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

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Comments

  • robr2robr2 Member Posts: 8,805
    What's that about biting the hand that feeds you?

    Well Toyota is the investor in Subaru so there's nothing wrong with slapping your little brother around....
  • ab348ab348 Member Posts: 20,341
    If your vision is so bad that you think either one of those vehicles looks good, maybe you shouldn't be driving at all. ;)

    2017 Cadillac ATS Performance Premium 3.6

  • roadburnerroadburner Member Posts: 18,374
    edited July 2012
    Range Rover, Mustang and other vehicle manufacturers show that appealing commercials can be made without sliding sideways, kicking up sand on a beach or in a desert, etc. and other idiotic moves.

    Funny. Just as I was typing this, a commercial for a Mercedes C250 was on the TV screen showing it sliding sideways at a beach somewhere.


    We get it, Ms. Claybrook. Hooning around in the sand gets your knickers in a twist.
    Yawn.

    Mine: 1995 318ti Club Sport-2020 C43-1996 Speed Triple Challenge Cup Replica
    Wife's: 2021 Sahara 4xe
    Son's: 2018 330i xDrive

  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    I like that Dart commercial. Even funnier to a car guy familiar with a lot of those steps.
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    edited July 2012
    I like the idea of 42 scenes representing the MPG of the car, but some of the scenes are turn offs.

    The intro ad for the CT with the roads going in all directions was more interesting.

    The ILX ad is OK. I get the dual role, professional vs. fun. Maybe it's because the car itself doesn't do anything for me.
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    Fun tire ad, but the car is beyond the tire's grip limit about 90% of the time. :D
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    There's also nothing wrong with slapping big brother around...

    Subaru often compares the Forester to the RAV4, especially in AWD demonstrations.

    Also, when GM owned 22% of Subaru, the latter had an ad comparing their IIHS tests to some of GM's poor performers.

    All's fair in marketing.
  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 58,494
    edited July 2012
    Comment on the CT video sums it up for me:

    "Hey guys! Instead of telling you what our models have to offer, here's a bunch of good-looking Shaker-inspired urbanites being pretentious [non-permissible content removed]! The average person may think that they could get this pathetically hollow existence by buying our overpriced cars! It's brilliant!"

    I don't see the ILX conquering the sychophant junior exec ranks anytime soon. It's just too boring looking, and doesn't seem to offer anything unusual for the money. Acura and Honda seem to operate like that - the car is either an aesthetic disaster or it can put you to sleep.
  • xrunner2xrunner2 Member Posts: 3,062
    The intro ad for the CT with the roads going in all directions was more interesting.


    An excellent commercial on Lexus CT running now. Very creative, Artistic. Young professionals will relate to it. Unlike stupid commercials of BMWs where drivers get coffee refills from a low flying tanker plane. That's for 14-year old boys. Or BMWs ripping up the beach. Or Mercedes sliding sideways on the beach. Come on. How stupid. Fourteen year-old boys do not buy these cars.
  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 58,494
    edited July 2012
    Hmmm...but the CT is outsold by the (more expensive) 3er and C to such a high degree that it isn't even funny. Indeed, 14 year olds don't buy them, but quite a few others do. Looks like the real world either doesn't agree about the ads, or doesn't care.
  • roadburnerroadburner Member Posts: 18,374
    Hmmm...but the CT is outsold by the (more expensive) 3er and C to such a high degree that it isn't even funny. Indeed, 14 year olds don't buy them, but quite a few others do. Looks like the real world either doesn't agree about the ads, or doesn't care.

    Or maybe the BMW and Mercedes spots chase the hand-wringing pantywaist buyers away- thereby making the Bimmer and C-Class more appealing...
    ;)

    Mine: 1995 318ti Club Sport-2020 C43-1996 Speed Triple Challenge Cup Replica
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  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 58,494
    That could be part of it - they are afraid of the limitless raw power generated by a slushbox base 328 or C250. To be fair, the E and 3er are sold in variants that attract a lot of boring buyers...but the CT buyer is likely every bit as boring and then some. I'll just say this, I've never been passed by one, and I doubt that'll change anytime soon.
  • ab348ab348 Member Posts: 20,341
    Agreed. My comment was about the commercial, not the car itself. Neither Lexus nor Acura makes anything that I would consider so their products are non-entities for me. I just like the job their agencies did on those 2 commercials. In contrast, I saw the BMW coffee air tanker commercial the other day and thought it was one of the most absurd, stupid ads I have ever seen.

