Research Proposal

Matt Ferriero
I am studying how the increased technology has changed advertising by car companies.
I am studying this topic because I want to find out how this increased importance of technology
to consumers has affected the way that car companies advertise.
The audience for my paper is people who are trying to understand how car advertisements have
changed over the years. I want these people to be able to better understand how the new
technology in cars has played a role in the change in the way car companies advertise. This is
significant because new technologies are starting to immerge in the development and design of
cars.
This issue is important in todays society because cars are starting to become more and more
autonomous with the increase in technology that is being built into them. Some of this
technology is specifically design to increase safety, however, some of it is simply to increase
consumer attraction. Some of the new innovations placed into cars, like navigation systems that
can display texts and Facebook may be greatly decreasing the attention of drivers.
I will focus on what new technologies have been added to cars in the recent years, how people
have reacted to these new innovations, how these technologies have increased or decreased
safety, and how car companies have chosen to advertise these new technologies to consumers.

Key Sources:
Geller, Tom. "Car Talk." Communications Of The ACM 58.3 (2015): 16-18. Academic Search
Premier. Web. 9 Nov. 2015.
This is an article that discusses some of the new technology being placed into cars and how these
technologies are affecting the safety of drivers and the roads in general.
Newcomb, Doug. "Drivers Don't Care About Car Tech." PC Magazine (2015): 48-50. Academic
Search Premier. Web. 9 Nov. 2015.
This is an opinionated article that discusses that drivers dont use many of the technologies that
are in their cars. I could use this for proving that drivers are not distracted by the new
technologies.
Greenberg, Karl. "BMW Mixes Metaphors In New Take On Tech." Brandweek 44.27 (2003): 14.
Academic Search Premier. Web. 9 Nov. 2015.
This is an article that describes how BMW is focusing on its new technologies when creating its
advertisements. This will help me to better understand the focus of car companies when
advertising.

Exploratory Draft
In this project, I intended to explore how improvements in the technology within cars has
affected the way that car companies advertise. I want to show what innovations car companies
have made in their cars, how consumers have responded to those innovations, and how this has
affected what companies advertise. The audience for this paper are people looking at the changes
in the way that car companies have changed their advertising. This topic is interesting to me
because I have noticed a serious upward trend in the technology in cars. Car companies are
beginning to make cars more and more autonomous. I have noticed that car commercials are also
starting to focus mostly on the new technology in their cars. Some people are talking about the
innovations that are now in cars, such as blind spot detectors, auto-pilot, and safety braking when
backing up. Some people believe that these innovations are making drivers less attentive because
they think that these technologies will protect them. Car companies take this into consideration,
so I want to see how their advertising reflects whether consumers value this technology or
believe that it makes drivers less safe.
In the case of this paper, the intended audience is the people who believe that car
companies have not changed their advertising based upon the increase in importance of
technology to consumers. This audience will learn how this increase has changed the advertising
of car companies. Car companies choose to advertise to consumers the new technologies in their
cars because they know the importance of these technologies to their buyers.
Some of the major points that I would make in my essay would be:
1.
2.
3.
4.

Give the reader a background on the new technologies present in cars

Describe reactions to these technologies
Describe the affect these technologies have had on drivers
Show some examples of car companies advertisements

5. Break up these examples and discuss how the companies portray the technologies to
consumers in order to capture a larger audience
6. Describe how this has changed car advertisements
7. Give examples of advertisements in the past
8. Compare to current advertisements

So far, I have found sources that describe some of the technologies that cars have, a
review of how these are used, and an example of a car company advertisement. The audience
will expect to see advertisements from car companies and how consumers have reacted to these
ads. I still need to find more information on ads from car companies, how consumers have
reacted to these ads, ads from the past, and more examples of what affects the new technologies
have had on drivers. People who believe that car companies have not changed their
advertisements based upon these technologies will disagree with the fact that companies have
begun to tailor their advertisements to consumer interest in technology. These disputers will
likely point to idea that car companies have always been concerned with advertising the newest
advancement.
I am still slightly concerned with how much an argument that I have. I feel like I have an
interesting issue to discuss but I am not really sure how to develop it into something that can be
debated. I may run into some problems finding information about what car companies focus on
when creating an advertisement. I will be able to find examples but I am not sure how easy it will
be to find information directly from car companies.

Show how car companies, such as BMW advertise their technology so that they are known as a
high-end brand. Who do they market to? How is this advertising different from a ford ad? What
techniques/persuasive strategies do they use to persuade their intended audience? Do a rhetorical
analysis on an advertisement. Compare to a ford ad. Focus on how they portray their new
technologies to their consumers.