Chevy – Maddie
Introduction and relevance
The advertisement I chose for this assignment is called “Maddie”. It starts off with a young
woman petting a quiet, old dog named Maddie. It’s easy to miss, but they’re in a treatment
room at a veterinarian’s clinic. Then the commercial goes to show just how much the pet
means to her, ending with the line, “A best friend for life’s journey.” The use of the
connection of a girl and her dog, her “best friend,” through life acts very plainly as an
analogy to the car being a drivers “best friend for life’s journey.” The ad maker uses this
connection as an emotional appeal to the audience so they will see Chevys as more than
just a car. Chevy used an important IMC component called ‘Emotional Branding’ which
manages to erect a bridge of emotions between the consumer and the brand which is
necessary for building a long term relationship and developing brand equity and ‘Brand
Trust’ can convert simple awareness to strong commitment towards the brand.
Target Market
I think this ad is aimed towards the “family man” or anyone that is family-oriented. These
are the people that would most likely be touched by the dog commercials and that’s why I
think Chevy has been so successful with dog commercials in the past. This ad heavily
relies on pathos and to get the audience to feel emotional about the girl growing up with
her dog. Everyone could get emotional about it, but it specifically targets dog owners.