    2017 Cadillac ATS Performance Premium 3.6

  • lemkolemko Member Posts: 15,261
    "The Hyundai Equus is a pair of chrome-plated brash knuckles in the mouths of Audi, BMW, and Mercedes-Benz" then they show a "0-0-0" financing offer at the end of the commercial. If the Equus is all that, why do they have to resort to a desperate tactic like that to move them?
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    but the CT is outsold by the (more expensive) 3er and C

    I bet the CT outsells the Audi A3 TDI. That's a better benchmark for it.

    It's tough to sell luxury without appearing douchey. Or sport without appearing immature.
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    Because it's probably a 10 year old design.

    Sit in one, though. They're nicer than you think.
  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 58,494
    Nah, hybrids are their own world, along with diesel hatches. Hybrid vs diesel is like SUV vs convertible.

    Douchey...we'll get a nice dose of that when the Lexus Christmas ads pollute the airwaves soon.
  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 58,494
    Current Equus only dates back to 2009 - newer than the S, LS (which it mimics), and same age as the 7er. I suspect it has sold mainly to expat rabid Korean nationalists, and to dealers.
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    Mercedes does those, too...

    But it's OK because they have a soul, right? :P
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    2009 in the USA.

    Probably 1800s in Korea, where it was used as a horse-and-buggy carriage. :D
  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 58,494
    Per wiki, the current Equus debuted in March, 2009 - well before it hit the roads here.

    I see it being like a Town Car in Korea.
  • ab348ab348 Member Posts: 20,341
    I have never understood the logic in marketing a discount high-end product. By definition, it is no longer high end once discounted. Like buying a Rolex at Walmart - it's no longer a Rolex.

    Apparently the Equus isn't a bad car, has some typical Hyundai corners cut, but really, it has always struck me as sort of the "Members Only"-labelled jacket of the auto business.

    2017 Cadillac ATS Performance Premium 3.6

  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 58,494
    The MB spots, while dopey, weren't quite as pretentious and materialistic as the Lexus ads that have plagued us for years each holiday season.
  • xrunner2xrunner2 Member Posts: 3,062
    Douchey...we'll get a nice dose of that when the Lexus Christmas ads pollute the airwaves soon.

    Excellent Lexus commercials. Especially the one that flashes back a young professional type woman getting a real pony as a little kid.

    Brilliant ad agency people for Lexus. Maybe BMW and Mercedes could switch to them. Could improve their commercials.
  • xrunner2xrunner2 Member Posts: 3,062
    Lexus needs a new Christmas commercial for their top sedan. Maybe shot at a big estate in Illinois, say in Kenilworth or Lake Forest on Lake Michigan or in Barrington Hills. Magnificent house on huge lot, 2-5 acres, with grand driveway and entrance. That is class. Husband can surprise wife with ribbon wrapped car in front of side loading 6-car garage.
  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 58,494
    edited July 2012
    You mean a trophy wife dreaming about someone buying her a pony, then having someone buy her an RX. I did like that series, showing kids grown up. My favorite was the big wheel kid who ended up with an ES. Looks like he lost his sense of adventure. Aiming ads too much at the 1% is probably a dangerous game nowadays.

    MB and BMW will likely stick to improving their sales, and continuing to demolish Lexus on the global market.
  • ab348ab348 Member Posts: 20,341
    To make it more realistic, it could close with her slapping him with divorce papers for half his wealth, then driving away in the RX as she sets out on the next leg of her adventure.

    2017 Cadillac ATS Performance Premium 3.6

  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    like a Town Car in Korea

    Yup, their limo basically.

    I bet the 2009 was a refresh, though, and not truly "new".
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    I've seen a few ribbons in German ads...they're almost as bad.
  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 58,494
    edited July 2012
    2009 was an entirely new car. The first Equus shares nothing with it - the first one being a laughable Chinese copycar-style clone of an early LS.

    I don't recall seeing quite the pretentious angle in the MB Christmas themed ads. The Lexus ads have been reviled by many. You either get the overpaid middle aged managerial types buying a new faberge egg for their glorified concubine wife, or urban "professional" (read: trust fund) pseudo-hipsters with faux scruff who supposedly gravitate to an IS.
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    I dislike the Lexus ads, too, but I don't give the Santa ads a pass like you do. What else would Santa deliver besides a gift to a trophy wife or a trust fund baby's gift to himself?

