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

fintail

The front is much better:

roadburner

ab348 said:

Whenever I see one of these I think there is a rubber filler piece that has come loose from under the taillight.

My wife made a similar comment when she saw one. I told her that it was a design that only the "Bold" could appreciate.
Another styling "feature" that I find odd is how the tail lamps on the Kia Stinger morph into the side marker lights. To me it looks unfinished.

qbrozen

fintail said:

The front is much better:

Is that like how getting punched in the face is "much better" than getting a bat to the face?

fintail

Or like how getting salmonella poisoning is better than getting the plague.

A local Kia dealer has a spot proudly proclaiming "no second sticker, no markups!" or some such blather (this isn't the one who laughably tried for a 10K ADM on Stingers at launch, then had to walk that back and then some). Really, your dealership is that honest? It has nothing to do with Kias not having the hype/demand demand (few cars do) to justify an ADM? Sounds great.

qbrozen said:

Is that like how getting punched in the face is "much better" than getting a bat to the face?

berri

Saw a Toyota ad during the football game last night basically talking about how good the new Toyota's look. I wonder if that was filmed in one of the legalized marijuana states

tmart

Saw two new dog commercials from Suby last night. Both were funny.

Michaell

tmart said:

Saw two new dog commercials from Suby last night. Both were funny.

One of them being the car wash spot? That one makes me chuckle, too. 

Mr_Shiftright

Michaell said:

tmart said:

Saw two new dog commercials from Suby last night. Both were funny.

One of them being the car wash spot? That one makes me chuckle, too. 

The Subaru Ascent is a big hit, apparently.

berri

I think Subaru has a very loyal customer base.

Mr_Shiftright

They do, but I'm surprised they are springing for a pretty pricey 3-row SUV that isn't, far as I've noticed, particularly luxurious by any stretch, nor (I've read) not particularly exciting to drive--although it is pleasant to drive. I think it is the only SUV on the market with a "rear differential temperature warning light" however. Not that a dog would care.

Well, maybe they would: "Hey, it's getting hot back here!"

ab348

Logic is not something that I generally associate with a lot of Subaru owners TBH. Members here excepted of course.

Michaell

ab348 said:

Logic is not something that I generally associate with a lot of Subaru owners TBH. Members here excepted of course.

Glad you tacked on that disclaimer.

Cuz I'd have tripled your dues otherwise.

Subaru is practically the state car in Colorado. As much as we like ours, I'm not 100% certain we'd buy another.

berri

They don't want it too comfortable Shifty, its part of the allure.

ab348

berri said:

They don't want it too comfortable Shifty, its part of the allure.

I think they offer a "hairshirt" seat upholstery option.

Mr_Shiftright

I suspect they do. Maybe even a complete Image Package #1, with dog, roof pod and flannel shirt.

Mr_Shiftright

I met a client last week who had a lovely E-Type Jaguar I was assessing for him, and I noticed a Jeep Rubicon in the adjacent garage. It had a winch, collapsible tow bar, light guards, gas can holder, knobbies, bright red tow hooks. I asked him if he goes off-roading much with it.

He said: "Nah, I'm a poseur"

I really like people who say things like this.

fintail

90% of drivers of decked out Jeeps in the Seattle area fit into that. They are the bro trucks of the urban PNW.

Mr_Shiftright

Maybe that's what keeps the resale value so high.

Can you imagine this juxtaposition: "For sale. John Deera E170 lawn tractor, with all accessories. Never seen rain, never on grass. Pristine. First in show at Seattle Lawn and Garden Expo, 2017"

berri

Anyone seen the latest Camry commercial where the actor tells the director that the Camry is too good looking to crash it? I dunno, I can't get past all those extra pieces of plastic on the front end to even tell how it looks

stickguy

Christmas must be coming. the holiday car ads are out in full force. At least there are a couple of new ones this year. Similar theme of course.

Mr_Shiftright

"This year, get her something special---a 2019 Lexus LS 500......(cut to Christmas Day shot, car in driveway with red bow around it)......Oh, honey! (hugs him).

stickguy

there is a GMC ad running often now. usual super fancy house and too young couple. But this one, the guy not only gets a big SUV for the wife, he also gets a top line PU for himself. Big twist though (spoiler alert!) the wife grabs the Denali for herself, sticking the husband with a Yukon.

Probably what, $125,000 combined MSRP?

roadburner

Mr_Shiftright said:

"This year, get her something special---a 2019 Lexus LS 500......(cut to Christmas Day shot, car in driveway with red bow around it)......Oh, honey! (hugs him).

If I bought my wife a Lexus LS she'd probably file a mental inquest petition against me...

Mr_Shiftright

A midlife non-crisis.

fintail

The incessant parade of cheap lease screamer ads on Detroit TV is amusing. Many are even plainly stated to only be for employees.

Can't wait for the Lexus and similar ads featuring a 30-something couple and their 7 figure house, yep, normal people.

stickguy

Not just Lexus. GMC is upping the ante on that one too.

fintail

Had the TV on in the background, heard exaggerated engine revving noises - yep, just as I suspected, BMW.

