Robert Rudolph Jr.

Professor Granillo

English 103

30 May 2019

Outline

I. INTRODUCTION

A. THESIS

Audi’s “Cashew” commercial claims that middle class workers should keep working

towards their dreams, no matter how impossible they may seem, however, Audi presents

the idea that middle class workers will only have the luxury of owning the new, fully

electric Audi model once they have reached the afterlife; Audi’s cliché use of pathos and

logos doesn’t really have a moment where ethos is visible, and creates a narrative fallacy

with the depiction of the afterlife. In addition, by way of Marxism through the classism

concept, “Cashew” nudges the idea that middle class workers will always have to work

harder to achieve their dreams.

II. LITERATURE REVIEW

A. BACKGROUND OF COMMERCIAL

Although Audi portrays the middle class man’s disappointment of not having the

opportunity to currently own this vehicle, that is not their overall goal of the commercial.

In reality, the audience that Audi is reaching are consumers who are looking to switch to

an electric vehicle in style. Currently, people are starting to consider switching to other

leading brands of electric vehicles. However, Audi seems to be indicating that they want

people to wait until they start selling their new brand of electric vehicles, as it is
advertised at the end of the commercial that “One third of all new Audi models will be

electrified by 2025” (“Cashew” 00:00:53). Thus, it’s initially aimed towards people who

possibly can’t afford this luxury electric car at the moment.

B. COUNTERARGUMENT/MARXISM

i. TOPIC SENTENCE: The Audi commercial claims that in order for a

middle class person to have the luxury of owning the newest electric Audi model,

you’ll have to wait until later in life, or the afterlife, to experience it.

ii. TRANSITION: This ultimately leads viewers to believe that this

commercial supports a Marxist viewpoint.

iii. EVIDENCE: (“Cashews” 00:00:45-00:00:49)

iv. THEORETICAL CONCEPTS: Classism: “an ideology that equates

one’s value as a human being with the social class to which one belongs: the

higher one’s social class, the better one is assumed to be…From a classist

perspective… people at the bottom of the social scale, it follows, are naturally

shiftless, lazy, and irresponsible” (Tyson 56). This stems from Karl Marx’s

writings in the Manifesto of the Communist Party, that “this Socialism sought to

depreciate every revolutionary movement in the eyes of the working class by

showing that no mere political reform, but only a change in the material

conditions of existence, in economical relations, could be of any advantage to

them” (Marx 31).

v. ANALYSIS: From the classism stance, the audience can interpret that the

man seems disappointed with his current position in his life. This reflects the idea

that those in a middle class position do not feel they can rise above the middle
 class status. However, this is not the approach that Audi should be taking if they

want middle class consumers to one day believe that they will own this car.

vi. SO WHAT?: Thus, the classism onset provokes the idea that middle class

workers cannot achieve their dreams, rather than motivating those to work

towards them.

III. SUBTOPIC #1 – PATHOS

A. TOPIC SENTENCE: Although Audi believes that middle class workers will

only be able to dream of owning their new model of electric vehicles, the appeal of

pathos is displayed in their commercial through the excitement of the middle class man’s

face.

B. TRANSITION: Despite the fact he is in a dream state, this middle class man is

surprised with this luxurious vehicle that’s in front of him. The audience can easily see

the excitement in his eyes of when he is finally behind the wheel of the vehicle and is

ready to drive it

C. EVIDENCE: (“Cashew” 00:00:30-00:00:35).

D. THEORETICAL CONCEPTS: Tyler Biscontini includes his studies of pathos

in the Salem Press Encyclopedia by claiming that “some audiences believe that a

powerful appeal to pathos is disingenuous. It may seem that the speaker is unable to

prove his or her point with logic, and seeks to mask faults in his or her argument by

winning people over emotionally (Biscontini 2).

E. ANALYSIS: While the audience at this point is unaware of the scene being a

dream, they are led to believe that this man’s reaction to the car is authentic and realistic

as he seems in love with it. Audi’s idea shown is that dreams are meant to be big.
 F. SO WHAT?: In fact, Audi is encouraging middle class workers to continue

dreaming.

IV. SUBTOPIC #2 – LOGOS

A. TOPIC SENTENCE: While logos is not the principal appeal, it meets a good

median of the three.

B. TRANSITION: Although no details of what features these new, fully electric

vehicles will behold, Audi just wants to introduce to its audience that they are working on

releasing energy efficient vehicles.