    Almost all the seasonal ads are tacky.
  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 58,494
    At least the Santa ads try to fool one into a amused mood. I don't get that feeling at all with the Lexus ads. But I do agree, both are tacky, consumerism = happiness (well, it is cheaper to keep her) :shades:
  • xrunner2xrunner2 Member Posts: 3,062
    People that say they dislike the Lexus commercials probably can recall and hum or whistle the classic Christmas melody. That melody is burned into the memory of all who watch it over the years. There is no other car commercial series and standard melody that is so well known. The melody evokes a feeling of warmth and giving. Being generous in the Christmas season. It is one commercial that no doubt most people do not fast forward through.
  • lemkolemko Member Posts: 15,261
    Then the commercial shows the man wearing a filthy T-shirt, ragged pants, and worn sneakers sitting in a dirty one-bedroom apartment in the 'hood eating a can of cold baked beans with sounds of sirens, a crying baby, and sporadic gunfire in the background saying, "That was one Xmas I'll remember!"
  • steverstever Guest Posts: 52,454
    I knew they did Christmas in August in Yellowstone, but didn't realize it was an Edmunds thing too. :-)

    Watched TV for 4 hours Wednesday night and don't recall one car ad. Did have it on mute and closed captioning the whole time.
  • xrunner2xrunner2 Member Posts: 3,062
    Watched TV for 4 hours Wednesday esnight and don't recall one car ad. Did have it on mute and closed captioning the whole time.


    Must be the channels we watch. See too much of commercials of cars/suvs stupidly and irresponsibly in reckless and irresponsible modes. Tearing up beach, sand. Dopey videos of cars sliding in sand on desert and on beaches. Does any sane viewer put any credibility in these ads?
  • steverstever Guest Posts: 52,454
    Lot of it was the weather channel. :)

    Should have been a few SUVs fording raging rivers at least.
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    Funny thing is Audi was highlighting its LED headlights in its Xmas ads but CR rated them poorly and said they don't even shine a good distance.

    Form over function.
  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 58,494
    It's a nice fad, gets impatient people to buy.

    I don't like the Audi style where the LED switches off for the turn signal, looks like something is broken.
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    I guess they do that for more contrast?

    I'm surprised the DOT allows that. Volvo wanted to add a pulse of light to the CHMSL but the DOT wouldn't let them.
  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 58,494
    I think that's it, the LED is too close to the blinking light. Bad design...but maybe expected when it is just a slapped on piece of jewelry anyway.

    If I have to use LED, I prefer the lower MB style, not mixed up with the light clusters.
  • robr2robr2 Member Posts: 8,805
    ...from the opening ceremony last night:

    Win Small

    Great theme, good music, lots of "Tearing up beach, sand. Dopey videos of cars sliding in sand on desert and on beaches."

    I liked it!!

    :D ">link title
  • toomanyfumestoomanyfumes Member Posts: 1,019
    Good commercial...
    2012 Mustang Premium, 2013 Lincoln MKX Elite, 2007 Mitsubishi Outlander.
  • roadburnerroadburner Member Posts: 18,374
    See too much of commercials of cars/suvs stupidly and irresponsibly in reckless and irresponsible modes. Tearing up beach, sand. Dopey videos of cars sliding in sand on desert and on beaches. Does any sane viewer put any credibility in these ads?

    TOO hysterical!!! That said, I think you finally blew your cover; no one would actually obsess to such a degree about cars hooning around in the dirt. Anyway, I'm 99% sure that I know who you really are...

    Mine: 1995 318ti Club Sport-2020 C43-1996 Speed Triple Challenge Cup Replica
    Wife's: 2021 Sahara 4xe
    Son's: 2018 330i xDrive

  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    I like it, too.

    3252 lbs for a Mini Cooper Countryman S All4, though. They may be small, but they're not light...
  • roadburnerroadburner Member Posts: 18,374
    My wife seriously considered a new MCS Countryman, but finally decided on a CPO E90 328i. Less expensive, longer warranty, and superior dealer support(in our area, anyway). And RWD, thank goodness...

    Mine: 1995 318ti Club Sport-2020 C43-1996 Speed Triple Challenge Cup Replica
    Wife's: 2021 Sahara 4xe
    Son's: 2018 330i xDrive

  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    Probably lighter, suprisingly.
  • roadburnerroadburner Member Posts: 18,374
    According to Car and Driver they weigh the same- 3352 lbs.

    Mine: 1995 318ti Club Sport-2020 C43-1996 Speed Triple Challenge Cup Replica
    Wife's: 2021 Sahara 4xe
    Son's: 2018 330i xDrive

  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    Pfft - a carbon fiber hood and you're lighter. ;)
  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 58,494
    I love this pic

    Thing weighs a bit more than my fintail.
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