Mr_Shiftright

Maybe 5% of them will ever touch the redline on the tachometer.

fintail

Did we lose some data?

I don't usually read Jalopnik, I scanned the headlines today and found this goodie:

One of the most beloved commercials yanked

berri

Well, the latest Toyota ad I saw will give them a rose

andres3

fintail said:

Did we lose some data?

I don't usually read Jalopnik, I scanned the headlines today and found this goodie:

One of the most beloved commercials yanked

That commercial got a lot of sneers and laughs and giggles, but not in the way GM intended. Scoffs too!

stickguy

I saw it 2 or 3 times yesterday.

tjc78

stickguy said:

I saw it 2 or 3 times yesterday.

I just saw it too five minutes ago watching the news. Looks like the storm is a bust for us! 

stickguy

lots of rain. I was supposed to be going to NY today for a big birthday party tonight but they postponed it because of the storm. N. Jersey still supposed to get snow tonight before it switches to rain, right in the middle of it.

better than upstate. My son is looking at 1-2 feet of snow/ice, then negative temps overnight sunday. That should be less than fun

ab348

I just saw an Aston Martin TV commercial for what I think is the first time, on CBS. TB12 (Tom Brady) was the spokesman. Very understated ad.

kyfdx

Must be a Canadian thing..

roadburner

Every time I think that the Chevrolet "Real People" spots can't get any more inane, along comes another one that surpasses its predecessor. The one with the nitwits picking out a Chevy SUV is a real howler- driving a Traverse makes you a "cool dad"?
I guess they don't drug test participants...

ab348

Can't be any worse than the Acura ad I just saw, using Motörhead's cover of Sympathy for the Devil to try to sell a RDX. I mean, really, a metalhead CUV?

fintail

Zebra corner has a new parody, the one Chevy yanked, I think. It is also a howler.

I think a lot of CUV people think of themselves as brave adventurous types rather than cubicle-dwelling suburban drones (I'm one too), making a boring product exciting is a fundamental of marketing.

berri

,,,then the Stabilitrak cr*ps out and the Traverse is on the side of the road - that's adventurous

bhill2

ab348 said:

Can't be any worse than the Acura ad I just saw, using Motörhead's cover of Sympathy for the Devil to try to sell a RDX. I mean, really, a metalhead CUV?

Yeah, that one even offended my wife. Of course, she loves the song (as do I).

EScott

stickguy said:

there is a GMC ad running often now. usual super fancy house and too young couple. But this one, the guy not only gets a big SUV for the wife, he also gets a top line PU for himself. Big twist though (spoiler alert!) the wife grabs the Denali for herself, sticking the husband with a Yukon.

Probably what, $125,000 combined MSRP?

This seems like a must-watch kinda commercial! Will I find it on youtube? I usually don't watch a lot of tv.

ab348

I watched Daytona yesterday and Chevy ran a few different commercials for the new Silverado (the one that looks a lot like the old Silverado). As I watched them I was thinking "These aren't going to sell very many trucks". There were a couple of Lego themed ones which were cute but silly, and then one that must have been produced specifically for the NASCAR fan base, using " A Little Bit Country, a Little Bit Rock 'n Roll" as a theme, which was awful.

imidazol97

Commercials have to be analyzed thinking about what the purpose may be. Is the commercial trying to sell the truck or simply make people aware. The one where the wife ends up taking away the vehicle the (weak) husband thought he bought for himself is to grab the attention of the feminist movement gals who might show they are dominant in the household. I suspect there are many households here where two vehicles are an SUV and pickup or two pickups.

I think the Country/Rock & Roll ad is to grab attention from both types of music lovers, who may represent different age groups.

I want to comment too that ads are intended to be different or grate a little bit as a way of making it memorable. Not "memorable" as in "great commercial" but memorable as in people think about it and remember it. Seeing as how the "actors, not real people" ads got people talking about them, I think they served their purpose.

We've had car dealers who advertise in awful advertisements but get remembered when it's time to go shop. Same for a local carpet store guy hawking carpets. Even when he left the ad business, his replacement acts and appears to be similar in the ads for the company.

ab348

Making irritatingly bad ads is not something taught in most marketing programs as a way to sell your product.

The only good thing I took from the "Country/Rock and Roll" ad was that at least they didn't use the Donny and Marie song in it. I have no idea what the Lego ones were trying to do.

fintail

Any Chevy ad that isn't "real people" is welcome.

Mr_Shiftright

I like the one that starts here at 3:47. The others vary in quality IMO.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p33PkLnYyxs

fintail

RAV4 ad tonight claimed the vehicle is "street savvy". I rolled my eyes so hard they almost fell out of my head.

fintail

In a single ad this morning, I learned the Corolla is "stylish", Camry "dynamic", and Avalon "exhilirating" (or was it "exciting"). That fine line between laughable hyperbole and false advertising.

ab348

But are they still grounded to the ground? This is vital stuff.