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

seminole_kev · April 2002

you know, the one with the thing, and that car. It has the stuff going on in the background.

;-)

black_tulip · April 2002

I recently saw the new Celica commercial where the car is parked in a neighborhood and an old guy is yelling at the nonexistent driver to slow down. You then see a caption on the screen "It looks fast".
I thought that was just so insipid and corny!

lemko · April 2002

I'm sure everybody has seen the ad of the two women at their 10-year class reunion - one snooty but badly dressed girl with a Toyota Corolla versus the more laid-back one with the Kia. The snooty girl says, "Well I took Buff Johnson to the prom and Buff turns out to be a morbidly obese guy with a mullet hairstyle, checkered pants standing in front of a yellow AMC Gremlin with Pep Boys aftermarket wheels as A Flock of Seagulls blares from the stereo.

Funny thing that a banner reads "The Class of 1992" in the background. A Flock of Seagulls suggests 1982.

suvshopper4 · April 2002

Good catch.

In the future, I'd like to see those commercials slightly different: The Kia owner and the Toyota owners 10 years after their purchases, comparing their cars.
It is possible the Kia then will be playing the part now played by the Gremlin.

tj_610 · April 2002

Which ad is this? Two young women, the driver looking smug, the passenger looking pissed, and a 3rd woman announcing why she might be upset re: their cars. Then it turns out the announcer is actually in the back seat, and mentions the driver is dating the passenger's ex-boyfriend. It's pretty funny. I think it's for a small SUV like Honda CR-V, but can't remember.

verozahl · April 2002

New ad with women in SUV... new Kia or something? I don't think it was a Honda ad.

Finally saw that new Ford commercial a few days ago. Pretty Pretty Boy Bill announcing that yes, you can take Explorers and Expeditions off road. Sure you can, Bill... just not in Upper Michigan, where is the real outdoors. Been there, done that.

loncray · April 2002

Just saw it yesterday - dusty Ram driving down a dirt trail, leaving huge clouds behind it. Competing brand trucks driving through the clouds can barely see the road. Ram passenger comments what a beautiful day it is, and then has the driver take a left just before the edge of a cliff. The shot then changes to below the cliff, showing pebbles falling and insinuating the chasing trucks will soon be going over. I thought it was funny myself, though fans of the competing trucks might find offense!

ateixeira · April 2002

lemko: man, you are perceptive. Remind me to hire you if I ever need a PI.

Actually, that's a Kia ad, though they compare it with the CR-V.

-juice

i_luv_toyota · April 2002

I'm surprised this wasn't mentioned yet, so here goes:

Guy washing his black Ram in his driveway. Another guy walks up and says "Hey Ed(?) can I borrow the RAM?!!" While saying this, the guy is doing boxing/sparring movements towards Ed, trying to be a tough guy I suppose. Then Ed goes, "Goin' for a ride with your buddies?" Cutaway to six guys in Ram going offroad. "Picking up some drywall?" Cutaway to drywall crashing into trucks bed. "Towing a (I don't remember what)? Cutaway to Ram towing something over rough n' tumble dirt farm road.

Reply (meekly): "I'm picking up an antique sewing machine." Another "boom boom" sparring movement ensues. And we see the front of Ed. Huge bronco-bustin' beltbuckle, worn out jeans, and a, get this, "TRUCKVILLE (football image with "XXL" written in middle of f-ball) FOOTBALL" topped off with an unbutton flannel shirt. And then Ed sprays the guy who trys to haul a "wussy" sewing machine in the back of his manly Ram with his high-pressure hose.

I think Dodge has taken the "Truckville" theme a little too far.

verozahl · April 2002

... I'm surprised you didn't mention how irritating Toyota commercials are. GET THE FEELING, uh yeah baby.

Dodge commercials are still up there. Nothin' beats METRO DETROIT FORD DEALERS THINK FORD FIRST WE'RE NUMBER ONE, though. Yeeech.

crkeehn · April 2002

One of the beauties of TVland is the retromercials. Currently they are featuring a Honda 600 ad where a town is prepared for the smaller Honda. It's a funny ad and the price flashed on screen at the end is the best thing of all.

tincup47 · April 2002

My first car was a Honda 600 sedan, the commercials bring back fond memories of driving it.

crkeehn · April 2002

cool. I remember the magazine ads for the car. I was in college then, with the usual raging hormones. The cars were surrounded by a bevy of beautiful maidens. Just the thing to bring the hormones to a quick boil.

verozahl · April 2002

I love the commercial where the groom is speeding in the Subie and splashes the bride with mud as he speeds past her on the way to a rural church ... in the outback. Funny. Subie ads are usually pretty high on laughs.

a_l_hubcaps · April 2002

One ad that made me laugh was the Pontiac one comparing the Grand Am SE with the VW Jetta GL. After supposedly proving the Grand Am's superiority, they say, "No wonder they're looking for drivers" (in reference, of course, to "Drivers Wanted"). Don't know if I believe that the Grand Am is a better car than the Jetta, but I give them credit for a funny ad.

