Corvette in College

RUNNING HEAD: The Symbolic Power of Corvette
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Americas Iconic Sports Car the Chevrolet Corvette
We live in America. It is not perfect but it sure is a great place to live. One of the best
things about America, we have built a machine that rivals foreign competition. This machine is
not nearly as expensive as Ferrari and Lamborghini and it can go faster. If you are brave enough,
you can get your hands on that machine. This machine is Chevrolet Corvette. Why should
anybody care about this brand? It is just a car, but this car has a diverse history that greatly
affected the sport car industry that we know and love today. Corvette, like America is great but it
has not always been perfect either. Several times in the beginning, Corvette was at the brink of
extinction from low sales and lacking performance (cite). Throughout the years Corvette has
improved,its syling andperformance. How can a car named Corvette maintain its image over the
years more than any other sports car? Even though Corvette has been through so much, it still is
America’s only true sports car.
Corvette has an extensive history, it had to fluctuate with the times and customer
demands. One of the best ways to get people interested in Corvette is advertisements. When you
start to break down an advertisement, especially commercials, they become more interesting.
Throughout this paper, I will deconstruct Corvette commercials from very different eras using
the Burke’s Pentad theory. I want to understand how Corvette maintained its image in the 50’s,
80’s and present. The Pentad theory states that “action requires motivation, and the ability to use
language symbolically is surly such a motivated act” (Larson, 2013). Using the five elements of
the Pentad theory, I hope to find out how commercials gain people’s interest in such a short
amount of time using the norms of that era. To gain people’s attention of this iconic sports car,
Chevrolet had to use commercials to make an impractical car seem like a must have car. Even

The Symbolic Power of Corvette 2
though a Corvette is not as practical as a minivan that can carry people and cargo, it sure is sexier
and faster than any other passenger car.
Corvette was able to manipulate us in buying their product through a commercial. I will
use the Burkes Pentad Theory to break down the commercials structure. This theory was named
after Kenneth Burke. The Burkes Pentad theory is a theory that analyzes arts in the media in
different sections including the act, scene, agent, agency and finally the purpose (Kimberling,
1982). The Pentad theory is a tool that has a series of five elements that can help us understand
the true meaning behind advertisements and how motivate us through writing and pictures
(Blakesley, 2002). The Pentad theory is a more academically advanced way of analyzing
something that motivates us using a journalist’s catechism: who, what, when, where, why and
how (Overington, 1977). Since the Pentad Theory is aged and not documented as well as it
should be it has proven very difficult finding evidence of this theory applied to past commercials.
There is only analysis of hypothetical situations. Since it is relatively easy to watch a commercial
and point out the five elements, it does not seem to be a subject worth researching. However, the
analysis presents complexity.
The elements are not single elements in and of themselves; each part may overlap or be
applied to another part (Crable & Makay, 1972). This theory can be applied to every
advertisement that we watch or look at. We can apply this theory every time we watch TV, or
open a magazine or the newspaper we are flooded with different ways of advertisement that can
be broken down by this theory. As Burke pointed out we “humans are symbol-users and that
symbolic action is both public and unavoidable” (Kneupper,1979). Corvette was unavoidable;
everyone in America loved the new and exciting design. Corvette had to construct a commercial
to entice people to buy the new and exciting product.

Corvette started in the 1950’s and era that most refer to as the baby boom period
(MacUnovich, 2002). After World War II ended, many Americans wanted to have children
because they were self-confident that the future held only peace and prosperity (A&E Networks,
2014). The first commercial from the 1950’s really does look old even the film that they used
looks fuzzy and unclear. Using Burkes Pentad theory the first of five elements is the scene. In the
selected commercial, the scene is set in an area with beautiful landscape of trees and a babbling
brook next to the road. This was most likely where the upper crust folks lived in a beautiful
neighborhood with the perfect amount of sunlight and traffic. The second element in the Pentad
theory is the act. The act in this commercial is the facts that they state about the car along with
video to show you what the Corvette has. A nice interior that is simple and a 160 horsepower
engine.. The third element is the agent. This seems to be more important than what you would
originally think. They show a lovely couple with the man driving and the women in the seat next
to him. When you buy a Corvette you too can be like them, smile, and be in a carefree mood.
The announcer is also a persuader he is amazed at the car. The fourth element is the agency. The
agency is the Corvette. They show the Corvette from many angles for you viewing pleasure. The
final element in the theory is the purpose. The whole purpose of the commercial is for you to buy
a beautiful car that makes you feel that you have the coolest sports car with a carefree attitude.
Years have pasted now I will analyze a very different era. The 1980’s was very unlike the
50’s. Rather than a carefree mood, everyone was in a competitive more need for advancements
and technology mood. Using Burkes Pentad theory the first of five elements is the scene. The
scenes are truly out of this world. There are sand dunes and tunnels with an odd lighting that give
it a more futuristic, otherworldly feel. The second element in the Pentad theory is the act. The act
is showing how this car can handle corners. It is also showing how much technology is in the car

