The National Geographic Society website notes its mission of “inspiring people to care about the planet” through means of “natural and cultural conservation”. Few would disagree that the National Geographic Society (NGS) promotes agenda specific ideas of nature, culture and conservation, but not much thought has been lent the commercial advertisements, specifically car ads, that appear within National Geographic Magazine (NGM). What persuasive ideas of nature, culture, conservation and consumption can be found within NGM car advertisements? 

 

Given the conservation and nature-centric mission of NGM, and the concurrent rise of American car culture which has indelibly shaped our physical and cultural landscapes, it seems reasonable to examine the depictions of what one might classify as nature within the NGM ads.

The overarching research questions of this study are:

1. What stories about nature are created or depicted within the imagery and text of these car ads?

2. Are the nature stories, types of imagery and text within the ads constant, repetitive, consistently novel or era specific, over extended periods of time?

3. What roles and relationships are suggested for the car, its technology, the driver in relation to the nature that is portrayed within the ads?