-Andrew L

storyteller · May 2002

I fervently disagree with an earlier poster who liked that Kia ad where several women are talking about their cars and one of them really puts it to the (is it a Toyota?) owner about how much content her Kia has and how little it cost, compared to the Toyota. Then someone drops some gossip about whose boyfriend has been cheating. What a nasty little ad, full of people who are snide, competitive and utterly disagreeable. Makes me hate them AND Kia.

That Australian wedding ad of Subaru's is funny. The best part is when the mud-sloshed bride shows up at the church, bravely wiping her face clean. Dundee (who doesn't know he dowsed her in mud on his trip to the church) notes, "Rugged outdoorsy type. Good choice!"

And I just got a chuckle out of that VW ad where the guy has his eye on a Jetta. When the salesman brings out a young couple to test drive that car the guy panics and then licks the door handle, marking it as his own.

seminole_kev · May 2002

ads that push image and snobbery rather than the car itself. Especially annoying are the IS300 (which I like) ads where they're basically trying to say "hey, you can land all the chicks you want with this car. It's all about the image." ughh. Those kind of commercials turn me off from wanting to buy a car.

johnnylinc · May 2002

I get a kick out of the new Passat W8 ad, where the dad, apparently in a hurry, is looking for his keys and ignoring his son who's sitting at the breakfast table. When the dad finds the keys and heads for the garage, we notice that the kid has disappeared from the table.

Then we see the dad backing out of the garage & looking like he's about to blast down the street; instead, he's going about 5 miles an hour, furtively glancing to the right & then leaning forward toward the steering wheel. When the camera switches, we see the little kid on his bike, pedaling down the sidewalk as fast as he can. He's neck-and-neck with the Passat, and he has a huge grin on his face.

I don't know if this ad will help sell Passats, but it's smart, clever, and funny at the same time; sure beats the heck outta those guys high-fiving each other over the free ride in the Pontiac...

alfox · May 2002

but like most of the others, they shy from actually saying anything. They are all about name recognition and mood. At least VW's are entertaining. I agree with kev that the ads that push the personal image of the driver are somehow offensive.

loncray · May 2002

I agree - the ad with the kid on the bike is funny and a little touching - but definitely selling an image more than the car itself. Not sure if this is a bad thing or not, at least the way VW does it.

tj_610 · May 2002

I love that ad, too. Makes me smile warmly. It's interesting that VW chose that tactic for this very ballsy car.

storyteller · May 2002

Or how about that VW ad for the Jetta that ran so much about four years ago, the one that seemed to be filmed in New Orleans' French Quarter. A Jetta with an attractive couple in it drives slowly through a scene of street life. Everything that happens outside the car (like the dude bouncing the basketball) is synched to the rhythm of the music playing under the ad. The general idea is that this car has some kind of magical synchronicity.

What was especially appealing was the way this little commercial created a magical, self-contained world that was truly fun to be in for a few moments. And it worked well enough intellectually: with this car, the ad was saying, everything comes together in a wonderful way.

trlyka · May 2002

I too like the VW commercial where the guy is at the grocery store and takes a flying leap to keep the carriage from hitting it. It's something I would do! I also like the VW commercial where the guy calls his friend to say they have the (silver) VW he wants and he sees the people walking towards it and he licks the handle. Lol. I do not however like the windshield wiper VW commercial where the music is playing and the people on the street appear to be doing things in sync to the wipers. It's corny.

I think the Pontiac commercial where they compare their car to VW where they say "No wonder they want drivers" is pathetic. They compare their Pontiac Grand Crap with the VW GL which is the entry level. Come on Pontiac, get a life and a new design.

suvshopper4 · May 2002

I liked that VW French Quarter synch commercial too. The music was perfect, and I can still recall it years (?) later. Also, there were lots of nice little touches in the camera shots. I'll bet most people who saw that ad still remember it.

andys120 · May 2002

make the car seem like a lot of fun. Very good ads.

tj_610 · May 2002

Wasn't that a Honda Accord ad, not a Jetta?

Saw a Mini on the road last week. It was on I-85 in South Carolina near the BMW plant. New billboard, too. All black background, green frame around edge. Big white letters, "Goliath lost." In bottom right corner, small letters, "www.miniusa.com".

andys120 · May 2002

Honda's ads are about as creative as their styling.

Great billbord, lol!

ateixeira · May 2002

storyteller: VW was smart with their ads, they created brand awareness even before all the new models came out. Remember the Da-Da-Da ad with the Golf? Silly, but memorable.

I think their web site even distributed the music in MP3 format.

I like the Mini ads, too. I can't recall the last time I read through an advertisement that long. Several pages worth.

-juice

orcinman · May 2002

Tired of truck commercials in general. They seem to know that the majority of their audience is compensating.

tj_610 · May 2002

Compensating? Hmmm. Don't know about that. Ford's truck ads are lame, Chevy's "like a rock" is way to old, and Tundra's gnome is just stupid.

orcinman · May 2002

Yes, Compensating. As guys with brush guards on their trucks, extra roof lights, unused offroad packages (complete with annoying decals), the works...

codylabrador · May 2002

Sorry I don't have time to review all the previously posted messages - this may have been covered....

