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

PF_Flyer

I think the "real people, not actors" ads deserve a lifetime achievement award for annoying

PF_Flyer

Kind of surprised we haven't seen a rehash of the old Hertz ads

ab348

PF_Flyer said:

Kind of surprised we haven't seen a rehash of the old Hertz ads

Today they would do that with CGI effects, so it would just be like every Nissan commercial.

PF_Flyer

Like that Ford Edge commercial...

Mr_Shiftright

Has anyone seen an ad with hubby buying wifey a brand new $80K SUV for Valentine's Day? I haven't but I'm waiting for it.

Yeah, I thought the booster landings were very cool. One thing I didn't know---the Saturn V is actually quite a bit more powerful than the Falcon Heavy, but of course, she don't fly no more.

PF_Flyer

The Saturn V booster mock up at the United State Space Park at the '64 World's Fair was very impressive every time we visited

fintail

Now if Hertz had some nice 64 Impala convertibles in the fleet today, that would be something.

fintail

The BMW arguing with the ref spot is pretty awful.

berri

I saw the latest real people Chevy commercial. What I recall, "wow, wow, oh wow, wow". More "wow's" than an episode of House Hunters. They need to diversify the participants a bit. Add a 60's stoner "like wow man". There, I've fixed it

Mr_Shiftright

awesome

amazing

far out (for old hippies only)

no way

seriously?

omg (for old valley girls)

I"m not up on my rapperisms, so maybe you all can help there. I mean rappers are ordinary people, too, right?

berri

Sticking with "wow", how about:
Hollywood Hipster - Wow Baby
50's Greaser - Wow'sir
Excited couple - w-w-w-wow-ie

Rapper - I dunno, maybe something like F'n Wow Motha

Maybe GM can take this upscale and apply a little Shakespeare to an up level Buick or Cadillac -
It doth wow me

Just imagine what a few Madison Avenue types around a table could do with "wow" in an hour or so

imidazol97

The real people commercials are great.

The problem is that they are not on a rotate out cycle followed by a completely different type of ad. Them inn the more months bring a _different_ real people ad.

This repetition reminds me of the hou long judge judy program here that are sponsored by a catheter company or a certai,drug, and for ann hour we may see that commercial 20 times or more.

berri

Rapper - I got it:

Got me a look 'n takin' a bow
Give dat motha an f'n wow

berri

Ima - don't think GM would keep using those ad spots if feedback didn't show they were working. Repetition and a bit irritating can work. Think Mr. Whipple and "please don't squeeze the Charmin".

kyfdx

Just because they work, doesn't mean they aren't annoying.

imidazol97

@berrien
I hear your point.

We used to have an obnoxious car manager who did ridiculous commercials himself. Years later he is run,ing his own used car new car stores, and at first did similar commercials. But i note lately he is toning down the commercials and the number. Will post link if I can.

fintail

I think the biggest fan of Real People? Not! Actors ads is Zebra Corner. These spots are heavily mocked by the under-40 car enthusiast spot anyway. I'd be curious if the ads can be positively correlated to increased sales. I guess they say there's no such thing as bad publicity, but I don't know.

carnaught

Mr_Shiftright said:

awesome amazing far out (for old hippies only) no way seriously? omg (for old valley girls) I"m not up on my rapperisms, so maybe you all can help there. I mean rappers are ordinary people, too, right?

Also...shut-up

Mr_Shiftright

or "get outta town"

ab348

kyfdx said:

Just because they work, doesn't mean they aren't annoying.

Most commercials are to varying degrees. Repetition makes that even worse.

berri

But psychologically repetition grinds it into your mind.

fintail

The "Real People" spots have ground into my mind that GM likes to insult my intelligence now and then.

Mr_Shiftright

But intelligence doesn't sell products.

imidazol97

We suffered through a series of these for Jeff Schmitt auto group for years, maybe a decade. Steve VanGorder is the manager who does the ads. On TV all the time. Made the Real People commercials seem tame.
He now owns a used car group and has bought two new car stores.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_bRjLbECuFU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GyWbe0zfc5I
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JDMm3GuemaU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_bRjLbECuFU

If you let the last one keep running it goes through a series of Steve VanGorder commercials.
He was fired there. And after a couple years started his own auto group with similarly
noticeable commercials.

His latest commercials for his own group have tamed down considerably, now that he owns two GM stores.

berri

You ought to watch the old movie "Used Cars"

fintail

Irritating commercials, no surprise he sells Nissan and GM

ab348

I'd love to see a M-B dealer try that approach.

The nearest big city to us is Boston and we get their TV channels on cable. Don't see many of those kind of ads in that market. Ernie Boch used to do the "Come on down!" catchphrase before he went all hippie and disappeared from their ads, Herb Chambers used to do his own ads but never strayed into that as far as I recall, and the same with the people at Ira Toyota who did their own ads for a while.

fintail

Locally, MB dealers don't advertise much at all, and the ads that do exist are subtle. When my local dealer was family-owned instead of being in the AutoNation monopoly, it was even less. Of course, MB itself has their spots, especially around the holidays.

Cal Worthington probably had the most famous ads around here.

berri

When it comes to Santa Claus it is a Coke and riding in a MB, right

Mr_Shiftright

ab348 said:

I'd love to see a M-B dealer try that approach.

