Today, most car brands tend to use communication strategies that could be interpreted as a subtle way to associate their models and image to the concept of sustainability in their adverts on YouTube. So, we analyzed 90 different adverts with the intention to see through the recurring patterns and identify them.

so, we decided to investigate some of the communication strategies that car brands adapt to make their models appear more “eco-friendly” in their video advertisements. More specifically, we analyzed 30 internal combustion engine (ICE), 30 hybrid electric (HE) and 30 battery electric (BE) models—for a total of 90 different vehicles—to see if they present them differently according to their propulsion.Firstly, we focused on the surrounding landscapes around the advertised models, which was then shifted to their overall narrative. At the same time, we also checked upon their descriptions to find out if the same rhetorical devices were used. Through these three research questions, we gained a deep understanding of the adverts we had collected, together with a series of curious and unexpected findings.