New Dodge commercial going viral...

[gweimer]

I'm tired of all advertising. Summer is around the corner and I think I'm going to ditch my cable tv service for a while. Someone had to remind me that Fiat owns Chrysler. Does this mean car chases in the movies are all going to start looking like this?

I love the sound of squealing tires on loose dirt.   

[Dave W]

Dave, are you serious? You're going to call out car commercials over ED ads - or most pharma ads, for that matter? How about the adult, er, "leakage" products?

The Ron Burgundy ads were a no-brainer for Chrysler - and hugely successful:
http://www.forbes.com/sites/avidan/2013/10/15/ron-burgundy-shills-for-dodge-durango-in-new-ads-that-are-insane-and-hilarious/

Yes, I'm serious. Being bombarded with pharma ads is irritating, especially the ones for conditions that have been conveniently turned into diseases with cute acronyms. But at least they're describing the product they're trying to sell. The car commercials I'm talking about just insult your intelligence.

In what way were the Ron Burgundy ads successful? Is there any evidence that even one person was convinced to buy a Dodge from one of those commercials?

[uwe]

"Is there any evidence that even one person was convinced to buy a Dodge from one of those commercials?"

Not to the exacting scientific standards of this forum of forums I fear! 

Together with the finish influencing sound-theory, the Loch Ness monster, the true origins of TV yellow, Gwyneth's extra-marital affairs with older men, "who knew what ahead of Pearl Harbor", the (not!) moon landing, the lingerie(ng) question whether George was really fast asleep when they dressed him in women's clothes, "9/11 was the CIA and Mossad" and the Immaculate Conception it has to go into our "uncorroborated myths and allegations" bin. 

The Last Bass Outpost - where facts and nuthin' but(t) count ...

[TBird1958]

I can tell you this Uwe.

George was wide awake and loving every moment of it! 

[lowend1]

In what way were the Ron Burgundy ads successful? Is there any evidence that even one person was convinced to buy a Dodge from one of those commercials?

You'll have to decide as to whether this article is evidence...
http://www.thewrap.com/anchorman-2-durango-sales-ron-burgundy-ads

[Dave W]

You'll have to decide as to whether this article is evidence...
http://www.thewrap.com/anchorman-2-durango-sales-ron-burgundy-ads

If that's accurate and not a coincidence or hype, then it's a sad commentary on Dodge's customers.  Did sales stay up after the campaign ended? Hard to believe anyone would buy a car, not because of its features but because a fictional imbecile advertises it.

Then again, that seems to be Toyota's long term strategy.

[Granny Gremlin]

If it were, they wouldn't spend it. You can rely on that.

I dunno there, bud, wasteful spending is something corporations are far from immune too. 

However, THIS is REALLY not your granddad's Buick

Certainly looks like a Grandad Buick to me - that's exactly the sort of post-modern styling you'd see in vintage sci-fi (and what I expect Buick was going for - kinda like those 2 other fugly things only middle-aged and older men buy... whatsitcalled.... PT Cruiser and the Prowler (I had to google 'ugly car" to find the names of those FYI).

[westen44]

Yes, I'm serious. Being bombarded with pharma ads is irritating, especially the ones for conditions that have been conveniently turned into diseases with cute acronyms. But at least they're describing the product they're trying to sell. The car commercials I'm talking about just insult your intelligence.

In what way were the Ron Burgundy ads successful? Is there any evidence that even one person was convinced to buy a Dodge from one of those commercials?

I'm not exactly a world traveler, but I never see any of those pharma ads in countries other than the U.S.  It really is refreshing to watch TV without them, too.  Having known two people in the pharma industry (one extremely well,) my impression is that their marketing techniques are fanatical, too.  One of those people I knew quit his job in disgust over that.  They perform a useful service, but it would really be nice if they toned done the way they market their products.  Besides the fact that if I really needed to know something about that, I'd rather talk to a doctor than watch a TV commercial. 

[uwe]

Hey, I liked the look of the PT Cruiser!!! It was a breath of fresh air when it came out. In Germany everyone just called it "the gangster car". I believe they captured that look well.

I know that quality-wise the car was a major disaster and a very common criticism in German car mags was that due to its great weight it was underengined in any version except in the 2.4 liter turbo one which almost no one bought (mind you, underengined for use in the land of the free and the Autobahn). Crash test-worthiness was horrible too.

[gearHed289]

A few years ago I came to the conclusion that marketing companies are the devil. Why are the worst beers available (Lite, Bud Light, Coors Light) the best sellers? Marketing. Why is there always a line at the McDonald's drive through, even though we all know that stuff barely qualifies as food? Marketing. They basically instruct unsuspecting dumb-asses (AKA - most of the population) on what they need to have in order to be happy. 

[Granny Gremlin]

Try going to school with those mooks.  Marketing (and biz in general - management, HR, etc)  theory is horrible.  Biz schools don't require any students to take an ethics course.  The one I went to had only 1 ethics course and nobody took it so the year I tried to take it as one of my few electives it was cancelled.

[lowend1]

If that's accurate and not a coincidence or hype, then it's a sad commentary on Dodge's customers.  Did sales stay up after the campaign ended? Hard to believe anyone would buy a car, not because of its features but because a fictional imbecile advertises it.

Then again, that seems to be Toyota's long term strategy.

The TV ads are not there to sell features - people don't have that kind of attention span these days. They wait to go to the dealer for that, along with the obligatory greasing of their nether regions by the sales and financing staff. The ads are there to sell an image. Sure, you might get a gas mileage or horsepower figure, but it's the image of happy millenials putting around in their Subaru (sorry, Mark!), or the above Challenger's smoky burnout that sells the cars. In the case of celebrity ads, the familiar face and/or character is there largely for their likability factor. "Anchorman" was a big movie for the younger buyers, and Ferrell is a pretty big star in general.
I guess you won't be buying a Durango, Dave - unless that Link Wray edition goes into production...

[westen44]

Try going to school with those mooks.  Marketing (and biz in general - management, HR, etc)  theory is horrible.  Biz schools don't require any students to take an ethics course.  The one I went to had only 1 ethics course and nobody took it so the year I tried to take it as one of my few electives it was cancelled.

An ethics course would probably be wasted on most of those people anyway. 

[Granny Gremlin]

I don't think it's a great idea to hand them the excuse of ignorance though.

[Dave W]

The TV ads are not there to sell features - people don't have that kind of attention span these days. They wait to go to the dealer for that, along with the obligatory greasing of their nether regions by the sales and financing staff. The ads are there to sell an image. Sure, you might get a gas mileage or horsepower figure, but it's the image of happy millenials putting around in their Subaru (sorry, Mark!), or the above Challenger's smoky burnout that sells the cars. In the case of celebrity ads, the familiar face and/or character is there largely for their likability factor. "Anchorman" was a big movie for the younger buyers, and Ferrell is a pretty big star in general.
I guess you won't be buying a Durango, Dave - unless that Link Wray edition goes into production...

Subaru is the first company that comes to mind as one that sells its features. Haven't you seen the "they lived!" commercials?

I'm a lot more likely to buy a Dodge (or is that Yodge?) than a Toyota.