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

Michaell

qbrozen said:

I gotta stop on the way home tonight.

I'm heading out later today for the card. Trying to get flowers delivered. Thought about dinner tomorrow night, but making a last minute reservation is difficult. May shoot for Friday, as that neatly splits V-Day and the wife's birthday next week.

stickguy

thankfully, we have a tradition (started when the kids were little) of having V day dinner at home. Even use the formal dining room (only day of the year other than at Thanksgiving). do the table up nice, candles, and her home maybe meatballs and sauce with Spaghetti. Way better (and cheaper and easier!) than eating out.

Mr_Shiftright

PF_Flyer said:

Mr_Shiftright said:

Obviously an ad written by a young bachelor.

A young bachelor on his way to becoming an old bachelor

Indeed, if he doesn't spring for chocolates or flowers, he'll die alone somewhere in a rented room....maybe in Cleveland even....

Yeah, I know, that was cold.....

sda

Mr_Shiftright said:

PF_Flyer said:

Mr_Shiftright said:

Obviously an ad written by a young bachelor.

A young bachelor on his way to becoming an old bachelor

Indeed, if he doesn't spring for chocolates or flowers, he'll die alone somewhere in a rented room....maybe in Cleveland even....

Yeah, I know, that was cold.....

Ouch!

fintail

I saw this pandering bleeding heart emotional Subaru ad last night:

https://youtu.be/dU0jkP2cSV8

Noteworthy for the house in the ad being Arnie's house from "Christine". His strict parents must have moved on after the incident.

berri

I think it was Subaru that used another little blonde kid a bit back in an ad where he drove the car on errands (at least in his dreams) and decided driving was too stressful. Maybe it is the same kid a few years later?

imidazol97

sda said:

Mr_Shiftright said:

PF_Flyer said:

Mr_Shiftright said:

Obviously an ad written by a young bachelor.

A young bachelor on his way to becoming an old bachelor

Indeed, if he doesn't spring for chocolates or flowers, he'll die alone somewhere in a rented room....maybe in Cleveland even....

Yeah, I know, that was cold.....

Ouch!

And what is so negative about "Cleveland"? LOL
Ohio resident...

stickguy

Subaru has done a few of those ads where the dog grows up and gets old. Gets to me every time.

Mr_Shiftright

Just as easy target---I have no idea what I'm talking about!

stickguy

not sure if other areas get this, but in Philly market, Ford has been running a series of commercials featuring Kim, the "Internet matchmaker". Somewhat silly, and a bit annoying. But (and this gets my wife to roll her eyes at me), I am bothered because after the first couple, they switched actresses. That is not a big deal, but they kept the name and found one that looked quite similar (skinny with short hair), and dressed her in the same clothes. Just bugs me for some reason that they tried to "trick" viewers, instead of introducing a new person.

And yes, I do need to get a life.

Michaell

stickguy said:

not sure if other areas get this, but in Philly market, Ford has been running a series of commercials featuring Kim, the "Internet matchmaker". Somewhat silly, and a bit annoying. But (and this gets my wife to roll her eyes at me), I am bothered because after the first couple, they switched actresses. That is not a big deal, but they kept the name and found one that looked quite similar (skinny with short hair), and dressed her in the same clothes. Just bugs me for some reason that they tried to "trick" viewers, instead of introducing a new person.

And yes, I do need to get a life.

Were you annoyed when they switched Darins on Bewitched? This seems like that.

stickguy

a bit before my time! But that was different. Kind of have to keep the same character, and they didn't try to get a look alike. In an ad, they could have had a different name!

kyfdx

Michaell said:

stickguy said:

not sure if other areas get this, but in Philly market, Ford has been running a series of commercials featuring Kim, the "Internet matchmaker". Somewhat silly, and a bit annoying. But (and this gets my wife to roll her eyes at me), I am bothered because after the first couple, they switched actresses. That is not a big deal, but they kept the name and found one that looked quite similar (skinny with short hair), and dressed her in the same clothes. Just bugs me for some reason that they tried to "trick" viewers, instead of introducing a new person.

