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

PF_Flyer

Was a local car dealer's radio ad, but I got a chuckle out of, "let us put you in a car for less than most people's cell phone plan"

OK...

Mr_Shiftright

Oh, Harry's Hard-Run Hooptie Sales---I've heard that one

tjc78

PF_Flyer said:

Was a local car dealer's radio ad, but I got a chuckle out of, "let us put you in a car for less than most people's cell phone plan"

OK...

My cell phone bill is more monthly than my Elantra's lease... so is my Cable TV bill. Sad, yes

fintail

BMW dealer in the area is observing its 50th anniversary and has a commercial with a 2002, pretty cool.

Another local multi-brand dealer is still running a spot ending with "Give me [name of dealer] til I die", which is an awful slogan.

Mr_Shiftright

Never use the word "die" in a car commercial.

berri

So die-hard would be the same, but uglier ???

fintail

In my sparse TV watching, I notice the "real people" themed ads seem to be gone. Maybe someone finally got the hint?

imidazol97

I wish they'd get rid of pretending the Accord is a race car with it morphing from a race car into an accord with their race driver shown in the scene.

fintail

IIRC there was a dumb racing-themed Camry ad a couple years back, too.

stickguy

Well, camrys do race in NASCAR.

fintail

Well, Toyota-engineered chassis with a Camry-labeled composite shell race in NASCAR.

ab348

Remember, Camrys are grounded to the ground, so they make good race cars.

tmart

The “real people” are still alive and unfortunately well. Maybe Drogon will visit them!

thebean

imidazol97 said:

I wish they'd get rid of pretending the Accord is a race car with it morphing from a race car into an accord with their race driver shown in the scene.

Honda provides engines for both Indy Car and Formula One, and Civics have raced successfully in the British Touring Car series for many years. If Chevy had done the same thing with one of their cars, you would not have an issue with it. Nor would I, since Corvettes race very successfully in IMSA and they provide engines for Indy Car and NASCAR.

imidazol97

thebean said:

If Chevy had done the same thing with one of their cars, you would not have an issue with it.

If they were peddling Corvettes or Camaros, likely not: those are racing associated in my mind. But peddling a sedan using racing,that was based on the Civic platform according to the stories leading its showing, I take umbrage with.

Perhaps a BMW or Audi might get away with using a transformer race car into an up level chassis of one of those...

We've suffered all the folks complaining about certain GM topics in the ads about real people's responses, so I'm allowed to have my opinion of some of these other brands. It reminds me of the art appreciation class at BSU taught by Dr Goldman about how things should look like what they are. His examples were hula lamps and lava lamps, instead of their being just lamps.

fintail

I don't think the "Real People" ads can be mocked enough. Those aren't lambasted because they are GM/Chevy, they are mocked because they are on a dumb premise and almost insult the viewer. The internet had a field day, just as it did with dumb Camry commercials.

imidazol97

fintail said:

I don't think the "Real People" ads can be mocked enough. Those aren't lambasted because they are GM/Chevy, they are mocked because they are on a dumb premise and almost insult the viewer. The internet had a field day, just as it did with dumb Camry commercials.

I think some were better than others. I must have a different value system. Instead of seeing a race car driver or a spokeswoman wander through the Camry showroom pointing out how fast their cars are selling and I better hurry in to sit down in one I want and slam the door quickly to make it mine, I think the idea that people who might be like me were I in varying demographics who might want a car see a car and like it as a good power of suggestion tool.

We just disagree. I like the ones where they flip over cards showing what kind of vehicle they traded in for their Chevy...

berri

I say they all are BS because the actors or participants are likely paid (whether cash or product discounts) to appear and speak the script. Does anyone really think "reality" TV is really spontaneous either? It costs too much to film to allow delays and mess ups that require additional filming or crew overtime pay. In advertising or TV production, time really is money.

fintail

No doubt that Camry ad is a lame premise, as that racing Camry has even less in common with a real Camry than a 2020 Supra has with a 1993 Supra.