by showing the number of new liquid crystal displays. The third element is the agent. The agent
here is a little odd. They show a person dressed in a race uniform with a helmet on. They shift
the manual transmission but other than that, the person is usually sitting still. The fourth element
is the agency. The tool here is almost difficult to express. This commercial is so odd that the tool
that they are using is perhaps the fact that the Corvette has new never heard of advancements.
Perhaps the tool they want you to notice most is the fact that you will feel like you are in a new
and different world of sports car when you sit in the Corvette. The final element in the theory is
the purpose. The whole purpose of this commercial is to make the viewer question how this
Corvette is so different from previous Corvettes. The commercial is so odd that they want the
viewers of all ages to see this and want to get a Corvette. This commercial can attract anyone
because it is so bizarre that you have to watch it. Really, the main purpose is to get people to buy
Corvettes to keep the all-American sports car alive.
After all of those years we finally come to the Corvette that we know today. 2014 is
different from all other eras. People cannot live without computers, and technology seems to
have taken over everyone’s lives. Using Burkes Pentad theory the first of five elements is the
scene. The scene is a desert landscape with the perfect lighting to make the cars lines really stand
out. The second element in the Pentad theory is the act. There seems to be an abundant amount
of acts that are happening. There is a lot of going around corners and speeding down the
racetrack. The third element is the agent. The person here is once again wearing a helmet but he
is moving around some more. Perhaps this is to show that the seats are supporting the driver
while going around the track. The fourth element is the agency. This one is more obvious than
previous commercials. They show a lot of the interior and the engine sound thundering out of the
exhaust. By now, Corvette is world-renowned therefore; it is easier to entice people to by an epic

machine. The final element in the theory is the purpose. The purpose of this commercial is to
make the viewer want to test the limits of a machine that will do what you tell it to do. Now that
I picked apart all of the commercials from the eras it is time to analyze why Corvette has
changed so much and then so little throughout the years.
Corvette changed with the demands of the different eras. Thanks to the Burke’s Pentad,
theory we can really pick apart the commercial rather than just watching the commercial and
forgetting about it. When Corvette began in 1953, the only people who could buy them were rich
celebrities or high positioned Chevrolet CEO’s (Leffingwell, 2012). That is why the commercial
was placed in an upper-class neighborhood. In fact, that is why the sales were so meager in the
beginning. Everyone loved the new style but it was difficult for “Mr. & Mrs. America” as the
commercial stated, to buy such an expensive car. The commercial depicted how different and
simple the car really was. The norm of cars back then was family cars, so by introducing
something new and not of the norm was risky. All cars were an important part of the economy in
the 1950’s, the number of cars built and registered sky rocketed.
By 1950, most factories had made the transition to a consumer-based economy, and more
than 8 million cars were produced that year alone. By 1958, there were more than 67
million cars registered in the United States, more than twice the number at the start of
the decade( Keight, 2004,pg 24–25).
This was the perfect time for Chevrolet to introduce Corvette because of high demand for cars.
Some people wanted a car that was out of the ordinary. The commercial did a great job at
depicting how unordinary the car really was. They show how low, sleek and dashing the car was
through a number of different angles of the car. The announcer was also a great influence, at the
very end he was really in awe of the car. The person watching this commercial will see how

other people react to the car and they want to be the center of attention The commercial did a
great job at depicting how appropriate it was for Corvette to be driven. Because a sports car was
unproductive, you could not haul the family around in Corvette because there are only two seats.
The commercial was perfect for the time-period.
The 50’s depicted laid-back appearance of enjoying the open road. The 80’s promote brut
acceleration, technology and performance. There is a big change from the 50’s to the 80’s. The
commercial is the perfect at depicting how dramatically different this car was from the previous
generations. In 1973, America went through some tough oil crisis that dramatically decreased the
interest in sports cars the focus was on fuel-efficiency rather than performance (Ikenberry, 1986).
The cars before this car in the commercial, were low in horsepower and not all that exciting
anymore. The introduction of the commercial draws anybody in from the start. The amount of
ambiguity increased in this commercial. They do not depict the car as being a car for the upper
class, now Corvette was trying to gain everyone’s attention. They use dramatic special effects to
make adults want to buy it and kids dream about owning one someday. The commercial is trying
to get the past behind them. Several times, they mention you have never seen anything like this
before. Which is true, the style of this Corvette was new, it was much better than previous
Corvette models. Of course, this is the 80’s and the build quality was actually quite low, they
were plagued with squeaks and rattles (Leffingwell, 2012). I like that this commercial is actually
a lot like the 50’s commercial in some ways. This model Corvette was once again a very new
looking car. Most cars in the 80’s looked boxy and were lacking in performance. Most notable is
that the Corvette commercial from the 1980 was tremendously close to the Corvette commercial
today. Today’s commercial is not as “cheesy” or otherworldly as the one from the 80’s.

