Michelin Tire Company's Advertising Tactics

As one of the leading tire companies worldwide, Michelin Group prides itself on being a proven pioneer and leader in tire innovation. The company has a long history of offering solutions in terms of safety, fuel efficiency, and eco-friendliness of its products in the transportation industry. Michelin was created in 1863 and incorporated on 28 May 1889 by two brothers from France. Years ago, Michelin created one of the greatest slogans ever: “Because so much is riding on your tires.” The line sent a very clear message to parents.

Michelin Group is targeting a specific audience of parents of families and drivers as well. Even though Michelin can advertise to a broader audience, this ad is effective for reaching out to a large percentage of tire buyers and parents of younger children.
Tire companies utilize tactics that usually prey upon the fears of loss, injury, or death to loved ones or others. Before, Tire ads only sold the idea of catching flat tires and blowouts and very seldom advertised people being hurt or killed.

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Michelin Group was the first tire company that linked its products directly to the dangers of traveling by car. The target audience for these types of ads was generally men but they appeared in women’s magazines as well with the industry assumptions that men were the primary household decision-makers and buyers of this type of car component.
The advertisement I chose is also persuasive because Michelin wants consumers to believe that they make the best and safest tires, despite all other tire competitors.

I feel like this ad tries to influence consumers through their emotions and good-heartedness. They make us think about how our lives and our loved ones’ lives are completely dependent on Michelin tires and remind us of the constant dangers on the roadways. It’s also implying that the better your tires are, the better the chances you can make it home safely. While it still instills fear in possible consumers that if they shop with other tire brands, it’s a chance they may lose a loved one. Aristotle said “Of the modes of persuasion furnished by the spoken word there are three kinds. The first kind depends on the personal character of the speaker [ethos]; the second on putting the audience into a certain frame of mind [pathos]; the third on the proof, or apparent proof, provided by the words of the speech itself [logos]. Persuasion is achieved by the speaker's personal character when the speech is so spoken as to make us think him credible.'
The 1995 ad for Michelin Tires I chose contains ethos as well as appeals to both logos and pathos. I chose this particular Michelin ad because persuasion was used in several ways. This ad is meant to target an audience of parents, adult members within the family, and drivers who are the majority of people purchasing tires and their components. The Michelin company is showing how their brand of tires is safer and more dependable than other tire competitors by using the consumer’s emotional reaction to the baby inside one of their tires shown in the picture. The ad is trying to persuade the audience that if they purchase Michelin products, their children and loved ones will be safer on the roads. The visual rhetoric appeals to logos through a what-if something happens mindset and its brand credibility and pathos with a picture of a baby in a tire with the bold text “Michelin, because so much is riding on your tires”.
Michelin is one of the largest manufacturers of tires with manufacturing facilities in 18 countries and is being sold in over 170 countries across the world because of its excellent brand name, diversified portfolios with high shares in the market, a global presence with over 110,000 employees, a strong and competent R&D with a spirit of innovation along with a strong financial position within the market. This company uses pathos and logos to make its pitch to potential buyers. The picture of a baby plays on the emotions of its potential consumers, parents with young babies. It’s a pretty straightforward ad with meaning within itself. It’s somewhat basic and cashes efficient while using bold capital words with bold colors and a picture of a baby, that’s placed directly in the middle of the ad to center your eyes exactly where they want you to look and that is at the baby inside one of their tires. It displays the Michelin brand name, big and bold in capital blue, black, and white lettering and includes the trademark mascot Bibendum, which was created as Michelin’s logo in 1898.
The company is playing into the emotions of the audience, making them feel connected to the child. This image makes consumers think about the well-being and protection of their families and what it takes to fulfill that obligation. Without saying it in the ad, Michelin claims to make the safest, most reliable, and durable tires which come off as persuasive as well. They are trying to reach the audience emotionally through the attachment to the child. It is natural to want to preserve life and protect the young and innocent and most of its potential buyers have small children that they commute with daily.
This Michelin advertisement uses visual appeal such as colors, graphic images, and a good visual information structure in order to convince its consumers of the intended message. It has rhetoric appeal because it is playing with people’s emotions to hopefully affect people’s judgment. When I actually look at the ad, I get a warm and fuzzy feeling that the child is in good hands while riding on Michelin tires. Most parents are always concerned about their babies’ safety and well-being. The picture of babysitting inside a tire was used to appeal to the emotions of parents, conveying the pathos appeal. We all want our family and loved ones to be safe regardless of the situation so that is achieved with the picture of the baby who is alone and helpless. The baby in the ad grabs onto the tire to show that it’s holding on for comfort and safety which the tire claims it provides. This picture provokes heightened safety precautions and protection for drivers and their families while lessening danger.
I feel that the image of the baby is the most important aspect of this advertisement. The statement means what it says because we all know what’s so important that rides on our tires. One of a parent’s main goals in life is the safety of one’s child and if buying better and more expensive tires for their car requires that then so be it. Without this picture included in this ad, there would be no visual appeal or idea of what is riding on your tires. We are all aware that babies sell stuff. There is this popular idea that kids are just so cute and it is impossible to resist their emotional appeal. A lot of advertising companies recognize this and end up slapping cute baby faces on everything. Some of these ads work better than others, especially when there really isn’t any connection between their products and children. This ad, however, does a pretty good job of taking advantage of this powerful pathos tool and making the baby actually relevant to their product.
The text on the ad insinuates that Michelin tires are the best choice if we want to safely protect our children but it’s a scare tactic and pulls on heartstrings. The overall intention of this ad is to sell Michelin tires and products. Additionally, it suggests that by using their product, your loved ones will be safe and sound. The logic is that if you have bad or old tires on your car and it’s not Michelin brand, there’s a good chance of an accident while driving. This characteristic of rhetoric is highlighted by the statement in the advertisement. This ad is also able to show ethos because of the history and reputation of the company. Since consumers are aware of Michelin’s reputation, it makes them more trusting of the tires and easily convinced. If it had been any other tire competitor that people were not aware of or sure about, they would have a harder time trying to convince buyers. Highlighted by the name, Michelin, along with their logo potential customers will buy these tires because they feel safe and more connected with them than any other brand. It also shows that tires play a major role in the safety of drivers and occupants inside a vehicle and that using the wrong tires would cause an accident or worse
Conclusion
In conclusion, according to Aristotle, rhetoric is: 'the ability, in each particular case, to see the available means of persuasion.' He described the three main forms of rhetoric: Ethos, Logos, and Pathos. This particular ad uses all three rhetoric appeals described by Aristotle. Pathos is achieved from the emotions stirred up by the baby in the picture along with the intended message from the words. Logos uses the logic and reasoning behind the words with the company’s track record and longevity in the tire industry. Ethos is achieved by way of the Michelin logo, along with their reputation in making tires and accumulating over 10 billion dollars a year. Instead of boring ads, that talk about how great their tires are or how long they last, Michelin compels you to take notice by hitting on our deepest fears.
There is a lot riding on your tires: the safety of yourself, the passengers in the vehicle, and the other individuals on the road. This ad makes one think, what if there was something wrong with my tires and someone that I care about gets put into jeopardy? The first reaction ends up being to consider getting the tires on their vehicle checked or replaced completely? This is when the company will make its money. Therefore, the ad can be considered a success.