Toyota Prius advertisement- what might be hidden?

"You cannot walk down the street without being bombarded." (Bob Garfield, advertising writer).

It’s no exaggeration to say that nowadays advertising is one of the most powerful tools in doing marketing. Companies use mass media as an effective way to bring their product closer to consumers. And of course, this is extremely costly. However, not all advertisements deserve what it is paid. Do I mean that there is a problem here? Yes! The fact is that on the one hand advertisements successfully catch the attention of audience; on the other hand, it might still alienate some potential purchasers in a “natural” way. Are you sure that you are not making mistakes? Let's take a look at this.

Today I choose a New Prius Toyota car advertisement as example. On the advertisement, there is a smartly -dressed man standing next to a New Prius car reminding us of the typical businessman in daily life. That is the intention of the producer to entice purchasers by designing the poster showing the luxury and elegance, which invites shoppers to have their own pleasant experience with their product. The poster also clearly illustrates technological improvements of the car such as the back monitor, glass roof with solar system, etc.

I don't have to spend much time to realize that the target customers here is men, and I'm sure that you share the same opinion. Have you ever wondered why many advertisements of cars using the image of male businessman or images related to men instead of women? The issue is not usually raised because most of us consider that as natural, as driving car in particular and using technology in general is seen as advantage of man rather than women, . But  let's think about that a little bit. Have I just confirmed that there is a "truth" that men is better in women in using car and technology? No way! There is no "truth" like that exists, what does exist is a problem called hegemony.

Hegemony is known as a power of a group dominating over others. In our life, cultural hegemony- the domination of the ruling class’s idea making their world view as norms in normal life- is practiced widely. It is introduced to other classes unconsciously not by force but by the system of consent overtime so that sometimes it is seen as natural and inevitable. One of the most popular cultural hegemony is patriarchy- a kind of supporting the rule of men in society.

So how does cultural hegemony become a problem?  Let’s come back with our Toyota Prius advertisement. With the detailed description of innovative technology on it, the advertisement is good at showing the advantages of the car for shoppers. However, because the poster explicitly pointing out the target customers as men, the attraction of it to women significantly decreases. By doing this, the poster has both reproduced the dominant viewpoint of man using technology in the society and extended this dominant culture, which put limits on the effectiveness of the advertisement to reach female buyers. A good advertisement is costly, so are you sure that the producers want to spend a huge amount on an advertisement alienating the consumers itself?

Now the question is "What advertisers should do to make sure that the problem of cultural hegemony in media is reduced or eliminated"? The suggestion is that the producer could use the image of the whole family with both husband and wife satisfied with the product. Or why don’t they make enjoying the car become sweet shared moment between lovers while hanging around together? This could attract men by persuading male to make his lovers happy (as they always try to) and also become much more inviting to women. Even when female does not directly make decision of buying the car, they could support their man in doing that. What about  the idea of a heterosexual family or the image of a woman alone? You know, a hot woman always attracts men, and using our car makes a women much more beautiful and attractive sounds cool to both genders, why don't you give it a try? Just keep in mind that advertisement needs to be as “fair” as possible, is it too hard to do?

A good advertisement is not just expected to successfully access the right buyers, but at least to arouse the curiosity or stimulate the demand for the products. It is important to catch attention, but it is more essential to make sure that the advertisement could reach as many customers as possible. The market is now increasingly competitive, and in our busy life, the opportunity to make the product attractive to more people is limited. So do you want to miss a chance?