The brand name is ‘Torque Direct’. It is at the top of the advert and layered above the rest of the image. It suggests power in ‘torque’ as well as speed in ‘Direct’. It also suggests power to you fast.
The company slogan is ‘What will you do with the money you save?’. This is provocative and makes you think about it even if you don’t necessarily want to. It is just above the company number but underneath the copy that leads onto it.
The copy at the side says,’He got a new girlfriend with the money he save on MOTOR INSURANCE’. This shows you that you could be saving a lot of money if you use their insurance. They have motor insurance in bold so that you know what the advert is about and it catches your eye. It appeals to men because the advert seems to be centered on the man and his ‘girlfriend’. Most men want a girlfriend all the time so it plays on that as well as on sex as the doll is a sex doll and that is another lots of men want a lot of the time. It is talking in the third person and about someone else. It isn’t aimed at the reader.
The graphics used are limited but are used well. The ‘O’ in ‘Torque’ is a cartoon wheel, which seems to be speeding along emphasizing the speed and power of the company. The name and number are in red with white outlines. The number has a black background, which contrasts with the image. Red and Black are both traditionally male colours; red in particular is related to danger and sex again emphasising the baseness of the advert. The slogan and copy are in bold white with nothing special on them. Also the phone number with ’69 69’ at the end can be related to sex and so will be easily remembered.
It is a humorous advert for men but women may not find it as funny because it is degrading and low. It uses a ‘sex sells’ approach, which is found in many adverts today such as the Wonderbra advert saying ‘Hello Boys’. It follows a trend being set in advertising. I would say the advert is aimed at younger men who have got cars and enjoy going fast in them. I also say it is aimed at men because it deals with girlfriends and sex from a male perspective. The final reason to sum up the points made just above is that the advert is in car magazines like ‘Max Power’ and ‘Fast Car’. These magazines target audience is young males under 25.
The advert represents a very cheap view and idea of sex as if it can be bought and sex should not be like this. It gives the view that the insurance is cheap and you can get what you want and desire if you get their insurance. Also obtaining the insurance does not require any effort because the image gives the impression that the man only has to pay attention to it when he wants.
The man represents the stereotype that men are only interested in cheap sex and no intimacy with women. It also shows men have a poor attitude to sex and if they can get it with little effort they will take it. It can also show that men who are too interested in cars won’t have girlfriends so they have to compensate by getting cheap sex with dolls.
It shows a ‘cheapskate’ lifestyle and that a person who lives this type of life cannot develop relationships with women. It also shows that they are sad because they spend their money on cheap clothes, cars, insurance and sex dolls. It shows the desires of sex without the intimacy that normally goes with it.
There are very low values associated with the product both for men and women. On the man’s side it shows that they are shallow and not able to form relationships with women and that all they are there for is sex which is a very bad attitude to have. On the women’s side it shows how they have slipped and let themselves become like this so they can be degraded in such a way. The advert is funny to look at as it has a good initial impact but as you look closer at it it is very poor and not funny.