And yes, I do need to get a life.

Were you annoyed when they switched Darins on Bewitched? This seems like that.

I hated the new Darrin. Plus, didn't seem right that they chose another actor named Dick.

berri

The old Darrin was way better. The new one had a nastiness to him.

thebean

berri said:

The old Darrin was way better. The new one had a nastiness to him.

With this discussion, I think we have reached a new low.  

Mr_Shiftright

stickguy said:

not sure if other areas get this, but in Philly market, Ford has been running a series of commercials featuring Kim, the "Internet matchmaker". Somewhat silly, and a bit annoying. But (and this gets my wife to roll her eyes at me), I am bothered because after the first couple, they switched actresses. That is not a big deal, but they kept the name and found one that looked quite similar (skinny with short hair), and dressed her in the same clothes. Just bugs me for some reason that they tried to "trick" viewers, instead of introducing a new person.

And yes, I do need to get a life.

what?!! Where's the outrage? And what have they done with the real Kim? This is ugly....

berri

With this discussion, I think we have reached a new low.

Better call Dr. Bombay, or at least Uncle Arthur for some comic relief

Back to topic, is there even a single really decent car ad out there these days? Nothing really grabs my attention. But then, I don't watch all that much TV anymore and over the years have kind of learned how to zone much of it out when they do come on.

fintail

Nope. Too much emotional stuff and dopey bearded millennial guys. It's pretty bad when the goofy Drivetime "Nope Yup" ad with the old Mitsu van is a highlight for me.

Mr_Shiftright

The Dodge Demon ads are pretty nuts.

ab348

The Alfa Giulia ads are sort of old-school car ad and pretty good. Too bad the car is likely to be a nightmare to own.

stickguy

I still like the Subaru dog ads. They get to me.

fintail

This now-classic is 20 years old this year:

https://youtu.be/ZlhLrzgDlx0

fintail

This is about 15 years old now, I think - about as emotional as I would want in an ad:

https://youtu.be/ee5zZ8OlH30

fintail

Yet another parody of "Real People, Not! Actors" series. This concept is just begging for it:

https://youtu.be/zSBsq6HBBzw

fintail

Yet another parody of the beloved Chevy commercial theme - be warned, it is a little coarse. And well-deserved due to the heinousness of these ads. Will they ever end?

ab348

The ads themselves are bad, but the parodies are worse.

fintail

I don't think anything is worse than the "Real People? Not! Actors" series. I'd take Mr. Opportunity, Trumpian Toyota claims, or local Hyunkia screamer ads all day over these.

The sense of humor isn't for everyone (and in 2017 some still flip out over mild profanity), but judging by the views and comments of the parodies vs the actual ads, people are speaking.

kyfdx

I love the parodies. They are running out of things to make fun of, though. The first few were funnier than this one.

ab348

The problem with the new parody is what @kyfdx said. Unable to come up with anything to be humorous about, they simply resort to nastiness.

qbrozen

I laughed at the initial quality one

fintail

I thought the nastiness was just some of that snarky sarcastic Bahston chahm

fintail

Finally, in Canada, I have seen screamer ads touting weekly lease payments. I've been waiting for this. The "bi-weekly" come-on ad has been around for awhile, now they have kicked it up a bit. Up next, daily payments!

ab348

I think the reason you see those weekly payment ads up here is because leases seem to be ridiculously expensive compared to the US market. The Equinox example that was discussed here a few days ago never happens here, where all leases, regardless of make/model, seem to be $400/month or more.

fintail

Come to think of it, I don't recall any normal lease ads on TV, and don't recall any specific offers at the auto show - but I do recall seeing more than one 96 month financing term.

berri

Don't sweat it up there; just think of it as some kind of French thing. Wait, better not say that in the western providences

fintail

Looks like Chevy is in "hear no evil" mode.

fintail

This atrocious spot, or variants thereof, has been airing a lot lately:

https://youtu.be/D7zHGWOC36U

Sorry, a hipster in skinny jeans and a manbun calling something a "bad mamma jamma" doesn't give it cred.

