The new BMW 1 Series
https://www.youtube.com/embed/5MU80So2ibs
Point: the ad shows a group of people socialising with each other while they drive their new BMW 1 Series car. Messaging: the ad's call-to-action is: 'sheer driving pleasure', which it seems to interpret through foregrounding ideas around youth and friendship, which the ad's messaging seeks to align with the functional simplicity of the BMW '1 Series' product (and more generally, the BMW brand). For example, the use of remote-control / autonomous parking feature is shown to be easy to use (possibly, ideas around being liberated/freed of the complexities of parking). In this sense, the ad could be interpreted in terms of the idea of 'conspicuous consumption', which is commonly attributed to the work of Thorstein Veblen (i.e. perhaps, look for papers referencing his ideas/theory). In doing so, the actual BMW (and the behaviours of its inhabitants such as them videoing each other while they listen to music and share photos etc. are actions, which have no direct connection to the functional purpose/utility of driving a car), instead, they point to its 'sign value' (as per Jean Baudrillard) of the brand/product (as opposed to its 'use value' of driving from A to B etc.). In this sense, the ad seeks to project values ('cultural associations'), which its prospective consumers invest in the BMW brand/product i.e. cultural associations, which are not intrinsic to the product but, which are applied to the brand/product by its prospective consumer i.e. it is BMW's prospective consumers who give the product/brand its value (which is separate/distinct from qualifications about its design/engineering etc.). And of course, such values are understood by the BMW's prospective consumers through their participation in culture i.e. the ad presents a 'frame' (as per Erving Goffman's frame analysis'), which has particular significance for such consumers - cuing their interpretation of the ad's messaging i.e. they appreciate the value of the BMW brand/product through their cultural awareness of its sign value. It is an appreciation, which is understood/recognised through references in culture i.e. intertextual references/associations (as per Julia Kristeva's concept of intertextuality). Simon: the following car ads and how each uses messaging to communicate value around their respective products/brands (and how these reflect back on your understanding of this BMW ad): http://newpractices.co.uk/messaging/#yZdqjBSBEbE http://newpractices.co.uk/messaging/#b1FbiKJ7lb0 http://newpractices.co.uk/messaging/#3YBhftZSlbM http://newpractices.co.uk/messaging/#DZAdVY9kKbc http://newpractices.co.uk/messaging/#B0sEaEeFhWU http://newpractices.co.uk/messaging/#jSWGA1YITFA http://newpractices.co.uk/messaging/#VDzUKBbQUhA http://newpractices.co.uk/messaging/#3j8u8xk-oNI http://newpractices.co.uk/messaging/#KRbzJ0L1Zn8 http://newpractices.co.uk/messaging/#p9n_8vaXBYs
