Mid Term - "Yaris: The Cool Car?"

Leah Moriyama
Critical Practice 1 T 3:30-6:30
Rosetta Brooks
24 February 2009
Mid Term Paper
Yaris: The Cool Car?

The advertisement that I have chosen to analyze is an advertisement for the Toyota Yaris. It is published in the magazine Complex. We are surrounded by thousands of advertisements and editorial images every single day. Some of them work on us and some of them do not. If we actually take the time to really look at the images, it is very interesting to break down their immediate denotation and also to analyze their connotations as well. If we take a closer look at them, as I have done with this advertisement, we can see what is really going on to make us think and feel however we do when we interpret images.

The denotation of the advertisement is an image of two cars in a box. The box is open and the lid rests against the left side of the box. The box is black and it rests on a perfectly seamless white background. The box has a shadow on the viewer’s left side, and a slight reflection on the front, which is facing us. The two cars fit snuggly in the open box, lying on their sides with their roofs facing each other. The car on the left faces downward towards the bottom of the page, while the car on the right faces upward towards the top of the page. Each of the cars has its tires facing outwards towards the sides of the box. The car on the left is a bright, orange, fiery, red color and the car on the right is a bright, true, blue color. The cars are also different models. The red car on the left is a four-door or sedan, while the blue car on the right is a three-door or hatchback. Each is clean and shiny. Both of the cars also have shiny, silver rims. The inside of the box is brown and we see that the box is made out of cardboard. Inside the box, under the cars, there is brown, wrinkled paper with Toyota logos all over it. The box also has Toyota logos on it. There is one on the lid and two on the side that faces us. The logos on the black box are white, while the logos on the brown paper are black. On the side, there is also a white rectangle with logos, small symbols and text, and a bar code. The image of the cars in the box is mostly centered on the page and fills most of it. However, it does not really go far beyond the edges of the pages. We see the image in its entirety and we look down upon the box from an angled view. The view is not directly above. The box rests on the shiny white surface diagonally. The box has one point perspective going away from us, the viewer, towards the imaginary vanishing point.

The advertisement also consists of denoted text. In the upper right hand corner of the page, over the plain white background are the words “Yaris,” “fresh,” and “kicks.” There is a thin vertical line between the word “Yaris” and the words “fresh kicks.” The word “Yaris” is in bold style type and is also in a clean and simple, futuristic font. The words “fresh kicks” are in a very simple, plain, thin font. The word “Yaris” refers to the name of the car featured in the advertisement. The word “fresh” means brand new, newly made, previously unknown or unused. One example of this meaning would be used to describe fresh made bread, “fresh out the oven.” “Fresh” could also be interpreted as a feeling, as in the way we would feel after a good nap or a nice shower. The word could even be interpreted to describe the way something or someone looks. For example, a young and energetic girl could look fresh. In this advertisement, the word “fresh” also refers to the urban terminology or slang used to describe something hip that is well liked. This usage would be similar to other slang terminology such as, cool, dope, tight, or boss. The word “kicks” is also used in reference to urban terminology. This terminology refers to footwear and is commonly associated with sneakers, tennis shoes, or trainers.

On the box is the word “Yaris” again, this time shown in a stronger style font, which appears to be the logo for the car model. The word “Yaris” is above the Toyota logo and again, is also white in color. To the right of the logo is white rectangle which contains the Yaris word logo again in white on a smaller black rectangle within the white rectangle, a black Toyota logo, and the small numbers 10, 11, 28, 15.5, and 29, in small boxes. Below this are black/white/gold and a long number. All of this text in the rectangle is very small.

At the very bottom of the page in small text and thin, plain black font, starting from left to right are the words, “YARIS LIFTBACK STARTING AT $12,965. SHINY, NEW AND READY TO GO. TOYOTA.COM.” Below this in even smaller black type are the words, “MSRP excludes delivery and handling fee. Excludes taxes license, title and other available or regional equipment. Dealer price may vary. © 2008 Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc.” We quickly denote this as car a sales disclaimer, legal jargon, or fine print. Next to these lines, in the lower right hand corner of the page, the Toyota logo, consisting of both the symbol and the word “TOYOTA” in their signature font. Below this logo are the words “moving forward” which is the Toyota slogan.
The connotation of the advertisement is that the two cars are supposed to resemble a pair of shoes. The black box is the shape of a shoebox and the logos on the top and sides of the box resemble the logos that would appear on a Nike, Converse, of Adidas box. The wrinkled brown paper inside the cardboard box also resembles the tissue paper that wraps the shoes and fills the space inside the shoeboxes. The white rectangle on the side of the box is placed there because it is supposed to be a label that would be found on a shoebox, denoting the style, size, and color of the pair of shoes it contains. The two cars lay on their sides inside this box exactly the way two shoes or sneakers would inside a shoebox, each facing opposite ends of the box, with their tops facing each other. The words denoted on the top of the page that say “fresh kicks” in this case, refers to the cars as “fresh” sneakers. The words in the advertisement imply that the cars are young, hip, and cool, and also that they are shiny, clean, and brand new. They imply that the cars are brand new off the lot, and also new and innovative in design as well. When the advertisement says, “shiny, new, and ready to go,” it refers to ready to get out the box like a new pair of shoes you want to wear, and ready to go off the lot, like a brand new car you want to drive home.

Furthermore, this advertisement connotes that the Toyota Yaris is a hip, young car that is made for a hip, young driver. The targeted consumer group for this car is probably of the teenage age group. The Yaris is probably an inexpensive car that is supposed to be fun and cool looking. Young people are very interested in urban fashion and street-wear. One of the main aspects of this urban, fashion culture is the sneaker craze. Sneakers are very popular in the street-wear and urban fashion sub-cultures and are often collected and sought after. The brand new, shiny, colorful cars in the shoebox are meant to connote the feeling that one would feel about a brand new pair of really cool sneakers fresh in the box. The way the box lid is open and resting next to the box, it invites the viewer to go try them on, or in other words, go test drive one today.

The Yaris advertisement has a style that uses a lot of computer graphic imaging and has a computer animated look. Although the images of the cars and box appear to be derived from photographs, the images appear to really be digitally processed. First of all, the size difference between a shoe and a car is great. Therefore the cars are made to appear very small or the box very large. Apart from the obvious digital imaging in putting the cars in the box, the overall appearance of the advertisement has a very digitally rendered look and feel. This look also implies a connection to a younger crowd that is more drawn to this digital world as opposed to a more traditional photographic look more associated with a more mature crowd.

This advertisement also connotes that the Toyota Yaris’ driving performance is subordinate to its trendy image and fun, youthful appeal. Nowhere in this advertisement, is there any mention of any engine or performance specifications. Nor are their any images of the motor or other performance parts. There are hundreds of car advertisements that connote their respective cars as machines built with speed, agility, traction control, extremely sensitive break and suspension systems, and many other fine automotive characteristics. Even if these characteristics are not listed in words, they are often connoted by images of cars zooming around tight turns on canyons or stopped at the edge of a cliff. Often, photographic techniques such as blurring, or canted angles add these energetic effects to the images. However, the Yaris advertisement is nothing like those. The Yaris is not about speed or performance, or even safety apparently. It is generally marketed to be a fun, bubbly, young car that is inexpensive, cool looking, and fun to drive.

It is very interesting to take a closer look at the denotations and connotations of an editorial image, an advertisement, or any image for that matter. When we really break them down, we see the statements and suggestions that a simple image can make. It is interesting, to think about the way that we interpret an image and how we can interact with each other through these visual codes. By looking at these images this way, we begin to see the importance of the many aspects of an image, and how we can better express ourselves visually.