My Identity
The things that define someone can range from their character to what their assets are. It is becoming more and more common in today’s society that we judge people based on what they own instead of who they are in terms of personality or character. In many cases, the material things people own do actually define who they are to a certain extent. These possessions that define who someone is usually have a sentimental value for most people. I am going to make the claim that the things that define me are sentimental things like my truck. But I acknowledge that I can be influenced by advertisements as well as family and friends.
The truck I have is a 1997 Dodge Ram 1500 Laramie SLT which is the first vehicle that I have ever owned. This past fall, I paid off the loan on my truck. Now someone might ask why a truck instead of a car? Well, when I got the truck almost two years ago, I was excited because I could pay off the loan on it while building up my credit. Everyone in my family owns a Dodge vehicle. I bought this truck because it was dependable. I see a lot of Ram truck commercials on television now and their slogan is “Guts. Glory. Ram.” When I see that slogan I think of the “Guts” as being tough, durable, and dependable. The “Glory” in the Ram trucks slogan means that owning a Ram truck comes with a certain luxury or prestige that you own a Ram truck. The “Ram” part of the slogan means that their trucks are tough, dependable, and come with a high prestige to own one. I also notice that a lot of the ads for Ram Trucks are directed towards farmers or ranchers which are why the brand appeals to my entire family since we lived on a dairy farm until four years ago. One commercial that sticks out in my mind as a good example of who the target audience is for Ram Trucks is the 2013 Super Bowl Commercial. It was called “So, God Made a Farmer,” and it made everyone in my family feel proud and good about being a farmer. This truck not only appeals to me, but I feel it is a part of my identity as well. Ram trucks are tough, dependable, and made for farmers which I am. I have 11 generations of farming on my mother’s side of the family and 7 generations on my father’s. We sold the farm and moved into town back in the fall of 2009 so I feel that my truck is one of my connections to my childhood of growing up on a dairy farm. When I drive my mom’s Journey, it doesn’t feel the same. It just seems weird. We did not have either vehicle back in 2009, I would like to point out, but we have always had Dodge vehicles. My truck is a part of my identity because it gives me a connection to my childhood and to my family.
There are of course other trucks I could buy such as GMC, Chevrolet, Ford, Toyota, or Nissan. The target audience for their ads is not really directed towards farmers and ranchers. It is more directed towards the blue-collar worker or a construction worker. Chevrolet is making an effort now with their commercials and ads towards appealing to farmers, but I did not grow up with that brand in my family so it does not interest me. They seem like “city vehicles” to me for lack of a better term. I do not associate those brands with farming even though they all are more than likely owned by farmers. Usually Ford’s truck ads are about pulling heavy stuff like boats, or hauling gravel as well as the high gas mileage they get with their eco-boost engines. GMC truck commercials follow the same pattern as Ford’s truck ads do with hauling gravel. Construction work is hard work, but I have never worked on a construction site plus I associate bulldozers, excavators, and the huge yellow dump truck with construction. Toyota and Nissan commercials show the towing power of their trucks pulling a large jumbo-jet and a space shuttle. However, what very few people know is that they let a lot of air out of the tires of the trucks in the commercials so they have a lot better grip on those roads for pulling those heavy objects. A Nissan truck commercial that I saw showed a jumbo jet that could not land because something was wrong with the front landing gear so as it is landing, a Nissan truck driven by an airport mechanic drives under the front landing gear of the jet and slams on the brakes. The caption on the commercial says “Truck saves airplane.” The commercial is presented in a news story technique with it showing the event unfolding while interviewing the witnesses. Obviously this isn’t real because the amount of force and weight it would require would take a miracle to stop the plane. This is because the amount of friction created to stop a jumbo jet with a truck going over 100 miles per hour would make the brakes ineffective and cause them to fail. For those reasons I tend to lose credibility with those trucks because their commercials are not real. I also value things that are made in the USA like Ford, Chevrolet, GMC, and Ram. The Dodge brand of vehicles is just something I grew up with that retains a sentimental value to me and is a part of who I am.
Dodge is a brand my family and I trust for our vehicles. My brother has a 2013 Dodge Dart, my dad has a 2001 Dodge Ram 1500 Pickup, and my mom has a 2010 Dodge Journey. Ram trucks have also won the Motor Trend “Truck of the Year Award” in back-to-back years in 2013 and 2014. This had never been done before. I feel like I can depend on my truck to get me to school and back home every day during the winter which is important since the roads I travel aren’t plowed the greatest and I have to drive 25 miles each way each day to UW Fond du Lac. It is crucial to have a vehicle I can depend on.
All in all, the things that mean something to me are the things that make up my identity as a person. My Dodge Ram truck is tough and dependable like I am. It also keeps me connected to my childhood growing up on a farm, as well as connected to my family. For those reasons that is why the Ram truck commercials appeal to me over the other truck brands.
