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

suvshopper4

What's that? One company "borrowing" from another? In the car business?! That can't be true!

svevar

I think the most annoying ads of all are the AT&T ads with Carrot Top. HE IS SO STUPID AND REPULSIVE! God, what was AT&T thinking?

johnnylinc

What?? You don't dig the Top??? I agree with your assessment, but C.T. is no worse than Bradshaw's 10-10-220 spots. When he says, "Just checkin' these ol' fences," I just want to gag. You'd think the guy would have enough money by now; guess the alimony payments are hard to keep up with.

I also agree that the Saturn Vue ads are, uh, odd. What, exactly, are they trying to tell me? I don't really WANT a vehicle that's smaller than a bunny. For one thing, the cupholders would be useless...

andys120

didn't anyone tell them you can't trust a kid who wears a coat and tie. "Zoom, zoom my----".

a_l_hubcaps

andys-

I second that one. I HATE the zoom-zoom thing. I don't know why the Mazda enthusiasts are so excited about it. I don't have a problem with Mazda vehicles, but boy are those ads annoying. And then if I go to the Mazda website to check something, it starts zoom-zooming me until I turn off my speakers. How annoying!

-Andrew L

ateixeira

You may hate it, but it's one of the most recognizable ads in the industry. That's what they want - people to remember the Mazda name. Even if it annoys some people.

Mazda had a bit of an identity problem - people recognize the name "Miata" better than Mazda itself. That's why the 626 replacement will be called the 6. You pretty much have to call it the Mazda 6 for people to know that you're talking about.

-juice

svevar

I completely agree that those Mazda ads are annoying. And I don't think that the MPV and Tribute exhibit much "Zoom Zoom," despite the fact that they were "raised by a family of sports cars." (Does Mazda's only "sports" car, the Miata, really count as a "family"?)

ateixeira

The new RX series is on the way, too.

The MPV's power to weight ratio is close to best in class for a minivan, plus it has a 5 speed auto to make best use of the power.

But the ads go way too far - if a minivan or SUV was raised by a group of Miatas, it would be RWD, with a longitudinal engine layout, and the center of the engine block behind the front axle for weight balance. Plus it would have a 4 wheel multilink suspension. Neither Tribute nor MPV meet any of these criteria.

-juice

tj_610

I agree that Mazda's entire new ad campaign is annoying. But, hey, they are probably looking to Toyota as a role model. No one, car industry or otherwise, consistently produces more inane TV spots than Toyota. And they let the local schiester dealerships do most of it for them.

Mitsubishi's ads, however, rock. My 80 year old grandmother got a new Eclipse last year. She wants to "Start the commotion!!!"

the_big_h

the Zoom-Zoom ads are working, regardless how annoying (subjective) it is. Mazda just recently expanded the Zoom-Zoom campaign to the rest of the world.

Zoom-Zoom!

maxintosh

If I were given a Pontiac for a week, my only issue would be finding a paper bag large enough to hide its ugly face in :-P

Most Mitsu ads I don't particularily like, I hate the dark green murky lighting in all of them, it makes all of their cars look ugly. Oh well... I find the new Eclipse a**-nasty anyway

Toyota ads are HORRIBLE. "It's fall. The leaves are falling. The temperature is dropping. And the prices at Toyota are going down! Down! Down!" AHHH!!!!

Well most commercials (save the truly funny ones) just blow anyway. :-\

machiavelli

tj_610 had a good point in post 809, about Toyota ads - they seem to spend more money on local ads with their local dealers and having things like the "Toyotathon" instead of having an ad campaign that focuses on the cars or Toyota's image.

loncray

While I agree that the local Toyotathon ads are nasty, I don't agree that Toyota (or Honda for that matter) needs to advertise their image. They've got those wonderful things that most car companies would kill to have: reputation and word of mouth. Cheapest advertising you can have is somebody who tells others what a great car they have. Funny thing, but I know 2 large families that own nothing but Toyotas - they love'm that much. I can't say that about any other make.

andys120

I like the "car chase" ad where they're chasing a "bluish...silverish" Matrix they can't describe thru the streets of a European city. I do like the ad but I sometimes find the tendency of Asian makers (Lexus, Hyundai) to use European backgrounds in their commls annoying. It's like they are trying to get some of the Old Worlde charm of Europe to rub off on their cars. It works in this ad coz the Matrix looks very French, visually it "fits" the Euro background.

ateixeira

We have 3 Subies in our family. :-)

I've seen that Matrix ad, they pitch it as "It's Something Else".

They have a poster at an AMC theatre near me, and it's funny. The original poster had the clear tail lights from the concept. They just replaced the poster with a new one that has regular red tail light lenses.

-juice

toyotas1

It looks Slightly better in person than it does in the ads, but the Vibe IS HOT! Definitely got the looks in that deal! Wish they could quiet that engine a little though.........

tj_610

Toyota sure can't use Japan for a back drop to their ads, unless you want to see how nice a Camry looks stuck in traffic.

tj_610

loncray, I agree with you about Toyota's image. But I disagree about the ho-hum attitude towards advertising. Every company wants to increase it's sales. I just find it hard to believe that Toyota could not do a better job advertising. It's not like Toyota dominates the U.S. market. And even if they did, leaders in other industries (Nike, Coca-Cola, Budweiser, Microsoft, McDonald's) still know it pays to advertise well.

bottgers

The stupid ones:

Honda's got a couple, the one with the guy playing with his power windows, moon roof, mirrors, etc., and the one with the thank you light on the dash.

Mazda's zoom, zoom, zoom commercials

The SUV comm., weaving through the horses on an equestrian course.

VW - The guy runs in the house to have his wife go outside so she can watch him open the windows by turning the key while it's in the car door.

All of the Kia commercials where they're compared to Hondas. Kia's aren't comparible to Hondas.

Kia - when the owner stops his or her car in the middle of nowhere so they can get out and scream for joy because they got such a great deal on their cars.

Good commercials:

VW - the guy licks the door handle to turn a perspective buyer away from a car.

VW - driver spinning down the road out of control, trying to remember which car had the all wheel drive system.

tj_610

Looking back for a while at the posts here, I just realized something -- where is Ford? Other than the Focus, can you remember any distinct commercial for ANY Ford product? Actually, I just remembered one, the kids tagging the Windstar and saying "Safe!" Thought that one was pretentious. But otherwise, Ford's ads are like, "Here's what they look like, come and get 'em."

verozahl

THINK FORD FIRST! THINK FORD FIRST!!
THINK FORD FIRST!!!

ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!
[sound of TV crashing on sidewalk below]

... aunt worx for Ford as accountant,
and they want to give the cars away, almost
by the sound of the commercials... but...
ah, no.

Anyway, you are warned... Detroit area, Ford,
annoying commercials.

crkeehn

Going out on the ice rink and "playing"

rfruth

Here in the Houston area we are bombarded with "Ford Truck Month" ads that are worded like its a once in a lifetime deal, corse its ford truck month most every month .. One local dealer even says $ 10,000 off MSRP any big SUV in stock and from the number of new Ford's I see running around the message must be getting through. rfruth in Houston

tj_610

Here in Raleigh-Durham, we are bombarded by local dealers SUV-truck ads, too. And like rfruth says, every month they are on closeout/clearance/overstock/etc. They should fire their inventory manager LOL.
One may make the case for Ford more than Toyota - based on sales, particularly of SUV's and trucks - that advertising is unessential. But, puleez! For those of us posting on this board, if for no other reason, ENTERTAIN US!!!

upsetter1

Hits just keep on coming. Then Led Zepellin now Grand Funk Railroad:

On the road for forty days,
Last night in Little Rock put me in a haze.
Sweet, sweet Connie -- doin' her act,
She had the whole show and that's a natural fact.
Up all night with Freddy King,
I got to tell you poker's his thing.
A-booze 'n ladies keep me right,
As long as we can make it to the show tonight.

We're an American band.
We're an American band.
We're coming to your town, we'll help you party it down.
We're an American band.

ateixeira

I think that VW 4Motion commercial is a bit hypocritical - they show a FWD Taurus spinning. Why would a FWD Passat be any different under the same conditions? Open diffy, FWD, it would be spinning, too.

If anything, those ads plug Subaru more than VW.

The Corolla ads make it seem playful. It's surfing, or in one of those sky diving chambers.

-juice

andys120

it is an awd system identical to Audi's Quattro but yes you could spin on glare ice with any awd system, not as readily as other systems(rwd,fwd) but, trust me, it can happen.

ateixeira

That's not what I'm saying. What I'm saying is that most Passats are FWD, 4Motion is on a tiny fraction of them.

