What's Wrong With This Advertisement?
It’s not that the ad itself fails to mention the car it’s actually promoting, namely the Subaru Legacy. After all, if Subaru wants to entertain enthusiasts without actually indulging in the kind of gauzy praise they lampoon so effectively here, that’s fine by us. No, the only problem with the whole “2011 Mediocrity” campaign is that Subaru’s own Tribeca was clearly styled by the very designers they mock in this spot. And in this day and age, bland, uninspired crossovers are at least as lampoonable a cliche as the bland, uninspired sedans that Subaru slams (and which earned Toyota the cash for a 16.5% stake in Subaru’s parent company). Still, this is a ballsy move for a brand that is already growing like gangbusters in the US, and it shows just how far off the mark Volkswagen’s current attempt at US market growth is likely to be.
More by Edward Niedermeyer
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Clever, but a bit misleading considering Subaru redesigned the current generation Impreza to go more mainstream to get out of their role as a 'perpetual niche' company. They offended some of their loyalists, but picked up a lot of buyers who considered their offerings too freakish. It worked, as their sales are strong, at the costs of being somewhat more mainstream. Does that equal mediocre?
I suppose that one stretch of S-turn road used for all other car commercials was closed because BMW was using it? Maybe that's why they had to film in-studio!
Regarding the commercial, that is actually exactly what most people want - a car they never have to think about. As for the article, you do realize that the Tribeca is only bland because everyone made so much fun of it the first year. People piss & moan about "different" then piss & moan about "same".
interesting how everyone assumes its toyota they are talking about when you could argue it also applies to the impala, malibu, sebring, 300, etc. most people in my neck of the woods buy domestic because they are too poor to buy anything else, honda or toyota because they are not rich enough to buy a lexus,a or lease a new (or buy a used) bmw or benz if. they are all about image. if you're middle class, you want (relatively) cheap and reliable - toyota. nothing wrong with that.