The Homa Files

Excerpted from Marketing Daily, “Mintel To Mad Ave: Can The Sexy Car Ads” by Karl Greenberg, December 4, 2008

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Most consumers don’t see their cars as a chariot of the gods, a freedom machine, a wheeled camel for Lawrence of Arabia, an automatic chick/hunk magnet, or portable fountain of youth. Instead, they view their vehicles simply as functional and safe for getting around…

Mintel says its survey of car owners suggests that what most people actually feel behind the wheel, regardless of the name on the sheet metal is: responsible and practical, not sexy or powerful…Mintel asked consumers: “How do you feel when you are driving?” Three of the top four feelings chosen by respondents had to do with utility and security, per the firm, with 46% saying they felt “responsible”; 40% saying “safe”; and 37% saying they felt “practical.”

The more amorphous sentiments started further down, with 39% saying “happy” was the thing they felt behind the wheel…near the bottom of the list landed “powerful,” “fast,” and “sexy.” The bottom of the list was “rich”…60% believe the main purpose of a vehicle is to get from point A to point B…

“We found that for most people, driving a car or truck does not make them feel sexy, fast or powerful…The problem is that the auto industry is built on selling power, speed and sex. Those images are dynamic, but they don’t necessarily resonate with the majority of utilitarian, safety-focused drivers.”

Mintel also found that the top information sources that people use when researching new vehicles are word-of-mouth, car dealer brochures, consumer buying guides and the Internet.

Edit by SAC

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If car ads are meant to convey the “behind the wheel feeling,” they are missing the mark according to Mintel’s new study.  Most ads feature fast, sexy cars gliding around winding roads rather than practical, responsible drivers running daily errands safely.  However it is not clear from this study whether the “feeling behind the wheel” is motivating purchase.  While a driver may seek to feel safe and responsible behind the wheel ,the same driver may want the exterior of the car to scream fast, sexy and powerful.

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Full Article:
http://www.mediapost.com/publications/?fa=Articles.showArticle&art_aid=96019

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This entry was posted on January 13, 2009 at 6:28 am and is filed under Autos - Travel, Mktg - Advertising, Mktg - Positioning. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.