I recall the "Camry people" (or similar) spots were widely mocked, a theme which featured random apparent Camry owners and made them look like dorks - one family with all of the kids driving Camrys was especially mockable (and I am saying this while my mom drives a Camry that I greenlighted). I remember a Scion ad late in the brand's run was mocked at pandering to youth a little too hard. Brand wasn't behind it, lame advertising made it happen.

"Real people" was even worse though, as it made people who appeared to be wowed by Chevy look like morons. Do you want to be like those "real people"? Maybe the only upside is that a lot of money was made by creative types (who could probably do better than GM's ad agency) from Youtube parodies.

imidazol97 said:

I think some were better than others. I must have a different value system. Instead of seeing a race car driver or a spokeswoman wander through the Camry showroom pointing out how fast their cars are selling and I better hurry in to sit down in one I want and slam the door quickly to make it mine, I think the idea that people who might be like me were I in varying demographics who might want a car see a car and like it as a good power of suggestion tool.

We just disagree. I like the ones where they flip over cards showing what kind of vehicle they traded in for their Chevy...

andres3

Trust is one of the 4 commandments of being able to make a sale to someone, and frankly, there's a few auto making companies that don't have any in my book.

fintail

Mahk is back (warning, sensitive ears shouldn't click)

I swear, GM keeps funding these ads just to keep Mahk employed.

ab348

Some of you may remember the infamous Mitsubishi seat dancing commerical from about 15 years ago:

https://youtu.be/onLAHbl7pxk

Well, it appears Hyundai Canada thought it was a good idea as they are doing an updated version of it for their Elantra:

https://youtu.be/Gs05VkxgZZ4

I like the Mitsu one better.

fintail

Definitely going after the under-30 consumer base there.

PF_Flyer

My daughters ( both drive a stick) got a kick out of the VW “Naw, it’s a stick shift.” commercial

andres3

https://youtu.be/g8gw8B939Eo

600 reasons to buy this Family Wagon next year!

Michaell

andres3 said:

https://youtu.be/g8gw8B939Eo

600 reasons to buy this Family Wagon next year!

Nah - wait 3 years and get it for 50 cents on the dollar.

PF_Flyer

The "truck makes the trailer invisible" commercial is annoying since it's the camera (that I assume you buy) that you put on the trailer that lets you see behind the trailer.

fintail

Hey, at least "real people" seems to be on hiatus, maybe finally ran its course?

Michaell

fintail said:

Hey, at least "real people" seems to be on hiatus, maybe finally ran its course?

Didn't you hear? UAW is striking GM; it's costing them between $40M-90M a day.

Probably cutting back on the marketing budget in response.

fintail

If that's true, the UAW deserves some applause

Michaell said:

Didn't you hear? UAW is striking GM; it's costing them between $40M-90M a day.

Probably cutting back on the marketing budget in response.

Michaell

fintail said:

If that's true, the UAW deserves some applause

Michaell said:

Didn't you hear? UAW is striking GM; it's costing them between $40M-90M a day.

Probably cutting back on the marketing budget in response.

Fair point.

Hey, they screwed together that rental you had for the last week. My cousin's husband works at the Arlington, TX plant where that's done. Though, I wonder if he's picketing.

fintail

I noticed no build/assembly quality issues in the rig, even with 10K rental miles on it. Those oft-lamented workers put it together fine. Some less than first class materials, but it goes with the territory.

Michaell said:

Fair point.

Hey, they screwed together that rental you had for the last week. My cousin's husband works at the Arlington, TX plant where that's done. Though, I wonder if he's picketing.

fintail

Now here's a commercial (found it posted on another site):

https://youtu.be/SVBPCy0hk-I

Music perfectly suits the cars and the year, looks like some good lease deals, and I've always liked the 79 Eldo. Cadillac fever!

stickguy

interesting. 14 and 20 month leases. Some people around here would be interested in them! But I noticed in the fine print, it included a non-refundable $1,500 too.

fintail

Must have been some decent resale value then. I assume the Eldo was at least 15K in those more valuable dollars. I don't know about that dark red (?) on white, but silvery blue on white, I could handle.

Here's Luba hawking some used cars:

https://youtu.be/iT5Z80AD0Z4

I like her a lot more than "real people" for sure.

ab348

That second Potamkin ad echoes the longtime belief held within GM that the best alternative to a cheaper/smaller car was a 2-3 year-old GM product instead. I guess the term "pre-owned" hadn't come into play then as a substitute for the more gauche "used".

I've posted this before but I still maintain this was the best Cadillac ad ever made. I wonder how coked-up the platinum blonde on the roof of that black car was.

https://youtu.be/-IG9EsoFCm4

fintail

Great jingle, too bad about most of the cars it represented. IIRC there were numerous shorter variants of the ad as well. I like how they got the Cimmaron in there, and how the Allante passes the SL, right.

I recall this ad debuted when I was in grade school. The parents of a kid in my class had a late model Eldo, and he'd braggingly sing the tune, which probably didn't impress many. 9:10 chance he drives a 4 series coupe today.

tjc78

That ad and the Taurus for us ads always stick in my head from the 80's.

berri

So, I keep seeing business articles on how Buick is reducing the Buick name label on vehicles, while at the same time its TV spots focus on "that's not my Buick". Isn't that contradictory?

ab348

That strikes me as similar to what GM did with Oldsmobile in the late '90s. They felt the name was a liability among younger potential buyers so when the Intrigue was introduced it didn't say Oldsmobile on it anywhere for the first year except for, I believe, the radio. Dumb move and we all know how that ended.

sda

Q

ab348 said:

That strikes me as similar to what GM did with Oldsmobile in the late '90s. They felt the name was a liability among younger potential buyers so when the Intrigue was introduced it didn't say Oldsmobile on it anywhere for the first year except for, I believe, the radio. Dumb move and we all know how that ended.

It did say Oldsmobile on the right tail light. It was raised script located on the clear lens back up light. You really had to look for it. My 2000 still had Oldsmobile scripted in the tail light as well as a small font Oldsmobile emblem stuck on the trunk lid.

fintail

This is not your father's Oldsmobile!

(it's your grandfather's) - I'd snarkily retort that back in the day, as my grandma drove an Olds.

berri

Reputations can sink quickly when mishandled - sad ending to a once good nameplate.

tjc78

With the market at the time there really wasn't any room for Olds in the lineup (same with Pontiac). GM's market share had been declining and really just didn't need up to 5 versions of one car.

Heck at one point they had 6 versions of the Trailblazer

Chevy Trailblazer
Buick Rainer
Olds Bravada
Izuzu Ascender
Saab 9X or something like that.
GMC Envoy

That just wasn't sustainable and the cuts were made. What I guess I'm trying to say is I don't think the product killed Olds, but the environment. GM did try and make Olds more like the imports, but the savvy buyers knew they were copies of everything else GM.

If you take the Intrigue for example, it certainly was the best of the W bodies in most ways but the public never really saw it that way and bought Camrys and Accords. Impalas and Grand Prix's got dumped into fleets and the Regal was bought by the traditional Buick demographic.

IMO if GMC didn't need something to sell at the dealers and the Enclave hadn't been as popular Buick may be gone as well.

berri

I think what bought Buick time was that it was popular in China, but dumping it in the US may have affected Chinese sales by telegraphing to them it was not good enough anymore.

fintail

I heard "Federal Way!" on TV today, which brought up this memory:

https://youtu.be/N0sNlDwgc6k

stickguy

new Yugos for $3,995!

Michaell

"Go see Cal - and his dog Spot".

Man, I remember seeing those on TV in SoCal when I was a kid. The commercials would be 2 or 3 minutes long, where he'd walk down a row of used cars and tout the benefits of each one.

fintail

Cal operated in WA until around 1990, I think - I heard stories their departure wasn't completely voluntary.

Tons of that material on Youtube. 1987 was not the best year for used car bargain spotting, but some of the older clips on YT have interesting cars.

stickguy

Just saw the latest Subaru dog commercial, where they stop at "wanna weenie". It was hysterical. Told the wife we were getting a Subaru for sure.