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• VIDEO: Chrysler Shows Why ‘It’s Halftime in America’ During Super Bowl 2012

  In Advertising / By Ari Cox / 6 February 2012

  

  In an interesting departure from talking babies, vaporizing vampires and alter-ego dancing heads, hats off to Chrysler for getting serious, looking at the big picture and sending out a message of hope, goodwill, patriotism and unity during Super Bowl 2012. Touchingly and toughly narrated by a revered American icon, the “It’s Halftime in America” ad managed to not only give weight to our shared history, challenges and concerns but also pointed to a better and brighter future. Though the ad could have so easily slipped into the abyss of sentimentalism and schmaltz, it managed to steer clear and deliver a strong and uplifting message. In my humble opinion, this was an absolutely brilliant strategy on the part of the automaker and one which I believe will ultimately pay big dividends.

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• The Top 10 Car Commercials of Super Bowl XLV [w/VIDEOS]

  In Advertising, Lists / By Tom Anderson / 7 February 2011

  

  With the Cheeseheads’ victory hangovers a fading memory and the legions of Steeler Nation having uttered their last “Wait ‘til next year,” attention now turns to another battle: the battle for this year’s most memorable automotive Super Bowl commercial. As promised, we’ve gone through and analyzed the spots from each of the car companies who fronted the millions to make their voices heard. Here are our 10 faves.

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• Chevy Offers Tribute to MLK With Social Media Campaign

  In Advertising / By Ari Cox / 17 January 2011

  

  In an effort to avoid the perception of opportunistic advertising most companies steer clear of any association with Martin Luther King Jr Day. Chevrolet has managed to find a happy medium between benevolence and promotion with the MLK Reading Project, a digital platform that encourages Americans to personally honor the lasting influence and achievements of Dr. King. 

  Chevy is inviting individuals to keep his dream alive by selecting and recording an inspiring quote of his to share with the world. On this important day in history, we’re asking you to reach out to your friends and family and encourage them to record a personal reading at www.chevymlk.com.

   

• VIDEO: Audi A8 Reads the Competition a Bedtime Story in Cheeky Super Bowl Ad

  In Advertising / By Tom Anderson / 15 January 2011

  

  Super Bowl XLV is still a fortnight-and-a-half away, but you can bet most (if not all) companies that have purchased advertising slots during the broadcast already have their commercials in the can and ready to go. Naturally, most advertisers want their spots to be a surprise right up until they flash onto our TV screens, but some are willing to unleash their manifestos early.

  One such company is Audi. After three successive years of clever, memorable Super Bowl adverts (though we must confess that while we really, really dig the A3 TDI, last year’s effort was frankly a bit off-putting, having shown a world that seems all too plausible, particularly if you’re one of our fellow Californians), the German nameplate rolls into the 2011 edition of the big game still beating the same drum it was back when its 2008 ad premiered: Old luxury is dead. How’s Ingolstadt getting the message across this year? Jump!

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• VIDEO: Subaru’s New WRX STI Ad Campaign “We Can Scare Anyone”

  In Advertising / By Zack Klapman / 23 July 2010

  

  Subaru feels people get something special from their cars. This is probably most true with their high-performance model, the Impreza WRX STI. Owners of these incredible machines make sacrifices in the name of performance.  For example my 2006 didn’t even have a trunk release button on the key fob. I didn’t care. Knowing this, they find creative ways to illustrate it in their ads.

  For the 2011 Impreza WRX STI, Subaru wants to highlight an attribute the car provides: G’s. I’m not talking about the kind Snoop Dogg stacks in his private bank vault, I’m talking about the kind you get from an F-16. It’s a simple concept really; AWD + 305hp=Lots of G’s. But Subaru wants to make sure anyone in the public understands what this means. So they put 5 different people in the passenger seat of an STI driven by Rally Driver Dave Mirra and filmed 5 videos to illustrate it. I hope they can wash that seat. Make the jump to see why.

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• VIDEO: New Corvette Ad Salutes Two of America’s Coolest Vehicles

  In Advertising / By Tom Anderson / 17 July 2010

  

  Gearheads who were around during NASA’s heyday – roughly the mid-1960s to the early-1970s – no doubt remember that one of the perks of being an astronaut at that time was receiving a new Chevrolet Corvette in which to get around while on earth. It was a match made in marketing heaven: The Right Stuff-types loved tooling around in their sexy, powerful and all-American sports cars. And Chevrolet loved the copious amounts of publicity.

  No surprise, then, that Chevy made the Corvettes/rockets connection in the very slick ad that debuted during this week’s MLB All-Star Game broadcast. While it doesn’t mention the astronauts, it does play up how the Vette and the early American space program were kindred spirits of sorts: both were out to prove that American creativity and determination could take on and beat the competition from abroad. Still not getting the red, white and blue hued warm and fuzzies? Watch the ad after the jump.

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• VIDEO: New 2010 Dodge Challenger Ad is Positively Revolutionary

  In Advertising / By Tom Anderson / 12 June 2010

  

  With Independence Day less than a month away, it’s not surprising that the founding of our nation is on many people’s minds. It would appear that Dodge’s ad agency of record is part of that group. Why else would it have made a TV spot depicting the Father of Our Country leading his troops into battle at the wheel of a Challenger?

  This ad is doubly timely in that Washington and Co.’s foes are the British Redcoats, to that point in history the most successful and feared army on the planet. Guess who’s Team U.S.A.’s first opponent in this year’s World Cup on Saturday? That would be Great Britain, the same matchup that, in the 1950 World Cup, saw the Stars and Stripes topple the Union Jack 1-0 in the game many sports historians call “The Miracle on Grass.” Wanna see more Yanks schooling Limeys on sod? Hop the jump to watch the commercial.

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• Video: Shell Helix Ultra Transparent Nissan 370Z Demonstrates How Oil Works Inside Your Car

  In Advertising / By Ari Cox / 24 April 2010

  

  With enough time and money anything is possible… Shell recently took a Nissan 370Z, completely dismantled it and copied all 2000+ parts to make a transparent car. Cool, but what’s the point? Being an oil company and all, the point was to show off their Helix Ultra line of engine oil. And we’re glad they did.

  Sure, CGI or some x-ray trickery would have been nice and easy – but oh no, these folks wanted the real deal. The engine itself was enlarged to roughly 2x the size of the original to clearly demonstrate the flow of oil throughout the engine. Check out the full “Making Of” video after the jump. 

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• Garage Door Ad Makes Light of Toyota’s Deadly Safety Recall

  In Advertising / By Ari Cox / 6 March 2010

  

  We’ve all seen our fair share of controversial ads. Agencies are always looking to walk the fine line between funny and offensive and seem to more and more drop into the later category. For whatever reason, tragedies and follies serve as perfect fodder. In the case of mega ad agency JWT, they managed to craft up this beaut of a print campaign for Danish garage door maker Dansk Port Teknik.

  It was inevitable that the sharks would strike at the bleeding legs of Toyota, with Ford, GM, Hyundai and Chrysler all offering serious incentives to get owners to trade in their potentially flawed rides for new models. But now we’re starting to see a whole slew of jokers making fun of “unintended acceleration” in a variety of other venues and outlets. When will the madness end?

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• VIDEOS: Super Bowl XLIV Commercials Showdown – Audi, Dodge, Kia & Hyundai Delight

  In Advertising / By Ari Cox / 9 February 2010

  

  While the Super Bowl is a spectacle of grand proportions, the commercials are what many look forward to just as much as the game itself. Automotive companies have big budgets and often produce some of the most compelling, interesting and talked-about ads that run during the big game. This year was no different. Check out the following videos showing the marketing engines at Hyundai, Kia, Audi and Dodge fast at work.

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