C. EVIDENCE: However, this is only shown through the end of the commercial

when its stated that “One third of all new Audi models will be electrified by 2025”

(“Cashew” 00:00:53).

D. THEORETICAL CONCEPTS: Boscantini continues his discussion in the

Salem Press Encyclopedia by stating that “the person making an argument uses logic to

convince his or her opponent and audience of the argument's validity. An appeal to logos

utilizes concrete facts” (Boscantini 12).

E. ANALYSIS: While this is the only factual information provided in the

commercial, it’s still informative to Audi’s consumers to make them aware that they will

soon have the option to go fully electric.

F. SO WHAT?: While this may not be right now, Audi wants to embellish their

plan of releasing these electric models to continue to inspire people to work towards their

dreams.

V. SUBTOPIC #3 – ETHOS
 A. TOPIC SENTENCE: The lack of ethos portrayed in Audi’s commercial sheds

light of how the car company views middle class workers.

B. TRANSITION: This would be that Audi is only expecting that these middle class

workers will only have the opportunity to dream that they can own their car.

Additionally, it can also be taken into account that Audi feels that some people will

strictly have this opportunity to own the new, fully electric Audi model by experiencing it

in the “afterlife”.

C. EVIDENCE: Audi fails to provide an inspiring message at the end of their

commercial and instead, Audi depicts the audience with the face of a disappointed middle

class man who feels stuck in their current position (“Cashew” 00:00:48).

D. THEORETICAL CONCEPTS: Elena Popan writes in the Salem Press

Encyclopedia that “Ethos assumes a listener will think, clearly weigh alternatives, and

ultimately decide on the right actions” (Elena Popan 4).

E. ANALYSIS: Audi wants for its viewers and potential consumers to consider their

vehicle. However, this depiction that Audi indicates middle class workers should not feel

motivated to work towards owning this prestigious car someday since the commercial

fails to recognize that dreams are obtainable.

F. SO WHAT?: While Audi’s intent is to encourage viewers and potential

consumers to work towards their dreams, their message lose credibility due to the use of

fallacies.

VI. SUBTOPIC #4 – NARRATIVE FALLACY

A. TOPIC SENTENCE: Fallacies are recently found in most forms of media.

 B. TRANSITION: In this case, Audi introduces their newest concept through the

use of a narrative fallacy.

C. THEORETICAL CONCEPTS: M. Neil Browne and Stuart M. Keeley write in

their book Asking the Right Questions, “we are driven to connect the dots when we see a

series of events. We not only want to know what happened; we are immediately willing

to weave a narrative that explains what actually happened” (74).

D. EVIDENCE: (“Cashew” 00:00:01-00:00:49).

E. ANALYSIS: Instantly from the start, the commercial begins to lose credibility as

it is clear that the man and his assumed to be deceased grandfather are meeting in an

“afterlife” location. With the commercial then shifting into the scene of the man receiving

the heimlich maneuver, the audience can then be confused with what had actually been

taking place. In addition, this narrative fallacy only reaches out to a specific demographic

of society: people who believe in a “heaven” or “afterlife”. This impacts the effect of the

viewers who do not conform to religious beliefs. Thus, Audi basically suggests that only

middle class workers who believe in an afterlife, in addition to having the same religious

beliefs that Audi possesses.

F. SO WHAT?: This proves that including a narrative fallacy leads the audience to

make assumptions that Audi is trying to relay a message of exclusivity.

VII. CONCLUSION

A. RE-STATE THESIS: Audi’s “Cashew” commercial claims that middle class

workers should keep working towards their dreams, no matter how impossible they may

seem, though, Audi suggests middle class workers will only have the luxury of owning

the new electric Audi model once they have reached the afterlife; Audi’s cliché use of
pathos and logos leaves minor space for ethos to be visible, and creates a narrative fallacy

with the depiction of the afterlife. In addition, by way of Karl Marx’s theory of Marxism

through the classism concept, Audi’s “Cashew” commercial nudges the idea that middle

class workers will always have to work harder to achieve their dreams

B. SUMMARY OF MAIN-IDEAS: Despite the portrayal, dreams are obtainable

regardless of social or economic class. While a different approach would have been

beneficial for this argument, Audi wants its viewers and potential consumers to not give

up working towards their dreams. The goal of selling this next generation vehicle should

be to support the environment and advertise a more efficient way to drive, rather than

belittling people’s dreams based on social or professional rank.