Mercedes. Now With Grim Reaper In The Death Seat

by Bertel Schmitt

May 28th, 2010 6:47 AM

mercedes now with grim reaper in the death seat

Speaking of car ads, never in my life would I have expected to see the grim reaper in a car ad. Especially not in the death seat. Especially not in a Mercedes ad. The boys from Sindelfingen never were known for their daredevil approach to advertising. Even at Volkswagen, which used to take more risk in their campaigns (

“Herr Schmitt! How often do we have to tell you: No negative advertising!!!!” It’s amazing that the Mercedes-Benz Brake Assistant System (BAS) ad [available after the jump] saw the light of day. Personally, I like it. Honestly, I’m envious of an agency that has gotten this ad through countless committees. Coming up with a good ad is easy. The hard part is having it approved.

#Advertising #BertelSchmitt #Daimler #Death #Germany #Mercedes-Benz

Comments

Join the conversation

8 of 18 comments

Akitadog on May 28, 2010

Ooh, Death looks way too much like Ferdinand Piech. You think that was on purpose?

Like Reply
Panzerfaust on May 28, 2010

I'll bet the executives over at Chrysler can relate.

Like Reply
- See 3 previous
- Bertel Schmitt on May 28, 2010
  
  Don't you think the "Chrysler" comments whenever "Daimler" is mentioned are getting a bit repetitive?
  
  Like
- Wheeljack on May 28, 2010
  
  They'll only get repetitive when the majority of people are really clued in to the damage that Daimler did to Chrysler.
  
  Like
- Mhadi on May 28, 2010
  
  Like the damage Daimler did to Chrylser in the 1980s? Lame argument. Maybe if Chrysler built good cars they would not be in the predicament they are now.
  
  Like
- Bertel Schmitt on May 29, 2010
  
  I think the world, definitely the readers of TTAC, have been sufficiently notified that Daimler sucked the blood out of Chrysler and threw them away like a vampire a drained virgin. Whether its true or not, point made. The matter has been overtaken by other events at the hands of Cerberus, the U.S. government, and Fiat. Also, don't sweat little details. Daimler paid $36b for Chrysler. Then they paid Cerberus $650m to take Chrysler off Daimler's hands. Daimler paid another $1.3b for getting rid of their remaining 19.9 percent. They paid enough for their alleged sins. In the meantime, stockholders lost their investment, bondholders were NSFWd, dealers were killed, and Fiat got Chrysler for free. Let it go.
  
  Like
Lucianrosca on May 28, 2010

"Coming up with a good ad is easy. The hard part is having it approved." That's so true not just in advertising but also in design. It brings back so many memories, fortunately most of them positive.

Like Reply
Johnster on May 28, 2010

I love the Ingmar Bergman references. It's no "De Duva," but they only had 45 seconds. http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=3803584387889303730# It's too bad Volvo or Saab didn't come up with it instead of Mercedes. You know what I mean?

Like Reply