Acura Pitchman Jerry Seinfeld: Car Advertising "Too Commercial-y". Really?
In a rather promotional feeling interview with Bloomberg, comedian and noted car collector Jerry Seinfeld discusses his growing relationship with Honda Motor’s Acura brand. Last year’s Super Bowl featured an ad for the upcoming revival of the NSX sports car scripted by Seinfeld himself, with a cameo from Jay Leno, riffing off of the two comics’ reputation as serious collectors. More recently Acura has become the sole sponsor of Seinfelds popular “ Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee” webcasts. Jerry told the news agency that in general he’s not a fan of car advertising.
Seinfeld said, “For the most part, car advertising is a total turnoff to the consumer; I think it needs a complete reboot. It’s too commercial-y and fear-based. Stop showing us the cars driving through the desert.”
Seinfeld thinks that auto companies shouldn’t focus on product in their advertising, but rather getting consumers to like them.
“Don’t sell me your product, sell me you,” said Seinfeld. “You’re trying to make people like you. You don’t have to sell them your product. You have to make them like you.”
So if Jerry doesn’t like how automotive advertising is “too commercial-y” one can’t help but wonder if the wisecracking comedian has offered his opinion to Acura on their high concept “Made for Mankind” commercial that somehow equates owning a MDX crossover with humanity’s eternal quest for knowledge and adventure. I suppose that it sort of fits into Seinfeld’s notion of selling the brand, not the product, but the ad takes itself so sonorously seriously, that it’s easy to imagine Jerry’s reaction to something like “If your quest is to built the world’s smartest luxury SUV for mankind, you must hold yourself to the standard of mankind”. Really?
Ronnie Schreiber edits Cars In Depth, a realistic perspective on cars & car culture and the original 3D car site. If you found this post worthwhile, you can get a parallax view at Cars In Depth. If the 3D thing freaks you out, don’t worry, all the photo and video players in use at the site have mono options. Thanks for reading – RJS
Ronnie Schreiber edits Cars In Depth, the original 3D car site.
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I agree with Seinfeld that " for the most part, car advertising is a total turnoff to the consumer ". However the reason they are so is the opposite, they are NOT about the cars.
Aren't all commercials a little too "commercial-y"? Simply by their nature... So car commercials and ads aren't as cool as they used to be but then every generation ends up thinking that. I remember getting into a stack of old National Geographic magazines as a kid and seeing the late 70s early 80s ads that were in there. GM ads all looked like they were shot by ex-Playboy photographers, very hazy very soft focus, talking about how the cars made you feel. The Japanese ads were very technical like blue prints and talked about the engineering virtues of their cars. A recall a few Chrysler ads with Iaccoca's attitude of "we're back bitches! Now try a K-car." I pay very little attention to car advertising except paying attention to what is "available". Oh the 2014s must be out now. Oh the Cruze diesel is out because the dealers are advertising them.