Ask the Best and Brightest: What Car Ad Needs Parody?
I got an email yesterday from a mob called LandLine TV. They sent me a link to the above video asking if I wanted to post it for your amusement. Of course I said no. It’s so not funny. OK, the pitchmen have natural comedic talent, in that gormless, Pineapple Express kinda way. But the ad itself could’ve been made by a 12-year-old with his mom’s video camera. I suppose that’s the point, but, again, it’s just not funny. So I wrote back explaining why the faux ad didn’t work and offered my services as a script writer. That fish is wiggling on the hook. They sent me back an email saying that they were open to suggestion (the seminal work on hypnosis by the way). They’re thinking about spoofing this Caddy ad. Not only is the Caddy slingshot ad older than John McCain (in Internet time), but who cares? Why not spoof the Caddy Escalade Hybrid ad. Or the Dodge Boys’ “man step” dissing ad? Or… well, there are lots of possibilities. And so I throw it open to you, our Best and Brightest, to share some ideas for spoof car ads. And remember: these guys are hiring.
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on several of the forums I frequent we already spoof the Cadillac Escalade Hybrid ad with "CHECK MATE" and a picture of the ridiculous tank of a vehicle whenever some "pwnage" occurs.
Too bad those old "Chevy - An American Revolution" ads are gone. They'd be ripe for something involving Che Guevara or Chairman Mao nationalising GM.
Those VW ads with the talking Beetle leave themselves open to something where someone else provides the voice to the car (a la that bit involving the GT-R warranty that was posted here a few days ago). But I beg of people in the name of all that is decent, please don't do it. There's nothing even remotely funny about that former German leader.
As a veteran automotive ad copywriter, I agree that most recent car ads are self-parodying. The Cadillac spot being parodied is truly dreadful, as are the current VW spots (anyone else think the old Beetle sounds like the fish in American Dad? And who can forget the monumentally awful Cadillac Catera spots of yore? Nothing says luxury sport sedan like an animated duck, I suppose. Two current spots in particular depress me: the F-150 "man step", and "It's a big girl car" with the redheaded moppet. Both are supremely worthy of derision, and I urge my fellow TTAC posters to have at it. Visit You Tube and check out Volvo's "Survivors" spot (in my opinion, the best car commercial ever done), and Jeep's "Singing Animals" spot. While coming from opposite creative approaches, both are effective and memorable.