I’m a car aficionado, but in my opinion and without mincing words, car commercials are boring. With few exceptions like the Young Vader ad from VW from the Super Bowl a few years ago, car commercials are stale and, more than any other genre, lack what I consider to be the “umami” of ads – “truth, wit, intelligence and charm” (cite: Peter Engel). In general, most car ads can easily be applied to their competitors. To illustrate this, try watching a figure skating, air guitar, or dancing competition on mute and turning on the radio. Almost inevitably it will seem just as good with the new music. Try it out; it’s kind of fun. Now think about that with car commercials – replacing the featured vehicle with one from another manufacturer. Would there be a clear difference or, like the skating routine, would it be a seamless change? I’d argue the latter.
Now it seems that competing truck manufacturers are using very similar, new slogans. This month, AdWeek had an article about Chevrolet abandoning “CHEVY RUNS DEEP” for “FIND NEW ROADS.” The new slogan had two audiences: consumers and its employees. After finishing the article, I was struck by how common that new tagline seemed when applied to trucks.
I also couldn’t help but compare this to one of Chevy’s rivals, Ford, which has recently been using GO FURTHER. And, like the article says about Chevy’s new slogan, Ford’s slogan is likewise intended to be a mantra for its employees.
Another rival of Chevy in the truck market is Toyota, which has recently introduced the similarly themed LET’S GO PLACES.
Seems like pathways to the future are ruling the slogans of the truck genre. What do you think about Chevy’s new theme in view of its competitors?