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MONDAY RADIO COMMERCIAL SMACKDOWN: Mercedes Benz of Encino

As a consumer, what do you look for in a car dealer?

Go ahead, jot down whatever comes to mind.

Now, the commercial.

Would everyone whose lists includes, “I want the dealer to perform as good as the cars it sells” please say so in the Comment field below?

The opening line of a radio commercial is the commercial for the commercial.

It’s your one chance to grab the attention of the targeted listener.

And this is your sign”??

You mean the dealership sign that we can’t see, because the commercial is being aired on the radio?

“I tried radio…and it didn’t work.”

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  • John Leader April 30, 2012, 9:22 am

    There is no message here, other than putting the dealer’s name out there. The slogan “*This* is your sign,” is something an ad agency came up with that is so ambiguous, it’s useless, especially on radio (as you pointed out.)
    The impression the spot leaves with me is that no one associated with this dealership is very bright. The mangled grammar in “…perform as good as the cars it sells,” is inexcusable.
    BTW, the 30-second version of this commercial isn’t any better. It’s just longer.
    This dealership’s advertising dollars are being wasted. Their ad agency is incompetent. It’s hard to believe no one in or around this dealership has mentioned how lame this campaign is.

  • Michelle April 30, 2012, 9:26 am

    I don’t have a clue what anything in that commercial means.

  • J.P. April 30, 2012, 9:56 am

    As Bill Engvall says, “here’s your sign”.

  • Anonymous April 30, 2012, 10:46 am

    Did I hear a call to action? No! A very important element in a commercial IF you want the listener to do something!

    So, which is it “A Dealer that performs as well as it’s cars?” OR “Here’s your sign!”…which means nothing to the listener if it’s their SIGN your talking about on radio! And how does “the sign” have anything to do with “performance?” This commercial has missed the boat and left all the passengers “hopefully” on the dock when it left port!

  • Dave Menashe May 1, 2012, 4:34 pm

    I think they mean that if you’re waiting for a sign from god about where to buy your new Mercedes, this is your sign – i.e. This commercial is your sign from god

  • Neal Angell May 1, 2012, 10:53 pm

    And I hate commercials that begin with the client introducing themselves – yeah, great way to grab the listener’s attention: “Hi, I’m so-and-so from (business).” (I deal with this mostly from the huge client egos of car dealers, doctors, and lawyers). I don’t know you and I don’t care about you – what I do care about is what you can do for ME. So don’t tell me who you are and where you’re from until you’ve given me a compelling reason to CARE!