Automotive Advertising Needs A Makeover.
The auto industry is becoming famous for recycling the same content across all platforms.
My car is on its last legs. I’ll be needing a new one soon.
I’m pretty familiar with car brands, having worked on three as a copywriter. One Japanese, whose trying to sell to the wrong market, one American muscle, whose under attack by environmentalists, and one high-end import, whose base model cost more than it does to send your kid to college. I actually enjoy working on them too, auto accounts aren’t usually soul-sucking like pharma. But like any other category, sometimes it’s just the same stuff on repeat.
I was complaining about this to my hairdresser, to which she asked, “why is it popular for car commercials to show the vehicle frolicking in some exotic place you’re not even allowed to go to?”
Before I answer that, first let me note that in America, there are two types of car ads. The ones made by ad agencies, which can sometimes cross the threshold into humor or entertainment. Then there’s the one she’s referring to, local broadcast spots and digital and social content running on stock footage supplied by the brand. Those are all pretty formulaic. Exterior shots, performance shots, driving down impossibly empty city streets and environmentally-protected salt flats, etc.
But they both have the same thing in common—I told her it’s about, “selling the lifestyle.” Soaking it up and feeling an emotion towards the brand.
Hence why we’ve never seen a Mazda spot showing Mr. T driving off a cliff as he narrowly escapes an explosion and gunfire.
For the ad industry, an auto account win is a big deal. The advertising revolution of the 60’s was ignited by car ads, like DDB’s work for Volkswagen. Those were masterpieces. But that trend didn’t age well, because across the board, the majority of automotive advertising today is horrible. The whole category is plagued with content that looks exactly like the last.
Don’t get me wrong, I’ve seen some really creative auto show activations, and there’s a share of funny broadcast spots using celebrities. But, like many other musty industries, most of them want to recycle what data shows performs best. They want to make dealerships happy. And their legal team doesn’t want the slightest complaint.
All of these are solid arguments. But they’re really just “guidelines,” that other brands have broken. So break the damn rules already!.
Yet the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) claims that the auto industry is “legendary” for innovation and creativity. And that’s how they build brand loyalty.
*two creatives faint, a Cannes judge vomits*
Once upon a time, maybe. Loyalty now? Look, the vast majority of us need cars. And cars are expensive. You can’t get a knockoff Dodge Challenger for half-price like you can get a knockoff Diesel t-shirt. So we generally settle on a brand that fits our needs or interests, regardless of their great or god-awful ads.
Which is how it ends up coming down to this:
“Show me the car driving fast down an empty road.”
“Yes sir.”
*sigh* Okay, you want me to buy your car? Fine. I wanna see a car spot where they show heaven and hell.
Heaven is soaring peacefully down an empty mountain pass along the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, to the tune of Beethoven’s symphony no. 9, 4th movement, in an affordable self-driving car with a built-in espresso machine and a foot massager.
Hell is just rotting away in Miami rush-hour traffic, to the sound of horns and alarms, in a beat up 2009 Hyundai, with no A/C, during a heat wave (my current situation).
That’s hell. I’m familiar with hell. I connect emotionally with hell. I live in hell. Hell is my lifestyle. So show me hell, then show me heaven at a monthly payment under $200.
Then I’ll buy your stupid car.
PS: Bonus points if the spot is directed by Michael Bay and has explosions.