All Subies are AWD. Most Passats are FWD. Hence my conclusion after seeing the ad - buy a Subaru!

-juice

toyotas1

"Uh, Honey? Whose car is that in the Driveway?" "It's yours!" "IT IS, ISN'T IT!!!"

ateixeira

I dunno, I thought that was sort of silly. Are owners not smart enough to remember their own car? Or just annoying?

-juice

andys120

A lot of you are missing the point. It does make the car look toy-like but what is an SUV, if not a toy? It makes you look, it doesn't look like every other car ad and does a good job of creating awareness. At this point most people don't know there is a Saturn SUV.

toyotas1

That was THE joke! He just wanted to set her up so he could gloat, and say "IT IS, ISN'T IT!".....

ateixeira

I realize that, but it made the owner seem annoying (look at his wife's reaction).

Then again, some of VW's ads are the same way. The one where the guy shows Cooper his Jetta, and the one where he shows his wife how the windows open with the key.

I think may work the first time you see it, but not for long.

-juice

kenjabi

Scenes of a Mercedes driving through snow. Song in background:

"I'm gonna stick like gluuuuuueeeeeeee,

Stick, because I'm (buh, buh)
Stuck on you!"

I can't decide if I love it or hate it! I see it sparingly enough that it doesn't get annoying though.

ateixeira

I see all the 4Motion, 4Matic, and Quattor ads and can't help but think about how all Subarus have AWD. They can promote their AWD, but by default they have to talk about the set backs with their 2WD models.

-juice

maxintosh

Why don't we ALL just drive Subarus? Then we can all have the exact same car!

You're forgetting that Audi was the real pioneer of AWD systems with quattro. Today, quattro (4Motion is exactly the same) is still a more sophisticated system than Subaru's generic (and less expensive, for sure) AWD system.

Yes, that's right. Whereas Subaru uses viscous diffies which require a fair amount of wheel spin before the oil in the clutch gets hot enough to thicken to the point where a decent contact point is made, Torsen differentials (used by VW and Audi) react quite a bit faster. However, they are more mechanically complicated which makes them costlier to own and maintain.

Not that it actually makes a difference to the average driver, but then again, neither does AWD in general (depending where you live) except worsened gas mileage. In foul weather, skid control systems will help the average driver far more than any AWD system, because AWD is a drivetrain and thus only works when your foot is on the accelerator. In snow or very spirited driving however, AWD *can* be a Very Good Thing. Most people outside of the snow belt or boonies simply don't need it.

Food for thought!

andys120

For the most part your post is right on the money but I'd point out that AWD is an advantage
even without snow (better cornering grip, more stability), on dry pavement or rain-wet pavement.
There's a reason why awd has been banned from F1,Indy Cars, BTCC, Trans AM and most other forms of racing and it's practically mandatory in WRC.

andys120

The Superbowl ad, with the '59 Eldo convertible makes no sense to me.
Isn't the CTS supposed to be the opposite of the bloated land barges that Caddy's been selling to the retirement crowd? If that's so why trot out the biggest gaudiest land barge of all. If they had to do a nostalgia ad they could have showed something sportier like say a '49 coupe.
Interestingly the Porsche ad with the old RS Spyder and the new Boxster is very similar but works a lot better because "A Porsche is what a Porsche's always been." That's not entirely true but it's close enough.
BTW the guy driving the old car in that ad looks to me just like former F1 driver Innes Ireland. Does anyone know if it is?

tj_610

I must admit (as I posted on this board a LOOONG time ago), I did like that first Kia commercial. And the wife's reaction just made it better -- classic boy/girl difference about love of the car. And for the same reason, ateixeira, I liked that VW ad with the window trick, too. Sorry.

Haven't done this in a while, so I'll ask again. What is your favorite car ad ever? This is hard, I know, and your (and my) answer may change daily. I think my personal fav is the Nissan Z ad with the Barbie dolls and Van Halen music.

ateixeira

Subaru uses three distinct AWD systems, not just the VC. In fact, the VC is only used on a small minority of vehicles (and manual tranny only).

And the VC works in frictionless ice, for example, while a Torsen doesn't. That's why Audi also needs traction control. A torsen is heavier and costlier, and better suited for the track, but on ice a VC is inherently better.

