Sussex Safer Roads Advertisement Analysis

The advertisement that I chose to analyze was produced by Sussex Safer Roads, whose main “focus is behavioural change, be that behind the wheel, walking down the street, or on the back of a motorbike. We all have a responsibility to make the roads a safer environment for everyone” (“Sussex”). They posted this ad on YouTube in 2010 and have since received almost twenty million views. It is great that an ad promoting such an important message has received so many views. That is because the thesis of this ad was to wear your seatbelt. The reasons for doing so are endless, but the main reason that the ad gave was that you should wear their seatbelt because you have a family to live for. The ad showed this by having a family interlock their arms …show more content…
After viewing the ad a few times I was able to note one fallacy that the ad had violated, the fallacy of false dilemma. The ad conveyed the message to the viewer that if they do not wear their seatbelt that they will die and will not see their family again. The ad violated the fallacy of false dilemma here because it made it seem as if not wearing a seatbelt will result in death, when in reality there are many people who do not wear a seatbelt and do not die every single day. Another fallacy that I noticed that the ad had violated was the fallacy of hasty generalization. This hasty generalization that the ad made was that you will not die if you wear your seatbelt. The ad violated the fallacy because even if you wear your seatbelt, that does not mean that you are going to live. The sad truth is that many people have died from car accidents even when they have had their seatbelt on. One thing that I would like to make note on is how the ad went about not following a classic driving stereotype. The ad could have easily chosen a women to be in the driving seat and followed the stereotype that women are bad drivers. I commend them for going against that stereotype and having the man be the driver that got in the …show more content…
The ad did a great job of creating a whirlwind of different tones throughout the ad to decrease or increase the level of seriousness that the ad wanted to convey. In the beginning, the ad started off with everyone smiling very big happy smiles which conveyed a happy go lucky tone. As the end continued it switched to a very serious and intense tone as the man’s face began to grimace and the wife and daughter also lost their smiles. The tone intensified even more even more as the symbolic crash occurred, creating the most serious part of the ad. The tone was the changed again as the family started to smile and hug when the man had came out unhurt from the crash. The change in tones made it for a very eventful and compelling minute and twenty-eight seconds. Something that did not fluctuate up and down as much as the tone, but also helped intensify the tone was the music. The music in the ad seemed as it followed the path of a novel in ways. In the beginning the music was somewhat dim and slowly loudening. It then kept on its path and increased its intensity and loudness as the ad went on. Then after increasing and increasing throughout the music came to its loudest and most intense moment as the crash occurred which amplified the seriousness of the tone and made for compelling climax to the ad. Then the music started descending back down, as the falling action of a novel does and the ad came