ads?

I am a senior in the Advertising and Promotion program at Western Michigan University. (background)

I was wondering what ads appeal to you? What is your favorite ad, what ads do you hate, and what auto or motorsport companies need more or better advertising? I have a pretty big project coming up, and I thought you guys could help me with some brainstorming.

thanks in advance.

Print ads or tv?

This is my all time favorite ad that is car related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g2VCfOC69jc

Ads I hate: Condescending/negative ads (I'm a Mac ads), useless fluff ads (the bulk of advertisements out there), ads based on what appear to be fashion appeal (a lot of car and electronics ads, the new Microsoft ads).

Ads I like: Those that showcase the features of the product in a straightforward way, if they make it look and / or sound good in the process it's a plus. A lot of performance computer companies tend to make cool-looking ads that also get the important information across, I don't know if Alienware does it anymore but they used to make ads that I thought were cool and useful at the same time, I also like the way Xoxide.com does their product descriptions, both funny and useful.

For whatever its worth, I think the Honda "aim high" ad is very poorly done. My wife and I were talking the other night about how it could be easily viewed as the competitors aiming (and hitting higher), and the better ad would have been something like

"Our competitor's keep aiming for Accord levels of quality, resale and reliability..." [arrows falls listlessly to the floor several feet from the Accord] "and they keep coming up short"

"The accident" from VW is an awesome ad FWIW it was one of my favorites even before "the affiliation"

Does anyone have a link to the eVilallianceracing.com countdown? That IS my favorite... and I made it ;)

All-time greatest ad campaign evar is the Chik-filet cows!

billy mays is an oxy moron.

I hate commercials that invent terms: ex. Frost-brewed.

I like commercials that make me laugh. Especially when they are informative.

I think American auto manufacturers could learn a few things from European ones. Make your customers feel like they are buying prestige: not bailing your sorry ass out.

confuZion3 wrote: I think American auto manufacturers could learn a few things from European ones. Make your customers feel like they are buying prestige: not bailing your sorry ass out.

That would only make the ads slightly better IMO.

Example of worst car ad ever: The new Hybrid Escalade ad. The guy driving seems like he's pretending to be a wealthy European but is, in fact, obviously American. Silly and obnoxious to me, possibly offensive to Americans. Then he continues to say the stupidest things ever uttered on television including using the word "Hybrid" as a verb. Then they insert the mandatory music (Genesis by Justice, luckily I haven't been made sick of it yet) and the SUV drives off and the ad ends.

Mind you the intended audience is probably the polar opposite of me. Other Cadillac ads are similarly stupid, at least some of them have hot women to distract you from the stupidity.

"the question is, when you turn your car on, does it return the favor?"

Both Nike's and Subaru's current ads rock.

The worst ad I've watched in a while is the Mercury ad with the terrible over of Major Tom. Honestly. Why?

FreeCreditReport.com has a pretty stupid commercial.

There was one I only saw once, a husband and wife talking and she said something about honesty, his reply was something like "OK, OK, I think your mother talks too much. And when I wear your clothes, I feel pretty". She just looks at him with a dumbfounded look. It was an ad for a carpet cleaning service. I liked it because there was a bit of a story, a twist and believable. Now how that makes you remember a product name, dunno.

Once upon a time a stay at home Mom named Bunny Tarquinio from Mullethead Harbor, NJ raved on and on about this great new laundry washing detergent. It made my teeth grind to think that these marketing folks thought I would buy the product or this was an effective ad.

Well, that was 15 years ago and I still remember the woman's name. It must have worked.

Dan

Thanks Mental for keeping that around ;)

I swear if I ever meet the goon that invented Toyota's "Saved by Zeeeeeeerrroooooo!" ads I will strangle him...

The TV ad for the new GTO a few years ago where it waits at a green light is sweet. The print ads were cool too, they just didn't print enough of them.

I used to love the 2-full-page BF Goodrich ones, you know they'd have a car/truck that was relevant to the magazine in profile over a background of the same color. You could get most of them as posters too. Very cool.

Wooooooooo WAAAAASTERN!!! (I had an internship in k-zoo)

This is my favorite commercial, both for the car content and the fact that I remember it's a Shell commercial without it being forced. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6hiAhLStjAI

I like the miller high life commercials too.

The bad ones are all the ones I don't remember at all. I hate all the loud, screamy, in your face, phones ringing gimmick ads. If you can't grab my attention with quality content don't bother advertising.

Oh yeah Esurance ads piss me off too.

