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Car Commercials, the good, the bad, and the annoying!

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  • lemkolemko Member Posts: 15,261
    ...from the late 70s and early 80s.
  • black_tulipblack_tulip Member Posts: 435
    Does anyone remember the Nissan Maxima commercials from sometime ago? They would do something crazy with the car and then an old Japanese guy(who was he?) would come out caressing a parrot or a sparrow? I thought it was kind of weird.
  • cyranno99cyranno99 Member Posts: 419
    To make a short answer long - here you go. The old guy is supposed to represent the "father" of the Z or something like that.. I thought it was interesting.
  • black_tulipblack_tulip Member Posts: 435
    Thanks. Now that I know who that old guy is, I am beginning to see the point behind those commercials.
  • cyranno99cyranno99 Member Posts: 419
    I keep seeing the one where the guy keeps driving back and forth between his place and his gf's. It's funny because it's true - as Homer Simpson would have said.
  • crkeehncrkeehn Member Posts: 513
    Forgive me if this has been covered, I don't normally watch tv so I am behind on the ads. I have just seen a series of ads for the Toyota Celica, that are based on how fast the car looks, even standing still. My two favorites? The old man that yells at the parked Celica for going too quickly in a residential neighborhood, and the dog chasing the Celica that runs into the back of it.
  • mattbratmattbrat Member Posts: 17
    Can someone explain the VolksWagen commercial, I don't get it. It features a guy driving to make a wedding, he finally gets to the chapel, but is obviously late for the wedding. The question I have...is he late for his friends wedding? or is he late for his own wedding and his bride ends up marrying someone else? I don't understand it and they never really explain it. I find this commercial intriguing because of its ambiguous "plot". The accompanying music is terrific too...does anyone know what the title is?
  • cyranno99cyranno99 Member Posts: 419
    Hmmm... sounds like a version of The Graduate... god bless you please, Mrs. Robinson....
    Maybe not... I don't recall that commercial
  • midnight_stangmidnight_stang Member Posts: 862
    anybody notice the dummies fighting for the driver seat(as the narrator says) are really on the passenger side?

    Dummies indeed...
  • odie6lodie6l Member Posts: 1,173
    It's not a true car commercial in the sense of things...but it was for a Local Monster Truck event and it started by showing a ford excursion and an announcer calmly saying "Even the biggest SUV has some problems going off road, I many cases our SUV have NO problem with anything onor off the road" Just as the guys says that the REALLY REALLY BIG bigfoot (the one with the 30ft high tires) crushes the Excursion flat as a pancake, The guy then says, "See what I mean" then goes into the whole deal about the monster truck show on SUNDAY SUNDAY SUNDAY

    Odie
  • jnmartinjnmartin Member Posts: 36
    but I loved the commercial - I think it was for the Echo - where a car full of people with jumbo coffee cups without lids are repeatedly saying, "dude" to get the driver's attention about upcoming railroad tracks. The "dude's" were in varying levels of panic as they approached closer and closer to the obvious hot coffee in lap situation, especially the front passenger who has his coffee and the drivers. Then they go over the tracks and when no one spills any coffee they all excitedly go "DUDE."

    May or may not have been the echo, but was definitely a small sedan.
  • dpwestlakedpwestlake Member Posts: 207
    That was the Ford Farcus.
  • jnmartinjnmartin Member Posts: 36
    I'm pretty sure it wasn't the focus. I seem to remember seeing the commercial after I became interested in the focus (I bought a ZX3) and noticed that they weren't the same car. It was either the Echo or a Civic. Again, fuzzy memory as they haven't played it any time recently, so you may be right.

    I probably thought it was funny as I am constantly getting made fun of for using "Dude."
  • ligartligart Member Posts: 109
    The coffee shop is located at Pier 28 in San Francisco ... that's the Bay Bridge in the background :-)

    http://www.adcritic.com/content/ford-focus-dude.html

    http://www.bestofthebay.com/1998/soma.html (scroll down to "Best Burger and Beer Combo")
  • cyranno99cyranno99 Member Posts: 419
    You're right - I've not seen that commercial in a while either.
  • ravvie4meravvie4me Member Posts: 110
    Those new Honda clearance "seize the moment" ads suck. Didn't they use that for last years clearance? Get a clue Honda!

