Gasoline, Motor Oil: Which is more important?
             Any driver will testify that they want to feel safe in their cars, motor oil and gasoline advertisers argue that each product is important to the driver while striving to accomplish the goal of making this feeling a reality. With drivers being put through more and more rigorous conditions on this nations roads and highways, how could anyone not want to feel safe in their cars? Travel by automobile has become increasingly viewed as one of the safest modes of travel. Automobile travel has continued to increase - a testament to its growing status as the leading mode of travel within the U.S. Gasoline and motor oil advertisers have sharply tuned in to this trend. The advertisers must decide on how to use the statistics to their advantage. They need to decide what types of people they want to target with their ads - the old? young? male? female? - and what values and desires this group may share. Two uniquely different targets are apparent in recent newspaper ads for Amoco Ultimate gasoline and Quaker State motor oil.
             The ad for Amoco Ultimate gasoline consists of a picture of the Grand Canyon with the Amoco Ultimate sponsored race car heading right for the cliff. The main picture of the Grand Canyon shows the wide gaping gorge with a beautifully colored sky overhead. With dust flying behind it, the race car appears to be speeding towards the cliff. The car is painted red, white and blue. The advertisers have typed "ultimate car", with the word ultimate bold faced, in the upper left hand corner of the page with a line drawn to the car. Underneath the photo is the slogan " You expect more from a leader. And you get it."
             The ad for Quaker State motor oil shows a bottle of motor oil with the word Re-Formulated stamped in red across the top of the bottle. The word Quaker State - stamped in big bold White lettering - lies on the middle of the bottle. A picture of a mid-size car, possibly a
             ...