#1 Citroen C4

This is an advert for the Citroen C4 and was released in 2004. This advert uses one of Goldenberg et al.’s (1999) six creativity templates, namely the extreme situation template. This template describes the technique of creating extreme unrealistic situations to augment key features of the product. In this case, Citroen turns the C4 into a transformer robot in order to enhance the car’s advanced technology.

Furthermore, by using the tagline ‘Alive With Technology’ and therefore creating a car metaphor, the advert establishes a more positive implication for the watcher. McQuarrie & Phillips (2005) showed participants several adverts and they then responded to a series of statements about each one. For example, participants were asked whether an advert for dishwasher detergent 'prevents dishes from being scratched', even if there was no indication of the product being capable of doing this in the advert. They found that participants were more likely to agree with weaker statements about a product (such as the one previously mentioned), if the advert contained an indirect metaphor about the product e.g. 'bulldozes tough stains'. Therefore, the researchers concluded that indirect metaphors can lead to consumers becoming more open to positive inferences about the product and brand as a whole.

References

Goldenberg, J., Mazursky, D., & Solomon, S. (1999). The fundamental templates of quality ads. Marketing Science, 18, 333-351.

McQuarrie, E., & Phillips, B. (2005). Indirect persuasion in advertising: How consumers process metaphors presented in pictures and words. Journal of Advertising, 34, 7-20.