    Even Toyota non-Celica commercials suck. Mostly the ones that feature that HBO guy Arliss (I can't stand that dumb secretary of his, "Annie" I think), Garfield (yes the cat) and Mr. Clean.

    The Celica commercials are cool, though, especially the one with the dog running into the back of a parked Celica w/action package. Hey, it looks fast!

    -RAVvie4me
  • a_l_hubcapsa_l_hubcaps Member Posts: 518
    I have a bunch of old car ads that I clipped from magazines in the '80s because I thought I would have a good time looking through them years later (I was right). Believe it or not, some of the most clever magazine ad slogans were used on what time has shown to be a rather questionable car: the Hyundai Excel. Some of the ones I have include:

    "For the price of the average new car, you can buy a Hyundai Excel...and a spare."

    "Can't put a price on happiness? Try $5195."

    "Most cars in our price range have around 50,000 miles on them."

    Of course, each of these is accompanied with an equally witty block of text. If only they had been used on a decent car. One other good one, for the Volvo 7-class, shows a 760GLE with a large truck sitting on top of it, and asks, "Does your car stand up to heavy traffic?"

    In terms of modern TV ads, I like the VW Newbeetle ads that explain the architectural value of the arch as a Newbeetle drives up and shows that its shape is the same. I believe "Round for a reason" is the accompanying slogan.

    -Andrew L
  • odie6lodie6l Member Posts: 1,173
    Here's a classic, but I don't know if it should be considered Good, Bad or Annoying. Long before Maaco there was EARL SCHEIB who could always paint a car for $99.95.

    Odie
  • eharri3eharri3 Member Posts: 640
    they'd remove the old paint and mask the windows and tires.
  • john_324john_324 Member Posts: 974
    "The ad finishes with Jason Alexander saying, "If you can find a better car, buy it!"... and Iacocca says "I couldn't have said it better myself."

    Yeah, didn't Iacocca say that about the K-car originally? :surprise:
  • cyranno99cyranno99 Member Posts: 419
    kinda funny - the "baby" in the ultrasound thought the parents were going to by a minivan, but the baby became happy when they mentioned the Odyssey.

    I don't care much for the recent Lincoln LS commercial. The older ones were better.
  • andre1969andre1969 Member Posts: 25,678
    ...where this family brought in a beat-up St. Regis that they were ashamed to even be seen with. Maaco was adverstising their "Ambassador" paint finish, or something like that, for around $149.99. Then they showed what was obviously another St. Regis, with the family all happy, smiling, and proud. They shoulda been sued for false advertising, because it would've taken A LOT more than $150 to get that car looking decent again!
  • cyranno99cyranno99 Member Posts: 419
    Uh-oh.. better get Maaco... hahaha - maybe those guys in the fanatic car care topic helped.
  • robertrrobertr Member Posts: 125
    driving a Jeep SUV with a log strapped to the roof and a boulder hanging by a rope from the front of the log. The moron then proceeds to collide with the boulder, smashing the front end of his Jeep. I know the commercial is actually for some other make of SUV claiming buying their SUV is smarter than buying a Jeep, but despite having seen it several times, I can never remember what brand X is. My take away from this is just to never buy a Jeep. You would think maybe DC could sue X over this?
  • seminole_kevseminole_kev Member Posts: 1,696
    I think that commercial is funny for poking fun at the whole "Jeep" image. And well, SUV owners in general as well.
  • jkidd2jkidd2 Member Posts: 218
    Your right, its for the Axiom. I think the commercial is hilarious. Its a spin on a Jeep commercial where the guy takes the rock and puts it in front of his Grand Cherokee to "get him through the week". The Jeep commercial is basically indicating that the guy will take it off road come the weekend. The Axiom commercial is basically saying, "Come on, you know your not gonna drive your SUV off road, so why by a Jeep?"
  • crkeehncrkeehn Member Posts: 513
    I just saw the ad which involves a (European?) car chase scene. The small Fiat like vehicle is driving wildly through the streets, knocking car mirrors off right and left. The pursued car comes up to a parked Solar, gingerly eases itself by the car and then takes off again.
  • cyranno99cyranno99 Member Posts: 419
    Oh yeah.. I think some Corolla commercial in Europe where they said a few things to the driver.. knee-slapping funny
  • one_loveone_love Member Posts: 28
    is really great! Nissan needs more like em based on other aspects of the car. Very clever ad indeed!
  • ajvdhajvdh Member Posts: 223
    Whenever you see a vehicle being put through its paces, there's always that little chunk of legalese at the bottom of the screen that reads "professional driver on a closed road, yadda yadda, don't do it, yadda, instant death, yadda yadda, void your warranty, yadda."

