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CARFAX
A Negative Ad Campaign with a Positive
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Outcome
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4/28/2014

Kyle Cassidy

Page 1 of 15

Kyle Cassidy
Persuasive Communication Theory
Prof. Bruce
April 2, 2014
CARFAX: A Negative Ad Campaign with a Positive Outcome
Throughout this paper I propose to study the CARFAX ad campaign and how its running
a negative ad campaign with a positive outcome. I plan to describe the persuasive messages of
CARFAX, why CARFAX persuasion is significant, and why it deserves attention. I will plan to
elaborate on what persuasive theories that CARFAX implements and other examples of these
theories. Lastly, I plan to evaluate how well CARFAX accomplishes these persuasive objects and
if I deem them ethical or hold any negative effects.
CARFAX is a service that provides historical information about used cars, similar to a car
fingerprint or credit history. For $35 or less, you can enter the VIN (vehicle identification
number) of a used car and get a report about its ownership, accident history, mileage, lemon
status, water damage and many other things the dealer might not want you to know. It's also
listed on a car's title, inspections records and insurance policies. All 50 state DMVs and many in
Canada (more than 34,000) provide records to CARFAX. Information is also gathered from
collision-repair centers, insurance companies, rental companies, fire departments, law
enforcement agencies, dealerships, import/export companies, auction houses and state
inspection stations
(carfax.com).

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CARFAX also makes several disclaimers (carfax.com):

"However, we do not have all accidents as many have never been reported, or may only have
been reported to a source to which CARFAX does not have access. We recommend that any car
be inspected by a qualified mechanic prior to purchase to make sure the vehicle is functioning
properly and check for signs of unreported damage."
"CARFAX does not have the complete history of every vehicle. A CARFAX Vehicle History Report
is based only on information supplied to CARFAX. Other information about the vehicle,
including problems, may not have been reported to CARFAX. Use a Vehicle History Report as
one important tool, along with a vehicle inspection and test drive, to make a better decision
about a used car."
If a salesperson at a car dealership is giving you the runaround about obtaining the
CARFAX history report, you may consider moving to another dealer until you find a one who
freely offers the information. Only the reputable dealers provide CARFAX history reports,
according to the frequently advertised commercials. For higher-end used cars, many car
manufacturers have certified pre-owned programs that utilize CARFAX to guarantee the car
has no wrecks or problems in its history. This free service, will tell you if the car youre about to
buy was ever declared a lemon, meaning it was serviced for the same problem 3 times and
bought back from the owner by the manufacturer. To many used car consumers, this quality
assurance is very important.

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CARFAX, from a persuasive standpoint, deserves a lot of attention due to its interesting two-
step process. First, CARFAX encourages consumers to demand car dealership that they "prove
the used car they are purchasing is quality and the dealer is reputable by showing them the
endorsement from CARFAX reports. Second, In order to provide reports for these demanding
consumers dealers must subscribe to CARFAXs $3000 per month cost. If a consumer comes
into your car dealership and asks you to show them the CARFAX, and the dealer does not
subscribe or cant provide, it makes them look disreputable. This has created something similar
to an industry standard for used car purchasing. Dealers should not be forced to hire a
company that charges more than its competitors, spends millions on advertising that damages
the reputation of the dealer body, and sells data that is subject to serious errors/omissions
(Alicandri, 2013).
As a college student and with a perspective audience of students, buying a car is a big
decision. Especially if youre buying a used car, you never know what you might be getting
yourself into. I argue that buying a used car while in college is the correct long term option for
students. College can be a very expensive investment with tuition, books, rent and other costs
that compete for your cash. Transportation is another expense most students have to pay for
and have a reliable and flexible car can make or break your wallet. How are students or anyone
else for that matter supposed to know about that fender bender'. The teenage driver comes
home with the family car and the right front quarter is smashed. Trees don't call the police and
concrete walls don't report to CARFAX. Their insurance rates are ALREADY high enough, so they
get this one fixed out of pocket. Very likely, there will be NO CARFAX ENTRY on this repair, even
though it could be THOUSANDS of dollars worse than MILLIONS of other accidents that DID

