Breadfan
01-14-2008, 02:22 PM
So the other day I was watching TV, and I started thinking about something I've pondered in the past. It's in regards to new car commercials, and the big difference between import vs. domestic commericals.
In a way, you can almost draw lines between the types of commercials a car company runs and how their sales are doing.
I think it's a valid statement to say that in some ways the marketing department (and perhaps to more of an extent the upper management) is responsible for many of the slow sales domestic makers are seeing. I mean really, we've got some great cars that stack up well against imports...
I think a big disparity in terms of marketing approach is between Ford and many import makers.
Most import car makers feature adds that do one of the following:
1.) Show close up artsy shots with "smooth" music to show how beuatiful their cars are
2.) Show big time action shots of cars doing burnouts, racing around a track, or powering through a city to show the performance and "fun to drive aspect"
3.) Show ball bearings rolling on the body seams, crash avoidance, or tout reliability ratings, to show the quality of the car.
On the other hand, some of Ford's recent commericals include:
1.) Corporate guy puts his suit on a scarecrow, and acts like he's cool. Fake peel out noises then ensue in addition to a sped up tape to make it look like his MK-Z is a hot rod.
2.) Lady talks about how she hasn't run a marathon, then gets out of her MK-Z with a prosthetic leg and starts running. Much kudos to her for overcoming her disabilities and her struggle, but is this an inspirational commerical or a car commercial?
3.) "Family" drives around in their Freestyle all day having fun and then they drop Dad off at his apartment, because he's divorced. I learned more about this dudes visitation rights than I did about the Freestyle.
Ford isn't the only domestic maker doing this. Other types of domestic ads focus on marketing statements that sound like "Hey look we actaully made a good car this time!"
For instance...
Chevy: New Malibu ads go on and on about how "Hey you might actually want to look at this one!"
Chrysler: OK fine you won't look at me, well, LIFETIME WARRANTY!!! HAHA HOW ABOUT THAT???
One of the few domestic car makers who is getting it right is Cadillac, who's new ads are finally getting away from "Look at us now please forget the Cimmaron!" and featuring some speed scenes and artsy shots.
But even they fall short, as they are letting the drivers in the cars talk. It's quite annoying to have to listen to someone go on about how they were annoyed that their last gifts were a pool table, hot tub, and big screen TV and thank God my significant other got it right and bought me an Escalade!
Seriously the average Joe isn't going to be connecting with that statement. The average Joe might like the Escalade though and your fancy financing arrangments might appeal to Joe.
'Course, that sounds like a BMW or Audi ad, "Our cars are fast and pretty, you'll look cool, and we offer good financing. Come and get it!"
So, perhaps if domestic makers took a page from these marketing ideas for selling cars, rather than featuring folk's life stories, perhaps they'd sell more cars...
In a way, you can almost draw lines between the types of commercials a car company runs and how their sales are doing.
I think it's a valid statement to say that in some ways the marketing department (and perhaps to more of an extent the upper management) is responsible for many of the slow sales domestic makers are seeing. I mean really, we've got some great cars that stack up well against imports...
I think a big disparity in terms of marketing approach is between Ford and many import makers.
Most import car makers feature adds that do one of the following:
1.) Show close up artsy shots with "smooth" music to show how beuatiful their cars are
2.) Show big time action shots of cars doing burnouts, racing around a track, or powering through a city to show the performance and "fun to drive aspect"
3.) Show ball bearings rolling on the body seams, crash avoidance, or tout reliability ratings, to show the quality of the car.
On the other hand, some of Ford's recent commericals include:
1.) Corporate guy puts his suit on a scarecrow, and acts like he's cool. Fake peel out noises then ensue in addition to a sped up tape to make it look like his MK-Z is a hot rod.
2.) Lady talks about how she hasn't run a marathon, then gets out of her MK-Z with a prosthetic leg and starts running. Much kudos to her for overcoming her disabilities and her struggle, but is this an inspirational commerical or a car commercial?
3.) "Family" drives around in their Freestyle all day having fun and then they drop Dad off at his apartment, because he's divorced. I learned more about this dudes visitation rights than I did about the Freestyle.
Ford isn't the only domestic maker doing this. Other types of domestic ads focus on marketing statements that sound like "Hey look we actaully made a good car this time!"
For instance...
Chevy: New Malibu ads go on and on about how "Hey you might actually want to look at this one!"
Chrysler: OK fine you won't look at me, well, LIFETIME WARRANTY!!! HAHA HOW ABOUT THAT???
One of the few domestic car makers who is getting it right is Cadillac, who's new ads are finally getting away from "Look at us now please forget the Cimmaron!" and featuring some speed scenes and artsy shots.
But even they fall short, as they are letting the drivers in the cars talk. It's quite annoying to have to listen to someone go on about how they were annoyed that their last gifts were a pool table, hot tub, and big screen TV and thank God my significant other got it right and bought me an Escalade!
Seriously the average Joe isn't going to be connecting with that statement. The average Joe might like the Escalade though and your fancy financing arrangments might appeal to Joe.
'Course, that sounds like a BMW or Audi ad, "Our cars are fast and pretty, you'll look cool, and we offer good financing. Come and get it!"
So, perhaps if domestic makers took a page from these marketing ideas for selling cars, rather than featuring folk's life stories, perhaps they'd sell more cars...