    Dedicated Speedvision viewers may have seen this commercial which has an interesting twist: A guy on a big BMW motorcycle (1150 GS?) with off-road tires bashing along a trail and through a stream, with the voice-over, "Some guys spend their Saturdays washing their bikes."

    The disclaimer text reads, "Experienced BMW rider shown. Knobby tires and sanity are optional."
  • tj_610tj_610 Member Posts: 132
    Seeing old Volvo wagons mentioned in another thread (the college guy looking for a $3500 car) reminded me of this really old ad, '70's or early '80's probably. Does anyone remember a Lambourghini Countach on a desert highway, pulling a small U-Haul up a slight incline? It gets passed by a Volvo wagon. No narration until the end, when someone says something like, "Get the picture?". As a teenager in love with the Countach at the time, I remember almost vomiting. Now, as a mid-thirties dad, I say, "Yeah Volvo, kick butt!!!
  • lancerfixerlancerfixer Member Posts: 1,284
    They had a print ad variation on that theme-- a photo of a Countach with a U-Haul trailer attached. There were two different captions for the same picture, in separate ads. They read something like "The basic idea behind the 740 Turbo Wagon" and "Until Lamborghini builds a wagon, this will have to do."
  • midnight_stangmidnight_stang Member Posts: 862
    Did anyone cover the commercial with a Chevy Tracker about to tow the Semi Trailer? If not, this one definately deserves to be called silly at the very least.

    Maaco can be OK, but you better remove all the trim yourself or suffer their haste. They sanded my father's classic '66 mustang rear chrome bumper. It's restored to factory orignal, and everything except carpet and paint it original. The paint looks great too, without any noticable imperfections, but the bumper was just plain ignorance.
  • black_tulipblack_tulip Member Posts: 435
    "Eurovan...there is nothing mini about it"
    Nice twist of words!
  • ripinrocketripinrocket Member Posts: 157
    ...for the L-series.

    Ever heard it?
  • odie6lodie6l Member Posts: 1,173
    Did you notice that in the commercial the tornado picks upa Ford Explorer, a Dodge Caravan, and some car and makes the Rendevous.

    Odie
  • ravvie4meravvie4me Member Posts: 110
    And that ad just happens to have Tiger Woods in it, doesn't it? Wouldn't be a "Buick--It's All Good" ad without him.

    BTW--I think that car that got sucked into the tornado was a Lexus ES300.

    -RAVvie4me
  • crossedrealitycrossedreality Member Posts: 72
    Those Buick commercials aren't really bad, when you think of some of their others.

    What I'm waiting for, patiently, is to hear a Rendezvous owner to call their car a 'Ren-Dez-Vous' while I'm present. I think I'll die laughing.
  • dlgooddlgood Member Posts: 2
    Andre Mentioned the Ourisman Chevy Jingle. Here in DC we've gotten a bunch of dippy local adds:

    Ted Britt Ford, where he breaks out each of his 800 kids to go through the lot and models. I had friends that went to Jefferson with them, and they hated those kids.
  • crossedrealitycrossedreality Member Posts: 72
    Local commercials are always worse than national ones. The 'scream as loud as you can!' commercials from the 80s just came back into style here. Makes me very, very sad. :*(
  • ravvie4meravvie4me Member Posts: 110
    An ad where the Saab 9-5 some kind of an award, the people in the ad from Sweden not bragging about it, sharing the effort, so to speak. While in the USA, the people can be heard going "SAAB! SAAB! We are the best! We are the best!!! Whoo, whoo, whoo!!!" Then the voice-over goes, "In Sweden, it's not polite to brag. But we're not in Sweden. The Saab 9-5."
    One of the stupidest ads, radio or television, I have ever witnessed*.