The nearest big city to us is Boston and we get their TV channels on cable. Don't see many of those kind of ads in that market. Ernie Boch used to do the "Come on down!" catchphrase before he went all hippie and disappeared from their ads, Herb Chambers used to do his own ads but never strayed into that as far as I recall, and the same with the people at Ira Toyota who did their own ads for a while.

That would be a pretty funny spoof, actually, trying to sell M-Bs like that.

"We got your A class, B class, C class...folks, we got your whole alphabet, right here (bang hand on hood). Bad credit? No credit? Are you legally dead? WE DON'T CARE (point to camera). Come for your best deal, right here at Autobahn Motors. And come for our special Saturday Benz Blowout--free bratwurst and balloons! See you there!

imidazol97

fintail said:

Irritating commercials, no surprise he sells Nissan and GM

Well, you left out Mazda and Mistubishi. LOL

He tried in current incarnation for a MB and Jaguar store, but they wouldn't allow him enough allotment so it would restrain his sales numbers. I'm waiting for him to buy a BMW store.

As for Hondas, their real windows slope too much.

Here is a link to the SVG (Steve Van Gorder) company and its commercials. Orange shirt means new job. Schmitt means the one from which he was let go.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A6adqKDDfUA

ab348

Shifty, that reminds me of Art Fern and the Teatime Movie ads that Carson used to do. A variation on your script:

"We got your A class, B class, C class...folks, we got your whole alphabet, right here (bang hand on hood). Bad credit? WE DON'T CARE! No credit? WE DON'T CARE! Are you legally dead? WE DON'T CARE! You don't pay? (point to camera) THEN WE CARE!! Come for your best deal, right here at Autobahn Motors. And come for our special Saturday Benz Blowout--free bratwurst and balloons! See you there!"

stickguy

there is a guy in Philly, I think he is (supposedly) a sales manager, doing ads like that for a Chevy dealer. Very hyper (to the "is he on Meth?" level almost), and he just yells out (while pointing at the camera) "you know me Philly, I just do the deal!" My wife hates the ads, and if I did decide to shop for a Chevy, that dealer would definitely not be the one I went to.

Mr_Shiftright

I can't imagine a car buyer in 2018 even going near these people.

roadburner

The Best Auto Dealer Ad Series.

berri

I got a kick out of those roadburner. I was kind of surprised it was an auto dealer group in Oregon though. But then the slogan is "keep Portland weird"

Michaell

One of the local MB dealers here in Denver has some pretty, um, interesting commercials.

Trying to portray the MB line as ready for every type of person, they have customers dressed up in different garb, looking at a particular model.

Folks dressed up as cowboys looking at a G-Class, yuppie types and an E-Class, etc.

fintail

That'd be a funny one, a stereotypes ad. Russian mafia G, trophy wife GLS/GLE , middle managers in E, old money in E wagons, upper managers in S, offshore money launderers and techbros in AMG, etc.

fintail

Trunk Monkey from Oregon, sounds right.

These are still probably the most famous local spots:

https://youtu.be/wcZ19GeK14Y

I remember back in the 90s, the local Hyundai and Kia dealers had some loud goofy ads, too. One was something like: Monday Tuesday Wednesday HYUNDAI!, there was a jingle around it.

Mr_Shiftright

I've heard chimps are 4X stronger than a man, but really, I had no idea about this....

tjc78

stickguy said:

there is a guy in Philly, I think he is (supposedly) a sales manager, doing ads like that for a Chevy dealer. Very hyper (to the "is he on Meth?" level almost), and he just yells out (while pointing at the camera) "you know me Philly, I just do the deal!" My wife hates the ads, and if I did decide to shop for a Chevy, that dealer would definitely not be the one I went to.

We’ve joked about him at work.... “ Just do the deal”. So annoying.

Michaell

fintail said:

That'd be a funny one, a stereotypes ad. Russian mafia G, trophy wife GLS/GLE , middle managers in E, old money in E wagons, upper managers in S, offshore money launderers and techbros in AMG, etc.

I was trying to find it on-line, but no luck.

I find it borderline cheesy - I think they're trying to position MB as a car for all, not just the wealthy.

fintail

Interesting, as that's how MB exists in Germany, well, a car for everyone who is maybe mature in age and tastes. For ages C and E class sedans have had the nickname "rentnertraum" - pensioner/senior citizen's dream. A and B class sell like hotcakes for those not wanting to buy a C or E. In much of Europe, it seems people grow into the brand.

Michaell said:

I was trying to find it on-line, but no luck.

I find it borderline cheesy - I think they're trying to position MB as a car for all, not just the wealthy.

thebean

I see from the latest Toyota commercials that "Jan" is "with child".  Hmmm, maybe that new Camry is exciting after all.  

tjc78

I always thought Jan was a direct rip off of Flo.

thebean

tjc78 said:

I always thought Jan was a direct rip off of Flo.

Oh my goodness.  You need your glasses changed NOW!!  

berri

No Kidding Bean

tmart

Amen! There's no comparison between Jan and Flo.

tjc78

thebean said:

tjc78 said:

I always thought Jan was a direct rip off of Flo.

Oh my goodness.  You need your glasses changed NOW!!  

The whole concept.... not necessarily the looks.  Jeez!!

ab348

Jan was always a bit too perky for my liking. I like Flo's personality much more.