Most Subies use a proactive AWD system that take several inputs and can shift power to either axle before slip occurs. Torsen and VC systems are both reactive.

I'm all for skid control systems. AWD too. To keep this on topic, I believe the VW ads where the Taurus is sliding on ice (a torsen's achilles heel) tend to promote Subies more than the Quattro/4Motion.

No need to apologize, tj, we're all entitled to our opinions. I liked that Z ad, too. It made no sense that Nissan didn't offer that car for sale any more, but the ad was very cool.

The new Joe Isuzu ad with the mud pouring over him and his Rodeo is funny. They tease the XTerra and 4Runner ads. And I usually don't like Joe Isuzu ads much.

-juice

wishnhigh1

juice...

can you explain how VC works on ice but Torsen doesnt?

also, how does the "proactive" system work?

ateixeira

A torsen fails in when one axle is on a frictionless surface. There has to be *some* resistance on one axle for power to shift to the other axle. Audi now uses traction control in conjunction with their torsen AWD to address this inherent flaw.

The VC doesn't have this flaw. It's liquid filled, and if one axle turns faster than the other, the fluid shears, heats up and thickens quickly, locking the two axles together temporarily. It takes a little longer to act, but it does work on ice. I have a VC AWD and can feel the power pulsing from front to back, the cycle takes less than a second.

The best comparison is to look at the Miata. Early models had a viscous LSD, new ones have a torsen LSD, both on the rear axle. The former is better on snow and ice. The latter is better on the track, on dry surfaces. So if you live in Colorado, pick a VC, if you live in SoCal and autocross on weekends, pick the torsen.

Subie automatics are completely different. Those gather inputs like throttle position, incline, and steering angle to determine how to split torque. So for instance if you're going up a slippery boat ramp, the torque will be on the rear axle before you even start moving, proactively, because the AWD is smart and knows you are going uphill.

Neither the VC nor the Torsen are "intelligent" and neither will know this. Both are reactive. They will shift power to the rear axle only after the front axle spins. The torsen will need the aid of traction control if the ramp is really slippery.

Hence proactive vs. reactive.

-juice

tj_610

That's funny, ateixeira. I saw the Rodeo ad two nights ago for 1st time and immediately thought of this discussion! Is that a sign of addiction, or a cry for help? Anyway, it reminded me of the initial success of the Joe Isuzu campaign. And, like the Mazda zoom zoom, like it or not, everyone recognized it, and the guy became a pop icon for a short while. Heck, the guy even ended up with a prime time TV show (albeit briefly).

ateixeira

I like that they poke fun at the XTerra ads. So does Honda with its new CR-V commercials with the extreme sports guys wiping out. Yard sale!

-juice

machiavelli

Yeah those CR-V ads crack me up. I like the line "for your adventures in reality".
In reality, most people's rough and tough SUV never leaves pavement. The CR-V ads are sort of a spoof of the Xterra ads.

ateixeira

Very effective ads.

-juice

tincup47

Innes Ireland passed away several years ago.

suvshopper4

Hell, John Wayne is still selling beer on TV.

tj_610

The Avalanche ads are fairly stupid, but then again what would you expect. Here's what I would like to see -- someone gives the guy 20 grand and asks for change, and he converts the truck into a Toyota Prius.

orcinman

"Keep America Rolling": Not only did GM jump on this as soon as it could, but Ford and Dodge hopped on the bandwagon, touting their American products after 9/11. Like they really planted 0% financing just to help America....sure......

Toyota adds and Nissan adds are annoying, because they are so transparent. Nissan essentially screams "look at our tough truck, or our sexy car. They've got more power than you'll ever use! Buy it and compensate for your under-endowment in other areas!"

I just get tired of Toyota's adds making out their vehicles to me more exciting than the lame, drab, and boring products they've become. "You'll want one." A Camry, the vehicle that re-defined "boring"? Not me, buddy. Keep your $5k price hike.

Then you turn right around and its so obvious the new Lexus is built off the Camry platform. I don't know why but its just painfully obvious what Toyota's strategy is. I get so tired of this brand ramming their vehicles down people's throat. Even their most boring vehicles have to have a seven month campaing now. Gets annoying.

And here's another thing: I'd buy a Vibe, but not a Matrix. Pontiac's sculptors did a better job, so well that its the first GM vehicle I've ever liked.