Daily Podcast: Huh?
As Detroit heads for its inevitable meltdown, The End of Days keeps throwing-up a whole bunch of weird shit. For example, I was watching one of those creepy Chevy ads where an African American spokesmodel tries to convince a bunch of severely underage car buyers that Chevy is gas-friendly (which cracks me up, 'cause Chevy SUVs just LOVE gas) to gas-free (which also cracks me up, 'cause even the theoretical plug-in Volt will use gas). In this one, the actor asks the kids if they like riddles (which cracks me up, 'cause it reminds me of Peter Grave's immortal line "Do you like Gladiator movies Johnny?). So… "when is a car not a car?" "When you can't sell it for love nor money?" a pixie-faced child replies. (Just kidding.) "When it's an SUV!" the unsupervised adult informs. "What the fuck are you talking about?" a child chosen for reasons of ethic diversity demands. (Just kidding.) The spokesmodel tells his charges that the conundrum involves a GM hybrid SUV chosen as "Green Car of the Year." "But it's an SUV!" an indignant rug rat bleats. (For real.) The spokesmodel provides the logical explanation: "I guess it's smart." Why would GM draw its customers' attention to the fact that it doesn't deserve an award? I guess they're dumb.
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That little [s]booger[/s] hybrid badge in the picture looks a lot like something in a mailing I just got from Mambo Sprouts*. Compare the badge to the trademark of Equal Exchange Coffee and judge for yourselves: Was this by design or did they not do a proper trademark search? *I think the Mambo Sprouts mailing is a result of my Car and Driver subscription.
L47_V8: Yes, the Kia "Millard Filmore" ads this time of year are clever and funny; much more so than the Chevy mangled "Hail to the Chief" theme song (replayed ad nauseum). Chevy got on my nerves a few years ago by running a localized ad for a summer sale, looping "Walking On The Sun" (A song that I initially liked, but grew to loathe). I e-mailed a complaint to them, and they actually replied -- to wit: "We regret your displeasure with our television advertising, but..." Maybe their ad agency is just as out-of-control as the rest.
Yeah, its pretty dumb to point out the fact that the Tahoe really doesnt deserve a "Green" car award. On the other hand, using children in advertising is often effective, so it isn't completely "dumb" approach. BTW, the Chevys "gas free" car is the Equinox which is a test pilot program right now in Cali and maybe somewehre else. Yeah, I know, they dont actually sell anoy of them yet. Maybe they should advertise what they have on the dealers lots?