Toyota and Social Responsibility

Corporate social responsibility has received much publicity the past half decade due to increased public interest in corporate world. Different experts claim the recession, multi-million dollar executive bonuses, the green movement, and global outreach encourage society to more closely analyze how large corporations "do their part" in the world.

Sonja Foss proposes a critical method called rhetorical schema. Schema is used to identify and evaluate an artifact's function. Function seemingly serves a collaborative role between purpose and effect, and sums up the action an image communicates. Using the schema, I hope to answer how the above Toyota Prius commercial functions as an example of corporate social responsibility.

A primary function to establish Toyota's reputation of environmental responsibility seems evident. Toyota vehicles claim and are commonly known for fuel efficiency and comfortable space, two things the commercial states via narrator. The commercial directly states another function:  "harmony between man, nature, and machine." The use of pleasant music and colorful animation promotes happy feelings among viewers as they watch the Prius travel down a winding road. We see various elements of nature - flowers, grass, and waterfalls - come to life as a sun rises in the background. All elements of nature, except for the city, sky, and road, are composed of people costumed accordingly to match that certain element. 

I think the visual elements communicate the identified functions effectively. The people acting as nature's elements position human life in direct correlation with its environment, and the Prius serves as a vehicle (literally) that maintains the harmony between the two. The bright colors, pleasant background music, and smiling faces of nature encourage viewers to think of the Prius' objective as maintaining harmony between the vehicles we drive and the environment our vehicles affect. The Prius gives "you more power, and more space." Therefore, "the world gets fewer smog forming emissions."

To summarize the two previous paragraphs, I think the commercial's functions are to a) establish both Toyota's credibility as a socially and environmentally responsible corporation, and b) more clearly define the relationship, as the commercial states, between man, nature, and machine. I judge the ethical foundation of Toyota's, specifically the Prius', functions as sound. Toyota has continuously worked to produce safe, comfortable vehicles that are eco-friendly. While the price of a Toyota Prius is subjective to opinion, Toyota maintains a positive reputation concerning vehicle life and quality, apart from brake issues two years ago. Coming from an environmentally conscious perspective, I appreciate the company's sensitivity to nature in manufacturing vehicles that do less harm to nature.