Using Wilderness to Sell Cars

In the Weeds

Since the 1990s, we’ve been seeing the same kind of commercials: sweeping vistas of the American wilderness, forests and clear streams, rocky ledges, perhaps a dusting of snow. And, cutting through the landscape, a jeep or an SUV. No other cars in sight.

Such a vision would seem to be fraught with contractions. For starters, this is not how most of us experience driving. Where we experience roads and traffic, SUV ads give us off-roading in beautiful country, using nature to sell technology. And, yet, these ads are clearly effective.

I discuss these fantasies of wilderness used to sell us cars with Christopher Schaberg, Dorothy Harrell Brown Distinguished Professor of English at Loyola University New Orleans, who has written several books on airports and air travel and who wrote a Master’s thesis relating SUV ads to American nature writing.

We look at the history of car advertising in the U.S. and the evolving role of nature (or, rather, Nature) in relation to the car. What do these commercials tell us about the enduring role of wilderness as a symbol of American history and patriotism? What do they tell us about how we feel about cars these days and how the car manufacturers want us to feel about cars?
A few notes. The Baobab Car is actually by Arnauld Laval and Jaqueline Held, not to be confused with Timothy's Dream Book by Pierre Le-Tan.
Here's the Joe Biden commercial we talk about; the "tiger under the hood" commercial from 1965; the Toyota Rav 4 commercial, "Chase the Unknown"; Ford Bronco's "Built Wild"; Lincoln Aviator's "Warm Escape" commercial with Matthew McConaughey; and the Jeep Wrangler 4xe commercial, "Pale Blue Dot."