    -RAVvie4me

    *excludes any recent Acura ads or Honda clearance (Seize the moment) spots.
  • andre1969andre1969 Member Posts: 25,678
    ...wouldn't the ad be a bit more realistic if the tornado just sucked up an Aztek and ripped all the plastic junk off of it? Maybe Pontiac can use something like that when they introduce their restyled Aztek. Have a tornado suck up a current model, rip all the crap off, and then have it spit out something beautiful (if that's possible!)

    You'd think that they would've at least used GM vehicles in their commercial. As it stands, that commercial is basically sending me the message the folks at Buick think Ford makes a better SUV, Chrysler makes a better minivan, and Lexus makes a better luxury car!
  • pjyoungpjyoung Member Posts: 885
    I don't know how new this one is, but I laughed at it after seeing it this weekend. This guy is watching a game show on TV and it's stormy outside. They give the contestant a choice of a ne VW or an island vacation. The guy watching TV keeps chanting "Pick the Volkswagen, Pick the Volkswagen". The contestant says "I think I'm going to go with fun in the sun. The guy watching TV says "Idiot". The camera pans back to show that it's a bartender watching TV in the bar, and he turns to see the contestant is sitting at the bar.
  • hood54hood54 Member Posts: 12
    The Fram oil filter commercials are a hoot. The guy comes in from changing his oil and leaves oily handprints all over the house. The oily sandwich is gross, but the rest are funny.
  • logic1logic1 Member Posts: 2,433
    There is a new spot for the VW Passat Wagon where an owner is being harrassed by a would be personal injury fraud after she bumped into his car while parking on a crowded city street. So VW is telling me if buy their car I can expect to be defendant in a frivolous lawsuit?
  • dlgooddlgood Member Posts: 2
    Yeah, it lacks the certain beauty of:

    "Hi, I'm Joe Isuzu. And this is my brother, the Pope"
    (He's lying.)
  • tj_610tj_610 Member Posts: 132
    No, they're trying to say that it makes you look wealthier than you are. Completely in line with their efforts to take on M-B both here and in Germany. I actually chuckled at that ad. "I'm no internist, but I think I'm having some internal bleeding here!"
  • robertrrobertr Member Posts: 125
    Just saw a commercial for a Subaru WRX for the first time. Great commercial! A WRX is being really driven hard on a challenging road and the driver is shown upshifting and downshifting the manual transmission as appropriate while negotiating the road. What really makes it great are the engine sounds as it is wound out, then upshifted, etc. and downshifted for the corners. Quite a contrast to those awful commercials for a few other cars that make a point of showing the driver "shifting" the automatic transmission.
  • ravvie4meravvie4me Member Posts: 110
    "Quite a contrast to those awful commercials for a few other cars that make a point of showing the driver "shifting" the automatic transmission."

    You mean like the current Acura (CL-S and TL-S) ads, showing the driver bumping the shifter up and down in his Tiptronic (sorry, don't know Honda's term for it) transmission?

    I agree those ads suck. I have been complaining about them forever now!
  • ravvie4meravvie4me Member Posts: 110
    "Quite a contrast to those awful commercials for a few other cars that make a point of showing the driver "shifting" the automatic transmission."

    You mean like the current Acura (CL-S and TL-S) ads, showing the driver bumping the shifter up and down in his Tiptronic (sorry, don't know Honda's term for it) transmission?

    I agree those ads suck. I have been complaining about them forever now!

    -RAVvie4me
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