Have you seen the new Cadillac commercial?
At several levels, I think it’s a great ad.
At a broad level, it’s creating an incredible level of buzz.
As AdAge puts it:
Fans on the political right see . . . an unapologetic ode to American values.
Critics on the political left see it as Ugly American chest thumping at its worst.
What’s got folks so stirred up?
Here’s the ad’s punch line:
“We’re crazy, driven, hard-working believers. . . . . You work hard. You create your own luck.
And you’ve gotta believe anything is possible.
As for all the stuff?
That’s the upside of only taking two weeks off in August, n’est ce pas?”
Crass ugly American materialism … or the American Dream?
Watch the commercial and draw your own conclusion.
One of my favorite reactions was from a “Manhattan brand consultant” who quipped:
The spot is well-done but philosophically odious.
The surprising thing strategically is that they would choose to play to their base instead of trying to expand it.
Say, what?
First, what’s odious about reaping some benefits from hard work ?
Sure, it’s ironic that the commercial is coming from Government Motors … but should the company be touting the progressive mantra “liberation from work” ?
I don’t think so.
Re: “playing to the base” …
I thought Cadillac’s base was NFL-NBA players and urban-based chemical distributors.
Who else rolls in Sclades ?
Note: I probably shouldn’t generalize from personal experience, but an NFL player lives a mile or two from our house. During the season, there are always 12 or more black Escalades parked in his circular drive. Place looks like a Caddy showroom.
They are trying to “expand the base”.
The Caddy ad caught my attention ….
…. just like C.C. Catch did in the 80s with her hit “In the Backside of Your Cadillac”
I may go car shopping this evening …
March 11, 2014 at 9:53 am |
Hey…It’s funny. People remember and talk about funny things. I’m not a professional marketer but it would seem to me that it does what a good marketer would want. I don’t think they were out to change the world….thankfully. Let me know when you want to go look at cars.
March 13, 2014 at 12:53 pm |
I work hard, but the very last thing I would buy would be a Cadillac, more of a Aston Martin type myself. Growing up in SoCal, kids would rather take the bus than being seen in an American car, why? This is why: