A Southern California auto dealer association spot that isn’t embarrassingly bad? That, actually, is pretty good?
First, the radio commercial….
Let’s get a few criticisms out of the way, so we can move to the part where we enjoy the good stuff in this spot.
Room For Improvement
“Now’s the perfect time to tell you about cars, because you’re in one.” That line is completely unnecessary. Listeners who are, at that moment, in their cars…know they’re in their cars.
“It has all the available luxury amenities.” In real life, no one — no one — ever says “amenities.”
“Hey, Bob! I hear you got a new car. How are the amenities?” — Sorry, that just doesn’t happen.
Praiseworthy
• The voice guy’s delivery. Especially at around :20, where he interrupts his own sentence. (Kudos to the copywriter if that was in the script.)
• The opening line: “Just take a look around you, at the car you’re driving now.” Bam! He’s identified and capture the attention of the target audience.
“But,” someone thinks, “what about the people who aren’t driving a car at that moment?” It doesn’t matter. He’s really talking to people who drive cars they’re no longer especially proud of, who are vulnerable to a “trade that in for something better” appeal…and even if they’re not driving at that moment, they instantly picture themselves driving their unimpressive vehicles.
• “You like the one that you’re cruisin’?” Now that he has the targeted listeners’ attention, he hits them squarely with a challenge. And the people who do like their current cars and have no complaints? He’s not talking to them.
• Hugely popular movies usually have “signature moments.” For THE GODFATHER, it’s the horse’s head under the blankets. For JERRY MacGUIRE, it’s “Show me the money!” This commercial has a signature moment that both resonates with and will be memorable to the targeted listener:
“Does it still do that thing where you can’t tell how much gas is in it…?”
Successful Advertising Intersects Common Human Experience. Next time you hear me say that, that line is what I’m talking about:
The Chevy Cruise (hey, notice the subtle way I’ve given “Cruise” two different meanings here?) isn’t “affordable.” It’s a car that “isn’t gonna break the bank.”
“So if you’re driving around in a Civic (pause…) or a Corolla….wondering why you don’t have those things” — The copywriter identifies the targeted listener even more specifically. Civics and Corollas aren’t belittled; those just don’t have…“those things.”
The VO guy’s emphasis on “things” is excellent; most performers would have stressed “those,” which isn’t what’s being sold. And his pause after “Civic” makes it sound as though he’s making up the dialogue as he goes along.
And the long pause after “wondering why you don’t have all those things”: He’s setting up a mystery…and then solving it for you. The pause draws attention to that one line.
Still, a good radio commercial from a Southern California auto dealers association? No irrelevant, distracting, bad rock music bed underneath it?
Perhaps April Fool’s came early this year….
