Let's Talk About a Terrible GMC Ad

Tim Healey
by Tim Healey

We here at TTAC love it when there’s a bad car ad — because we get to rip it apart.

And now we have one from GMC — and no, it’s not the annoyingly Yuppie “I love it” people.

This centers around the AT4 off-road trim that’s available across the lineup. In order to show how capable the AT4-equipped SUVs and trucks are, we get shown a Lamborghini, Bentley, and Genesis sedan, all stuck in off-road situations that they’re not built to handle, all spinning their wheels uselessly.

The voiceover then says “think premium can’t be capable? Think again.”

The point of the ad is obviously to say that upscale trucks and SUVs are just as good off-road as cheaper ones. Which is a fine argument to make, especially if you sell luxury trucks and SUVs. And surely the GMC AT4 stuff is capable off-road.

That said, the Lambo is capable of driving fast on-road and the Bentley is capable of going fast and offering comfort and the Genesis is also capable of being comfortable. Those cars just aren’t capable off-road, and that’s obvious to anyone with eyes and common sense.

Who in their right mind is going to try to boulder bash in a Lambo? Rock-crawl the forest in a Bentley? Slide across a sand dune in a Genesis?

The ad does show the AT4s acting capably in off-road situations, to be fair. But why not compare it to actual competing vehicles? GMC isn’t the only one building upscale trucks and SUVs. Or why not spend more time hyping the abilities of your vehicles instead of pointing out the obvious?

Indeed, if one really wanted to overthink it, the ad could almost imply that the AT4 can’t keep up with the competition, so it has to show that it would be better than cars that aren’t made to go off-road. As if the bar is that low.

Obviously, that’s not GMC’s intent. The intent is to show that the AT4s can be excellent off-road without sacrificing luxury. But the execution is poor.

Swing and a miss, guys.

[Image: GMC]

Tim Healey
Tim Healey

Tim Healey grew up around the auto-parts business and has always had a love for cars — his parents joke his first word was “‘Vette”. Despite this, he wanted to pursue a career in sports writing but he ended up falling semi-accidentally into the automotive-journalism industry, first at Consumer Guide Automotive and later at Web2Carz.com. He also worked as an industry analyst at Mintel Group and freelanced for About.com, CarFax, Vehix.com, High Gear Media, Torque News, FutureCar.com, Cars.com, among others, and of course Vertical Scope sites such as AutoGuide.com, Off-Road.com, and HybridCars.com. He’s an urbanite and as such, doesn’t need a daily driver, but if he had one, it would be compact, sporty, and have a manual transmission.

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  • Jamblastx Jamblastx on Jul 20, 2021

    OMG...thank you. I cannot stand this ad for so many reasons and its almost like every little thing defies any sort of logic. From the luxury/supercar knockoffs struggling to rock climb (all of which HAVE actual SUV models in their libeup) as pointed out to the term '...the first ever AT4'...like that means anything. I remember when the Pontiac G6 was introduced, it seems that they were the first one to use the term 'first ever' when introducing a new model....as if it was going to be iconic, so you better get on the ground floor or you will be missing out. And since then, a bunch of other forgettable models have used that hackneyed approach. Then really GMC? You really think that your 'premium' models are in the same stratosphere with a Lamborghini...or a Bentley? Do you find many Hurracan/Acadia cross shoppers? Jeez

    • Dwford Dwford on Jul 20, 2021

      Yes!!!The "first ever" tag line just grates my nerves. Who cares that it's the first ever?!

  • Lightspeed Lightspeed on Jul 21, 2021

    Car ads have been crap for so long, I haven't paid attention to any since Nissan's Barbie and Ken spot.

  • Syke Kinda liked the '57, hated the '58. Then again, I hated the entire '58 GM line except for the Chevrolet. Which I liked better than the '57's. Still remember dad's '58 Impala hardtop, in the silver blue that was used as the main advertising color.
  • Dartdude The bottom line is that in the new America coming the elites don't want you and me to own cars. They are going to make building cars so expensive that the will only be for the very rich and connected. You will eat bugs and ride the bus and live in a 500sq-ft. apartment and like it. HUD wants to quit giving federal for any development for single family homes and don't be surprised that FHA aren't going to give loans for single family homes in the very near future.
  • Ravenuer The rear view of the Eldo coupe makes it look fat!
  • FreedMike This is before Cadillac styling went full scale nutty...and not particularly attractive, in my opinion.
  • JTiberius1701 Middle of April here in NE Ohio. And that can still be shaky. Also on my Fiesta ST, I use Michelin Pilot Sport A/S tires for the winter and Bridgestone Potenza for my summer tires. No issues at all.
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