a cute advertisement, when you watch it a second time around, a different idea reveals itself. While the child is playing, it is the mother who makes him a sandwich and the father who comes home from work in the nice car. There is a dog, a beautiful house, a yard; it is the American dream. They use these aspects of the American dream to make it so you associate their product with this perfect home identity. Women work now, they drive the cars, and they are not just found in the kitchen feeding the children. It is disturbing how when I first watched this advertisement, I thought it was cute and harmless. But really it just facilitates and encourages the idea that the men will come home from work driving the car, while the women are left in the kitchen. We have become so accustomed to these type of advertisements that we overlook their awful assumptions of a woman's role.
While I agree with what you've said, I think you need to consider the target consumer. VW does want the stay-at-home mom and career oriented dad to buy this car. Their brand is not designed for the mini-van crowd!
ReplyDeleteWhat makes someone apart of the "mini-van crowd"? I think I am just confused on what you are saying? Does having woman come home from work or not be in the kitchen make them apart of the "mini-van" crowd? I feel that they are spreading/encouraging the assumption that woman should be stay-at-home moms in the kitchen while the men work, I don't think that is their only target costumer.
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