Mazda's New Ad Campaign Uses Ben Collins and a Dog to Suggest Consumers Are Idiots

Matt Posky
by Matt Posky
mazda s new ad campaign uses ben collins and a dog to suggest consumers are idiots

Mazda, which has seen its previously strong sales slip in Israel, feels the brand has developed a bum rap. Its once-exciting cars have become unworthy of praise in the Jewish republic — claims the company finds flagrantly objectionable.

So, rather than take the perceived abuse lying down, the automaker developed the “Prepare to be Amazed” campaign in response. Its essence isn’t that Mazda begs to differ with naysayers, but that the general public is simply wrong in its assumptions.

It’s the advertising equivalent of telling off the school bully while putting on a pair of sunglasses and moonwalking home.

The problem, as Mazda puts it, is that the brand’s popularity made it “the queen of the roads,” and that ubiquity also made it appear dull to consumers. The company says that, as a result, it was forced to address “all the wrong conceptions that are associated to the brand.”

Setting consumers straight on the matter is ex-Stig Ben Collins, three drunken lab assistants, a picture-taking dog, and four ludicrous experiments staged atop an unfinished bridge. All of the spots begin with the grateful acknowledgment of of a boring — but positive — trait attributed to Mazda before the tackling of a much harsher criticism.

It may be first time I’ve ever witnessed a company recognizing its own condemnations while also telling potential customers that they have no idea what they are talking about.

Each experiment addresses a specific complaint: Concerns over the cars having insufficient safety systems are met with Collins driving blind near the edge of the bridge using lane-assist to keep himself from going over. Claims that Mazdas are not exciting enough result in the ex-Stig outmaneuvering a drone with a paintball gun. Worries that the company has released a dull product sees a mentally deficient dog with a GoPro strapped to its back taking handsome photos of a Mazda6 — “proving” that the company can make its product look glorious without even trying.

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  • Shipping96 Shipping96 on Dec 03, 2016

    I bet a Mazda6 with a Chevy V8 would be pretty awesome.

  • Jamescyberjoe Jamescyberjoe on Dec 04, 2016

    Is this the same Mazda that told my friend to get lost when his Mazda Protege was a rust bucket when it was only 4 years old and that the front strut mounts rotted so much the car had to be junked? Mazda is a junk brand.

  • El scotto Having really bad SATO flashbacks. Someone from Alamo would stop by the SATO office and stuff some display rack with 10$ off at Alamo! coupons. Off on another mission for Truth, Justice, and the American Way of Life! Well OK, I was off to talk to some tech reps. Riding the shuttle bus to Alamo I inwardly prayed please, oh please may there be a Neon and not a damn Sebring! Neons were by and far one of the best cheap rental cars.
  • Inside Looking Out Another reason to switch to Tesla. And do not forget that there are two Fords. Ford Blue will die with UAW and ecoboost and Ford E will live on.
  • The Oracle Here in the mountains of WNC these willbe all over the place.
  • The Oracle A proper clunker from a bygone era.
  • Zerofoo I'm pretty sure driving this thing in any respectable town is considered probable cause.
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