I know some easily offended types may be irked when Youtuber "Zebra Corner" mocks the "real people" ads, but this is begging for it. Terrible campaign deserving of every piece of ridicule it receives.

roadburner

GM knows those ads are horrific but stubbornly sticks with them...

ab348

fintail said:

I know some easily offended types may be irked when Youtuber "Zebra Corner" mocks the "real people" ads, but this is begging for it. Terrible campaign deserving of every piece of ridicule it receives.

I'm not easily offended. I just found Zebra Corner's last attempt to mock them rather crude and somewhat profane. Any attempt at wit and humor seemed to have disappeared.

I agree that the ads are cringeworthy.

tjc78

Those ads are bad, but I prefer them to the Honda "Mr opportunity" or the Lexus Christmas ads with the giant red bows.  

You wanna get a good chuckle , look up the mid 80s Ford ads or the same era "Cadillac style" ads.  

fintail

That's just the Bahston Chaahm! It's a notably profane and rough place, and these are profane and crude times, maybe more so in the past year than ever. This is apparently what the world is coming to

I can't wait to see the newest ad. Manbun Equinox guy will be hard to beat.

On a commercial communication related note, I received a flyer yesterday from a Cadillac dealer - closer inspection shows it from a Cadillac dealer from a notoriously screamer high volume outfit in Idaho, with special deals (but not so great) on 2016 models. They seem to be roughly 15-20% off MSRP, which IMO is too high for a prior year model in late May of the following year.

ab348 said:

I'm not easily offended. I just found Zebra Corner's last attempt to mock them rather crude and somewhat profane. Any attempt at wit and humor seemed to have disappeared.

I agree that the ads are cringeworthy.

ab348

tjc78 said:

You wanna get a good chuckle , look up the mid 80s Ford ads or the same era "Cadillac style" ads.  

I loved the late '80s Cadillac Style ads. Great song.

https://youtu.be/EapVbOvpCjM

https://youtu.be/S3Ha_sFNsqc

Mr_Shiftright

Man, they threw every conceivable "lifestyle of the rich and famous" cipher in there---we got your private jet, your polo matches, your Italian speedboat, your square-jawed hard-chargin' exec, your icy blonde...it's all there except for a car that works.

thebean

Mr_Shiftright said:

Man, they threw every conceivable "lifestyle of the rich and famous" cipher in there---we got your private jet, your polo matches, your Italian speedboat, your square-jawed hard-chargin' exec, your icy blonde...it's all there except for a car that works.

Who needs a good car when you've got a great commercial?  

Mr_Shiftright

I think I read somewhere where an Allante owner married her tow truck driver.....or maybe I made that up.

fintail

"Cadillac Style" was a pretty good jingle, sticks in my head 30 years later, even if some of the "style" wasn't the greatest. Others of the era - "Heartbeat of America", "Have You Driven a Ford Lately?", "This Is Not Your Father's Oldsmobile" - when I was a kid, I'd always chime in "yeah, it's your grandfather's" to the latter.

I can't think of any foreign car jingles from the same era other than "I Love What You Do For Me - Toyota!". The Germans never had more than a brief slogan.

tjc78

The 85-86 Ford Taurus commercials crack me up too.. "TaurUS.... for us"

ab348

The longer Cadillac Style ad video linked just captures the end of the '80s so well with the people shown in terms of style and image. Music was very '80s too with the sax solo.

Besides, who wouldn't want a hot blonde in an evening dress on the roof of your Fleetwood sedan?

fintail

I remember being a kid in those times. My aspirational cars were mostly MBs and Porsches. I've always thought the Allante was nice looking though, although the dashboard isn't to my liking.

stickguy

ab348 said:

The longer Cadillac Style ad video linked just captures the end of the '80s so well with the people shown in terms of style and image. Music was very '80s too with the sax solo.

Besides, who wouldn't want a hot blonde in an evening dress on the roof of your Fleetwood sedan?

Me. leads to dents and scratches!