Transformation Project

For my transformation project, I chose to remix a Toyota Corolla ad that tells the story of a young woman named Stephanie Powell. (National Geographic, October, 2010)  The ad shows photos of a woman (who we can assume is “Stephanie”), her dog, and parts of her car.  Also included is a brief note describing her experience with Toyota to the reader.  There is nothing about this story that is particularly extraordinary, but the way it was written really grabbed my attention. The language that is used is extremely casual and conversational; “At twenty-six I kind of woke up and was like, ‘all right, time to go.’”; “It was like, I don’t know, I made it.  Like, I’m an adult.’”  I’m not saying that people don’t talk that way in day-to-day conversations.  As a matter a fact, I know I talk that way from time to time.  What put me off is this is an advertisement in a magazine that is read by millions of people, not a text exchange between friends.  I have no idea who this Stephanie person is; for all I know she could have been traveling to LA to pursue a degree in psychology.  I think the ad is trying to celebrate the new life she has made for herself; however, it’s almost as though the advertisers don’t want you to give her too much credit for the big step that she’s taken. When I remixed the image, I wanted to make Stephanie seem a little more intelligent and independent than the way she was originally introduced to us.  I changed the language of the note just slightly, removing “kind of” and every superfluous “like”.  Instead of driving to California with her dad, she drove out with an unidentified friend.  I wanted her to be travelling with someone who was her equal.  The sentences, “It’s my first brand new car that I bought on my own.  It was like, I don’t know, I made it.  Like, I’m an adult” were changed to “It’s my first brand new car.  It feels like I made it on my own”; this way, we don’t know if anyone ever helped her to purchase her previous cars, or if she even had a car before.  She’s making a proud statement and doesn't sound like an airhead. I also decided to change the random picture of the woman’s smile to a photo of a woman sitting confidently in the driver’s seat.  I find that there are not many car ads that actually depict a female driver, so I thought it was important to show “Stephanie” driving the new car that she purchased.

-Jamie