The Snapple Lady was funny, anything that is funny enough to adjust the American lexicon. Think Joe Izusu, "Where's the Beef?" The Gieco cavemen etc.

Those Caddy ads are hit and miss. They had another one witht he guy driving going on about fitting in and following fashion trends and the last line stuck with me was "...you could realize that the nail that sticks out gets hammered down.....or you could be the hammer." I just like that phrase, but I am also the exact opposite demographic they are looking for.

Those damn cavemen have worn out their welcome. A T.V. show?! Really? Also the Caddy commercial where the woman demands an Escalade for a gift is pretty disgusting.

Porsche had a fantastic ad for it's 944 Turbo when it first came out. The car was doing a lurid powerslide with tire smoke everywhere while music played. I guess they must have "invented" drifting!

How about print ads in GRM and CMS? There are plenty of advertisers that scan this forum. What do you like, and what don't you like?

Sorry for hijacking

no, that is completely cool. I was actually looking for print related media...but I like the amount of responses. Do as Joe says!

I thought it was funny that the Koni ads run in GRM were F1 related content...is there anything further from Grassroots? I love Koni, and I love F1, but I think they could have chosen their creative a little better for the chosen media.

The Alltel ads with the wizard are pretty funny.

Joe Isuzu was great but that wouldn't fly in the current politically correct climate.

I DETEST car ads which depict cars as Christmas presents. Or as fashion appliances and that seems to be the majority of them. But I guess I too am the wrong demographic.

really? Alltel ads SUCK a big one. they are almost as annoying as the new Toyota 0% financing commercial.

Another pet peeve in ads:

When it zooms in to show the woman pressing the accellerator and she's wearing high heels. I don't know if that's supposed to make women feel impowered, or sexy, or whatever, but that pivot point is re-berkeleying-diculous! Can women really drive in heels like that?

Alltel's service blows around here, but the ads are pretty funny. The one pictured above, when the guy starts going through the 'poofed' guy's wallet, is particularly funny. The fact that I remembered them is an indication that they build TOMA: Top Of Mind Awareness, and that's what ads are all about.

Any time I see a bunch of young hip kids dancing around city streets, I automatically tune it out, I couldn't tell you what any of those were for. Those are irritating.

Radio ads: there is one on XM with a bunch of guys getting ready to play golf and they are talking about boner pills, one guy turns out to be a doctor who is prescribing them for the others. That one is just plain stupid, along with the 'singing guys' Viagra ad. 'Smiling Bob' is idiotic, but it's unmistakeable.

The Aflac duck ads were pretty good at first, the later ones are boring. Much like the Geico cavemen.

Inaccuracy in ads irks the hell out of me, like dubbing in 2 stroke engine noise over a movie of a 4 stroke. Even if it's not for a motorcycle, the fact that the producer didn't pay attention to details shows sloppiness.

my funniest ad of the minute... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=198okcxeF74

I gotta admit; I do like Lincoln ads. Especially the two with the countdown that sounds like The Crystal Method, and the one with daft punk playing in the background. I honestly want to learn more about those lincolns now.

I despise fast food radio ads like for mcdonalds and taco bell. Come on: "you mean we should put you on our pitching staff because you're a crappy spicy taco?".

There was one alltel commercial I liked that they only played a few times. It was one of the variants where they kidnapped the cool dude and he tricked them into proving their nerdness: "stupid, there are no levels in dungeons and dragons! Idiot."

Joe Gearin wrote: Those damn cavemen have worn out their welcome. A T.V. show?! Really? Also the Caddy commercial where the woman demands an Escalade for a gift is pretty disgusting. Porsche had a fantastic ad for it's 944 Turbo when it first came out. The car was doing a lurid powerslide with tire smoke everywhere while music played. I guess they must have "invented" drifting! How about print ads in GRM and CMS? There are plenty of advertisers that scan this forum. What do you like, and what don't you like? Sorry for hijacking

Porsche usually seems to have pretty good ads.

I liked the one with the kid playing with his food, making racing noises while dragging some food on his fork through a small track made of mash potatos...

His dad looks annoyed, then says "How many times do I have to tell you! Accelerate AT the apex THROUGH the corner!"

I don't like commercials that have nothing to do with the product, and along the same lines car commercials that cut to a different camera angle every half second to look fast.

I hated the Alltel ads, but my wife liked them. I think she thought Chad was cute.

I couldn't let on that I thought they were stupid, so I kept my trap shut.

I really enjoyed seeing how much she enjoyed them.

And keeping my trap shut has given me a bit of appreciation for them as well. I have to admit I giggle a bit too now when I see them.