I’ll be looking at stereotypes in  car advertising through this clip from Top Gear, where Jeremy Clarkson and James May attempt to create ads for the Volkswagen Scirocco by utilizing stereotypes and plenty of classic Top Gear humour. This is not a real ad but is one that by virtue of being a parody, exposes numerous stereotypes found in car advertising.

0:10- Car ads often use nature imagery to evoke a sense of serenity and harmony; a sharp contrast from the reality most car drivers find themselves in- being stuck in rush hour traffic. The disappointing reality is subverted by unrealistic expectations created by the ad.

0:19- Car manufacturers often like to sell the speed and performance of a car, and this is done so by the tire squeals, engine revs, shaky and brief shots (to evoke a sense of speed), and lack of other cars on the road to allow the car’s performance to shine.

0:30- Though the sky is the last thing on car consumers’ considerations when buying a car, car advertisements often depict vast skies to give off that sense of freedom and liberation they hope will be attached to the car in question.

0:53- The majority of the cars on the road are either black, white, or some shade in between. However, car manufacturers nearly always pick a flashy and eye catching coloured-variant of the car to feature in the advertisement, as it simply makes it more exciting and becomes more of a visual spectacle.