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become accidents of record' with CARFAX (Bledsoe, 2014). Depending how informed one is
about the car buying experience, it can drastically make a difference on how much they pay for
the used car. Being aware of the persuasion methods could save someone a few thousand
dollars.
The first four years of CARFAX did not even scratch the surface of the audience they have
now. It was not until they implemented both the car fox and the call to action by just asking,
show me the CARFAX. This was defined as the largest increase in success and consumer
requests for CARFAX reports. This led CARFAX to understand that if they modeled the behavior
of consumers requesting CARFAX reports, then the dealers would be forced to subscribe to be
able to provide the reputable information. The Show Me the CARFAX campaign
demonstrates for consumers what to say and do to put themselves on an equal playing field
with the dealers. This made consumers feel more comfortable with the process, and whatever
makes one comfortable normally gets implemented. CARFAX believed that by showing
consumers requesting CARFAX reports and the lengths to which dealers would go to avoid
providing it to them, then it might resonate with consumers and they would connect with the
CARFAX brand, and hopefully take action. This umbrella-like concept was the basis of their
persuasive technique.
The CARFAX Car fox is also another persuading method that most people tend to overlook.
Similar to the Geico gecko the Car fox is part of a focused brand image. Consistency is the key to
shaping peoples perceptions and getting your messages to stick, and sticking CARFAX to a car
fox is a no brainer. Often times, people recognize is a campaigns logo, colors, and in this case

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the mascot. Foxes are also viewed as cunning, crafty, sly, competitive and with excellent
persuasion skills. Not only do I feel this ties in perfectly to both the class and the topic, but it
shows the power of having a company mascot. Advertisers use mascots for a number of
reasons. For example, mascots are a cheap and easy way to establish rapport and trust among
consumers in a creative, sustainable and cost efficient way. Celebrities, once their contract with
the ad company is over may up and leave but the mascot will remain loyal to the company
through the thick and thin of economy. One of the most important qualities of the mascot is
that it is an anthropomorphized depiction of a campaign representative to which the target
audience can relate. It assumes the identity of a fellow community member and often
demonstrates the new behavior itself. It gives people a tangible, approachable embodiment of
the flagship species, fostering the same kind of concern and emotional attachment members of
the audience would have for a fellow human being.(Butler, Green, Galvin, 2013) Researchers
suggest that consumers remember the mascots, associate them easily with the brands and
identify with the mascots positively. Kids love mascots because of their charming or funny faces
and idolize them, which also pushes them to do what kids do best and remind their parents
about the mascot, thus reaffirming the brand to the parent. Designing the CAR FOX was no
small feat. Zimmerman Advertising turned to the Legacy Effects studio, the minds behind
the special effects in Ironman, Predator, and Avatar, to help get the job done.
The main theory I will be using to analyze CARFAX and its persuasive methods is the Theory
of Reasoned Action (TRA). This theory is all about attitudes and intentions on behavior. TRA
basically assumes that people are rational when it comes to making decisions and make use of
available information. TRA believes that the intentions are the best guide to behavior, but

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intentions can be broken down into components. The first is the attitude toward the behavior
and the second is the beliefs about the outcome.
CARFAX used TRA to pull out the already existing distrust in car dealers and dealerships.
There has always been a negative depiction of how a car dealer is to trying to make you pay the
most amount of money for a car that isnt worth as much, so they can make a higher
commission. This deception has never gone well with us consumers; this is where CARFAX
comes in. Since TRA assumes that people are
rational when it comes to making decisions and
make use of available information, then why not
make that information available for free as soon
as you find the used car you have been looking
for. TRA believes that the intentions are the best
CARFAX ADS

guide to behavior, but intentions can be broken

down into components seen in figure 1. Normally
the behavioral intention leads the consumer to

Figure 1

except the dealerships offer/word and move on to the behavior of purchasing the car. Instead,
CARFAX reassures the consumer that they can help protect them against what the dealer does
not tell them. CARFAX reminds the consumer via advertisements that they are rational, smart
shoppers and that if they want to continue to be that way, then why wouldnt they ask to see
the free CARFAX report when it comes time to choose the car of their liking. Any rational
person would want to take advantage of all the available resources before making a big
purchase like buying a used car. Especially when CARFAX makes the odds seem against the

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consumer. Not only to they have dealers trying to take their hard earned money, but they
would have a higher chance of getting a previously damaged vehicle or lemon that the car
dealership is just trying to get rid of as fast as possible.
This idea of using the available information to the advantage of the user in TRA can also
apply in the benefit of the dealership. Most dealerships dont use CARFAX in this manner, but
should know that consumers are well aware of the system. What the car salesman or
dealership can do is eat the growing cost of CARFAX dealership program and run a CARFAX
report on all of the used cars on their lot, and any additional incoming/ new cars. Once dealer
has done this and weeded out the used cars that do not pass the CARFAX report they are
ready to persuade the consumer on a whole new level. Once the consumer finds the car they
like (which has already been checked by dealers subscription to CARFAX) and ask to see the
CARFAX, the car salesman can say, Lets go see how the CARFAX report turns out knowingly
that it passed. At this point the salesman can sit down, look up the report, and provide the
positive outcome that both parties want. Now, the salesman has got them right where he
wants them and can raise the price because he just satisfied every need for the consumer.
He/she provided the used car of the consumers choice, the positive CARFAX report the
consumer asked for and hopefully an asking price that benefits the salesmans increasing
commission. This is a persuasive technique that gets overlooked by many used car dealerships
than can be utilized to their full potential.
Along with TRA, I will be analyzing negative expertise, negative esteem, positive
altercasting, and justifying. Negative expertise states that one will be negatively affected if