Works Cited
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AMpZ0TGjbWE Ram Super Bowl commercial
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FoSGzLii0KM Nissan truck commercial
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AdIkNHeZhGY Ford commercial
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dOMrA-BGuLY Chevrolet commercial
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O7Ci8R5aOkE GMC commercial
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hX_d02XDadc Toyota commercial
The things that define someone can range from their character to what their assets are. It is becoming more and more common in today’s society that we judge people based on what they own instead of who they are in terms of personality or character. In many cases, the material things people own do actually define who they are to a certain extent. These possessions that define who someone is usually have a sentimental value for most people. I am going to make the claim that the things that define me are sentimental things like my truck. But I acknowledge that I can be influenced by advertisements as well as family and friends.
The truck I have is a 1997 Dodge Ram 1500 Laramie SLT which is the first vehicle that I have ever owned. This past fall, I paid off the loan on my truck. Now someone might ask why a truck instead of a car? Well, when I got the truck almost two years ago, I was excited because I could pay off the loan on it while building up my credit. Everyone in my family owns a Dodge vehicle. I bought this truck because it was dependable. I see a lot of Ram truck commercials on television now and their slogan is “Guts. Glory. Ram.” When I see that slogan I think of the “Guts” as being tough, durable, and dependable. The “Glory” in the Ram trucks slogan means that owning a Ram truck comes with a certain luxury or prestige that you own a Ram truck. The “Ram” part of the slogan means that their trucks are tough, dependable, and come with a high prestige to own one. I also notice that a lot of the ads for Ram Trucks are directed towards farmers or ranchers which are why the brand appeals to my entire family since we lived on a dairy farm until four years ago. One commercial that sticks out in my mind as a good example of who the target audience is for Ram Trucks is the 2013 Super Bowl Commercial. It was called “So, God Made a Farmer,” and it made everyone in my family feel proud and good about being a farmer. This truck not only appeals to me, but I feel it is a part of my identity as well. Ram trucks are tough, dependable, and made for farmers which I am. I have 11 generations of farming on my mother’s side of the family and 7 generations on my father’s. We sold the farm and moved into town back in the fall of 2009 so I feel that my truck is one of my connections to my childhood of growing up on a dairy farm. When I drive my mom’s Journey, it doesn’t feel the same. It just seems weird. We did not have either vehicle back in 2009, I would like to point out, but we have always had Dodge vehicles. My truck is a part of my identity because it gives me a connection to my childhood and to my family.
There are of course other trucks I could buy such as GMC, Chevrolet, Ford, Toyota, or Nissan. The target audience for their ads is not really directed towards farmers and ranchers. It is more directed towards the blue-collar worker or a construction worker. Chevrolet is making an effort now with their commercials and ads towards appealing to farmers, but I did not grow up with that brand in my family so it does not interest me. They seem like “city vehicles” to me for lack of a better term. I do not associate those brands with farming even though they all are more than likely owned by farmers. Usually Ford’s truck ads are about pulling heavy stuff like boats, or hauling gravel as well as the high gas mileage they get with their eco-boost engines. GMC truck commercials follow the same pattern as Ford’s truck ads do with hauling gravel. Construction work is hard work, but I have never worked on a construction site plus I associate bulldozers, excavators, and the huge yellow dump truck with construction. Toyota and Nissan commercials show the towing power of their trucks pulling a large jumbo-jet and a space shuttle. However, what very few people know is that they let a lot of air out of the tires of the trucks in the commercials so they have a lot better grip on those roads for pulling those heavy objects. A Nissan truck commercial that I saw showed a jumbo jet that could not land because something was wrong with the front landing gear so as it is landing, a Nissan truck driven by an airport mechanic drives under the front landing gear of the jet and slams on the brakes. The caption on the commercial says “Truck saves airplane.” The commercial is presented in a news story technique with it showing the event unfolding while interviewing the witnesses. Obviously this isn’t real because the amount of force and weight it would require would take a miracle to stop the plane. This is because the amount of friction created to stop a jumbo jet with a truck going over 100 miles per hour would make the brakes ineffective and cause them to fail. For those reasons I tend to lose credibility with those trucks because their commercials are not real. I also value things that are made in the USA like Ford, Chevrolet, GMC, and Ram. The Dodge brand of vehicles is just something I grew up with that retains a sentimental value to me and is a part of who I am.
Dodge is a brand my family and I trust for our vehicles. My brother has a 2013 Dodge Dart, my dad has a 2001 Dodge Ram 1500 Pickup, and my mom has a 2010 Dodge Journey. Ram trucks have also won the Motor Trend “Truck of the Year Award” in back-to-back years in 2013 and 2014. This had never been done before. I feel like I can depend on my truck to get me to school and back home every day during the winter which is important since the roads I travel aren’t plowed the greatest and I have to drive 25 miles each way each day to UW Fond du Lac. It is crucial to have a vehicle I can depend on.
All in all, the things that mean something to me are the things that make up my identity as a person. My Dodge Ram truck is tough and dependable like I am. It also keeps me connected to my childhood growing up on a farm, as well as connected to my family. For those reasons that is why the Ram truck commercials appeal to me over the other truck brands.
Works Cited
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AMpZ0TGjbWE Ram Super Bowl commercial
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FoSGzLii0KM Nissan truck commercial
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AdIkNHeZhGY Ford commercial
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dOMrA-BGuLY Chevrolet commercial
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O7Ci8R5aOkE GMC commercial
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hX_d02XDadc Toyota commercial