Both of the commercials from the 80’s and present had a driver with a helmet on and
showed the cornering capabilities. As for the helmet, I believe that is so everyone can relate to
the commercial. Unlike the 50’s commercial, you cannot tell if the driver is male or female. In
the 50’s female celebrities wanted cool cars too, but they depicted the Corvette as being a man’s
car. By adding the helmet, a viewer can imagine himself or herself as the driver. Therefore, this
gives Corvette a neutral approach to who the buyer can be. Comparing the Corvette commercial
of today to the one in the 50’s is not an even comparison. However, it is an interesting
comparison. The Corvette in the 50’s only drives the posted speed limit or under. The Corvette
of today is on a racetrack going as fast as the driver can push the Corvette. Corvette had many
changes including performance, technology and build quality.
In conclusion, the commercials were unique to the time periods they represent. The
Burke’s Pentad theory helped break down commercials to bring new light on how Corvette was
trying to sell their product. The advertisers persuaded the viewer to buy a car that was not
practical but sure is loved and admired by all who love performance. It is pleasant to have a car
around that is out of the ordinary. Corvette started out as an upper-crust car but has turned into a
reachable buy for many Americans; unlike other foreign competitors who charge triple the
amount for about the same performance. Corvette was able to retain its prestige over the years
with the help of these expertly crafted commercials to bring out the buying need in the
customers. Corvettes image was always different from the other cars with the low, sleek design
and has performance that most cars do not have. That image helped Corvette start out, and stay,
Americas’ beloved sports car. The Pentad theory is a perfect theory to make sense of every
commercial that I analyzed. By analyzing the five elements, I was able to show the different
characters a Corvette commercial really has. This theory is relatively easy to use and is effective

in helping me understand each of the time period fads. My only complaint about the theory is it
needs to be looked at closer by scholars because finding articles about the use of the Pentad
theory in advertisements is impossible to find. It is so easy and interesting to use I am surprised
that not many people look into the theory closer. The commercial showed the advancements that
Corvette had for the buyer to keep them interested. The 50’s commercial was more relaxed and
had a simple design with some performance. Even the agents are in a carefree mood. The 80’s
was new and exciting and finally broke through the “un-performance” rut of the 70’s due to the
oil crisis. The Corvette aimed more at all customers not just rich adult male individuals. They
wanted kids and adults, male or female, to buy and dream of owning this car someday. The
present car is just amazing in technology, performance, styling, handling and speed compared to
the rest of the Corvettes. The commercial stayed equal to the 80’s commercial in some ways,
such as the driver wearing a helmet and showing the Corvette going around corners. Corvette is
really a sexy car it was nice to analyze the Corvette through commercials using the Pentad theory
to show how Corvette has maintained its iconic image after all of these years. Even though
Corvette has been through so much, America’s only true sports car will create excitement for
years to come. I hope that someday someone else, 60 years from now, will analyze our present
day Corvette commercial using the Pentad theory to show the five element of such as amazing
car commercial to his or her own Corvette of that day.

References
Blakesley, David. (2002). The Elements of Dramatism. New York: Longman.
Crable, R. E., & Makay, J. L. (1972). Kenneth Burke’s concept of motives in rhetorical theory.
Today's Speech, 20(1), 11-18.
Ikenberry, G. John. (1986). "The Irony of State Strength: Comparative Responses to the Oil
Shocks in the 1970s". International Organization 40 (1): 105–137 [p. 107].
Leffingwell, Randy. (2012). Corvette Sixty Years. Pages 10 & 129
Larson, Charles. (2013). Persuasion Reception and Responsibility Burke’s Dramatism, page 160
Keight, Reid. (June 2004). "Happy days – For petroleum marketers, the 1950s lived up to the
nostalgia". National Petroleum News: 24–25.
Kimberling, Ronald. (1982). Kenneth Burke's Dramatism and Popular Arts.
Kneupper, C.W. (1979). Dramatistic invention: The Pentad as a heuristic procedure. Rhetoric
MacUnovich, (2002) Diane J. "Baby Boomers." Encyclopedia of Aging. Encyclopedia.com. 4
Nov. 2014 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. Society Quarterly, 9(3), 130-136.
Overington, M. (1977). Kenneth Burke and the Method of Dramatism. Theory and Society, 4,
131-156.
YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HC8bwEQFx6M (50’s Commercial)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CP7ijUkgc-4 (80’s Commercial)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QP9Yej3vuqs (Present day Commercial)
Valerie,
You did a wonderful job with this paper. I enjoyed reading it the paper because it was
well-written and the analysis was thorough. I just made some small comments. You used
citations to support your arguments. It was easy for me to follow through the paper. I never felt

lost in the paper because you did a nice job connecting ideas together. I would suggest that you
provide a preview statement at the beginning of the paper so that the reader knows what is
coming in the order that you write the paper.

Corvette in College

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Corvette in College