Chevy Suburban in January 2002 National Geographic magazine

Chevy Suburban in January 2002 National Geographic magazine

A Caucasian family on a camping and canoeing trip in a sepia-toned anonymous landscape trying to "get away from it all" just like their forebears did as indicated with the historical looking inset photo.

This advertisement features a family on an outing where they will go canoeing or kayaking and camping. The sepia-toned image actually intimates an arid and desertified and landscape rather than one with enough water to paddle in. The larger image is the focal point as a reference to present day (of 2002"), it takes up 3/4 of the two-page spread. But English readers read from left to right, so the smaller image inset on the lower left side is what viewers see first. It is a type of subliminal message that draws a parallel of an american tradition of recreational camping and sporting to "get away from it all". Of course there is a reference to Chevy as a an enduring American brand car, that makes it an American tradition in itself. This ad is not so much about the nature but the expression of the american cultural traditions of camping and Chevy's support of it. Even the logo noting Chevy's financial support of the USA Olympic team further highlights it's American-ness. The landscape is merely punctuation for the potential use of shiny new equipment. This place is anywhere-nowhere USA.

National Geographic magazine

National Geographic Society

January 2002

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Print advertisement

print advertisement: glossy paper

Full two-page ad in National Geographic magazine