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he/she does not comply with request, which in this case is to show me the CARFAX. CARFAX
has a whole line of commercials depicting consumers having all kinds of issues with their cars
after they purchase them from the used car dealers. Negative expertise makes CARFAX look like
the expert on used car information and the used car dealer the bad guy with none of the
answers. This is why they want you to almost bypass the dealer entirely and just ask them to
show me the CARFAX. CARFAX goes a step further in many of their newer commercials
depicting that they know how to help consumers achieve goals and avoid disasters. To avoid
the negative reaction of purchasing from the used car dealer we much look to the hero, or in
other words CARFAX report services. People are easily persuaded by something they think is
negative or harmful which is exactly how CARFAX shows dealers in their commercials. The put
the idea in the consumers head that in order to think effectively, we must "know" a good deal
about what not to think otherwise, consumers think the worst of the situation.
Negative esteem is when you tell a person that not complying will hurt their self-esteem.
This is a feeling you might get if you find out about CARFAX after you bought your lemon
wishing you would have used it prior, thus hurting ones self esteem. This study by Neel Das,
Results from the study indicate that a differential regret experience is reflected when regret is
measured from the decision-making process, however, the same is not revealed when regret is
measured from the product. (Das, Joffe, 2012)CARFAX frequently has ads showing the car fox
saving consumers from purchasing a damaged car and looking dumb, thus saving their esteem
from dropping. In this way, CARFAX attempts to raise the self-esteem of consumers by giving
them a safe option they can believe in. Going into a dealership knowing one will get an accurate
CARFAX report already heightens the esteem of the consumer. In this study, it shows people

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who have lower self-esteem are more likely to buy into the advertisements they see that aim to
fix their issue. Participants who had low body esteem were sensitive to receiving different
amounts of comparison information (i.e., ad only or product trial only vs. both ad and product
trial) when making product evaluations, while those with high body esteem evaluated the
product equally favorably regardless of the amount of comparison information presented.
(Dahl, 2011) This makes the CARFAX ads even more believable by the low esteem consumers
thus having a greater impact on them asking to see the CARFAX report upon purchasing a used
car.
Positive altercasting implies that only smart/admirable people get the best deals on cars,
and the best deals on cars are on CARFAX. I looked deeper into this theory because I recently
saw a story on discovery channel describing how humans have a natural tendency to not want
to look stupid or ignorant. Once consumers see a CARFAX advertisement, know the service is
freely available, and know how to properly ask for the dealer to show me the CARFAX, they
would be almost dumb not to. I think CARFAX subliminally says this to consumers through their
commercials. Of course they arent going to come out and say, Your ignorant if you dont
double check our CARFAX before you purchase your used car but it seems to definitely be
implied when I watch them. I mean, why wouldnt you? Its free! CARFAX use of positive
altercasting also promotes a good feeling within the person who is watching the commercial. It
makes the consumer feel like they can do the right thing or be a smart person by complying.
Being able to tell a car dealer to show me the CARFAX promotes a sense of power and
positive feelings within the consumer thus helping the call to action actually happen.

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Last but not least, justifying implies that if you dont comply negative things will happen. I
relate this to CARFAX justifying the non-compliance of used car consumers to the outcome of
getting a junk car from dealers. One of the worst things that CARFAX claims can happen to a
consumer is to receive a lemon upon purchasing a used car. A lemon is a defective car that
usually has multiple severe issues. When you buy a new car from a dealer and it is deemed a
lemon after your purchase you can normally make the claim and either receives a replacement
from either the manufacturer or the dealer. This is not the case when purchasing a used car.
Once the money has been accepted, there is normally no going back. This is where the fear sets
in and CARFAX deems itself as the proclaimed savior. CARFAX justifies using its service by
protecting consumers from lemons and other malfunctions that arent apparent upon
purchasing the used car.
Are the advertising methods used by CARFAX ethical? In my opinion, yes. They are the exact
same techniques used by thousands of other businesses around the globe. The only part of
their ads that could be considered misleading or un-ethical is their depiction of car dealers and
car dealerships. There's a simple reason for this misleading effect. It only works because a used
car is normally purchased by a consumer with much insecurity. Most people spend months
researching what kind of used car to buy and CARFAX represents, to them, what they would
consider valuable information about the car's actual repair record. The un-ethical portion gets
taken out because most products are purchased new and even if they are bought used, the cost
simply isn't that much compared to the cost of a car. To consumers, CARFAX is just preventing
them from being ripped off for literally thousands of dollars. The pain threshold for a smaller
purchase just isn't there. This is why I feel the CARFAX campaign is completely ethical and