The best commercials are the Mitsubishi Eclipse ads: their music and the women sitting in the front passenger seat. I would love to find out who the brunette is in the last one (not the most recent). She is so hot!

Don't know anything about the Mitsubishi though.....I guess it's OK

svevar · May 2002

I think the printed ads for the Mini are one of the best campaigns in a long time. The "Let's Motor" slogan is so simple, but meaningful, too. Some of the ads are pretty funny...

orcinman · May 2002

Don't know anything about the Mitsubishi though.....I guess it's OK

Which means the commercial failed. BTW, the girl in the seat may match your tastes, but she's a little too "rolling" for me.

alfox · May 2002

"The best commercials are the Mitsubishi Eclipse ads: their music and the women sitting in the front passenger seat. I would love to find out who the brunette is in the last one (not the most recent). She is so hot!

Don't know anything about the Mitsubishi though.....I guess it's OK "

I think that kinda sums up auto advertising in general. Good visuals, a hot woman (and/or guy), and someone has a positive opinion about something they admitedly know nothing about. No risks by Mitsu, no claims that can be thrown back at them, and more people turned-on than turned-off. What more could they hope to accomplish?

johnnylinc · May 2002

Hmmm; I thought she was having either some sort of neuromuscular attack or a severe allergic reaction--bad clams, maybe?--and the Mitsu driver was rushing her to an emergency room.

Guess I'm not in the target demographic...

orcinman · May 2002

Don't feel bad. I'm 22, and I'M not in the target demographic.

dannym11 · May 2002

I got the new C&D yesterday and it had a mini ad in it that included stickers for 8 nearby states - to show I've driven there (or "motored" there). I'm not going to use them but it's a really cool campaign. Came with a mini sticker too.

andre1969 · May 2002

...if those women in the Mitsubishi Eclipse ads can dance around like that in a car that small, just imagine what....Oops, time to get my mind out of the gutter!

One Mitsu ad I used to like was the one with the young guy driving an early '90's LeSabre, and these hot women pull up beside him in an Eclipse, trying frantically to get his attention. He's getting his ego stroked, but when he rolls down his window they holler out "Excuse me, sir? How do we get to the freeway from here?"

I guess I can laugh at it because sometimes I drive my grandmother's '85 LeSabre around, and I still look young enough, I guess, that sometimes I still get carded. No hot women have asked me directions to the freeway though :-(

codylabrador · May 2002

The ad I'm referencing has the brunette with long hair with her head back on the seat - very little movement but still good music - kind of like her hair was spread out on a pillow.... kinetic energy!

ab348 · May 2002

I'm far, far away from their target demographic, but I saw that ad with the brunette "seat dancing" the other night and I am in love... except for the hat.

She's gorgeous!

orcinman · May 2002

Dude, she's nasty. She has the build of a toothpick after a hurricane.

seminole_kev · May 2002

I don't see the attraction. Looks like a heroin addict. Bug eyed and scrawny.

andys120 · May 2002

in ads for the Lancer. I guess it works, Mitsu sales are up.

ateixeira · May 2002

I think it's the 0/0/0 deals they offer, so in a way they are buying sales. I wonder if they can still make a profit.

-juice

andys120 · May 2002

where the family "takes shelter" in the M during a storm is lousy and perpetuates the SUV=safety mythology.
Except for the current SL ads I think Mercedes advertising was better a couple of years ago
than what they're doing now.

chevymalibu19 · May 2002

My favourite commecial is this one commercial where they had the song "Staying alive" playing, with not music, and a SUV filled with test dummies crashing into the crash wall. That so cool, i think it showed confidence in there product, with simplicity. Most of the time, simple is better, with a bigger effect.

swinga7 · May 2002

I hate the new ford commercials with the owner of ford talking about how much he loves the cars he makes!!! ack somebody shoot that guy.

"if I could have one car for the rest of my life it would be a red mustang convertible with a throaty v8 and great sound system" ~ford

well that hell is stopping him from living his mustang dream? he owns the damn company. I bet you he drives a bmw.

tj_610 · May 2002

They did have some good ads a couple of years ago. In addition to the "Stayin' Alive" choir (pretty cool), there was the "Big Bad Dad" singing baby in the back of the ML, pretty silly for stodgy MB. And my personal fave -- 5 guys pushing back furiously in a huge slingshot, segue to an ML55 rocketing down a barren highway. Catch line -- "The fastest way to get 5 people from 0 to 60." That's just classic. They still got it, check out the funny new G-wagon ad. I agree, though, the stormy weather add is dumb.

Don't know who's buying all those Mitsu's because of those Gen-Next ads. I know the music gets hyped. People at work in their 20's know the bands of those otherwise obscure songs. I also know my 79 year old grandma bought a '01 Eclipse last year. Don't think she's "starting a commotion", though LOL.

lemko · May 2002

...the Mercedes ad that shows the old Mercedes in the crusher that shows a retrospective of the doomed car's life? I know a lady who's a big fan of Mercedes who gets pretty emotional when she sees that ad.

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

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