Rhetoric. The persuasive techniques used in this commercial are initially Pathos, or the attempt to evoke emotion in the audience, but eventually it incorporates Logos, when it describes the longevity statistics of the vehicle featured in the ad after the audience has been 'softened' by the initial pathos.
Overall message. The item being advertised is the Subaru Impreza, a family-wagon type vehicle described as a crossover, typically purchased by young couples who are dealing with a growing family. The commercial is set in the suburbs; the initial setup shot is in the home of a typical nuclear family with a mom, a dad, a young boy about nine and a puppy. The home is well furnished and moderately expensive. The parents are young - no more than thirty at the outset, and appear to be caring. As the commercial begins we see a young boy moving his belongings to the back of a car - a Subaru Impreza, it turns out. It is not initially clear if the family is going to move, or if the child is going to visit a relative or attend a summer camp. He is accompanied by an awkward puppy named Moll, probably short for Molly. Moll follows him back and forth as he takes things from his room to the car, pulling on his stuff as puppies tend to do. His parents are being helpful, but say almost nothing throughout the entire commercial. At one point his mother, looking at a picture of the family, asks him if he wants to take it with him. He replies "No, why don't you keep it". His dad asks if he needs help, and he replies that his is OK. As the last load it put in, the child hugs his mom around the waist, and the entire scene changes except for the car, which remains as it was - immaculate. The child is now a young man moving out, the dog is an old dog with gray around its muzzle, dad is showing gray in his closely trimmed beard and mom looks like she is beginning to show some age as well. Dad wears a green shirt the whole time, but it is a tight t-shirt in the beginning, and a looser polo shirt at the end. Production: The overarching cultural code they are attempting to reinforce is the concept of security, not just financially but emotionally and physically. By carefully selecting the family as a stable nuclear family set in a comfortable dwelling, they portray a feeling of emotional and financial security. By showing the Impreza as unchanged over the span of years, they imply the durability and strength of their product. At the end, when they describe the longevity of the Impreza, they reinforce the sense of security being passed along to the child as an inheritance, if you will.
Distribution. The commercial was shown from 8 pm to 9 pm, during an episode of NCIS. NCIS appeals to young adult watchers (although I also enjoy it, obviously). By picking that time slot, they are getting young parents and imminent empty-nesters after dinner while their children are doing homework before bed. This makes the parents vulnerable to suggestion - they sat down in front of the TV to absorb, and there is the commercial telling them how to protect their kids, how quickly the kids grow up and how little time we have to enjoy that childhood.
Persuasive techniques. Most of the shots are from a third-party perspective or possibly from the parent's perspective. Initial camera shots are low, from a puppy or child's point of view, but at the end, it is not only higher, but higher than anyone's point of view, except perhaps from an omniscient viewpoint (God?). By using continuity of appearance, they strongly imply durability. By stating that the Impreza is the longest lasting car in its class, they say it outright. The aural techniques of tone and pace are used in this in an odd sort of whipsaw technique. The use of a childlike musical instrument (ukelele) to provide the musical backgound suggests a light, carefree attitude to the whole process. However, the rapid strumming and the frequent changes of scene suggest a sort of underlying urgency that time is getting away. This provides a sort of tension that eats away at the sense of security suggested by the commercial.
Reflection. Honestly, I love and hate this commercial all at once. I love it for the strong sense of family it projects, the important values of loving someone enough while there is still time and giving them your best. However, I hate it for the manipulative use of images, sounds and ruthless use of pathos to make me feel the way they want me to feel, even though I do not actually have any children. I think that learning about the use of these techniques to evaluate advertising will restore some of the power we have over ourselves and our emotions/decisions. However it is a lot like having the Wizard of Oz exposed by Toto: the illusion cannot be restored once shattered. It is important to understand how we are being manipulated, but we must be careful how we represent that, to show simply that others want us to do what they want by making us want it too. It is not necessarily malicious, just selfish.