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follows in the footsteps of many other successful companies. If for some reason CARFAX was
worried about the ethicalness of their company, I would suggest these four things to clean up
their commercials to a more ethical standard:
1. CARFAX should discontinue any televised commercials that portray car dealers as
untrustworthy or dishonest. CARFAX should stop any advertising that states that their
reports are free. (Unless accompanied by a statement indicating the reports are free
from a participating dealer this applies online as well).
One very large misconception is that CARFAX reports are free for the consumer. This is
largely untrue. Dealers pay CARFAX for the reports, and in turn, dealers provides these
reports to consumers. The dealer is very aware of the cost they incur from the CARFAX
report and of course try to work that into the overall cost of the vehicle. I believe that
CARFAXs promotion of free reports is negative towards dealers that dont use CARFAX
for vehicle history reports (VHRs) because the consumer is led to believe that the dealer
is hiding something since the reports are free. Thus, its my opinion, that CARFAX
uses its market power in an attempt to force dealers to use their service. Dealers feel
blackmailed into paying CARFAX a premium for VHRs in order to prevent the
appearance to consumers of having something to hide.
2. CARFAX should provide full disclosure to dealers explaining what they are doing with
dealer DMS data.

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They could possibly make this into a yearly CARFAX update; letting dealers know the
additional tactics they have been implementing to improve their Car facts. A blog
could also serve this purpose.
3. CARFAX should re-examine their used car pricing tools to verify they are not harmful to
dealers and actually complementary.
Too many of the CARFAX commercials depict the car dealers and dealerships as people
trying to sell you junk and take your hard earned cash. If CARFAX actually showed the
process of how they worked with the dealers to better the purchasing experience for
used car consumers, there might be a larger profit margin for both parties. The
dealerships could make more off each car sale, and CARFAX could increase their costs
for the free advertisements. The only issue with this is that CARFAX has such a strong
market power that they dont believe that they need to be on the side of the car
dealers. In many cases if the majority of the dealerships cars dont show the green
check of approval from CARFAX, then the consumers wont even consider purchasing a
car there.
4. CARFAX should adopt a uniform and transparent pricing policy for participating dealers.
CARFAX freely raises their prices, and car dealerships pay it. In a way, they have to
because they dont want to not look credible, nor do they want customers coming in
and asking to see the CARFAX and they have to explain why they no longer carry
CARFAX. This is the power of true market security in knowing that you can raise your

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prices at will and dealers will still pay it to keep the trust on their side. This isnt as
much of an ethical issue in my mind as it is a business issue for dealerships.
Overall, CARFAX runs a very persuasive ad campaign that grasps the trust of used car
consumers. The people CARFAX persuades are not the people who buy their product, so the
buyer of their product is not the target of their marketing. This is the overall complexity of the
campaign. If the marketers of CARFAX can persuade group A (used car consumers) to
pressure group B (used car dealers) to buy CARFAX, when doing so is often not in the best
interests of Group B. This allows CARFAX to persuade two parties by only needing to spend
money on persuading one. I think this idea is genius and related to persuasion class in every
way.







Work cited

Page 14 of 15

Alicandri, Jeremy. "Opinion: CARFAX's Policies." Dealership Innovation Guide.

N.p., 29 Jan. 2013. Web. 26 Apr. 2014.
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Difference?" Persuasion Strategies for Litigators and Negotiators : What's

the Difference? N.p., 2013. Web. 24 Apr. 2014.

<http://repositories.lib.utexas.edu/handle/2152/23529?show=full>.
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<http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=6NAZAgAAQBAJ&oi=fnd

&pg=PT2&dq=carfax+report+justifying+&ots=vPh6HM83K_&sig=9Ko_9k0

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Maxwell, John. "Persuasive or Manipulative?" Persuasive or Manipulative? N.p.,

n.d. Web. 10 Mar. 2014.

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