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Filed under: Marketing/Advertising, Videos, GM, Celebrities

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Our sides were still hurting from the Bob Lutz interview on the Colbert Report when we read through the GM vice-chairman’s thoughts on having appeared alongside the pseudo news anchor, whom he referred to as a “comic genius”. We managed to stop laughing long enough to note of Lutz’s recollection that Colbert had done a series of television commercials for the automaker’s service division, Goodwrench. The ads were done just a few years ago, when Colbert was still on the Daily Show with Jon Stewart before he had his own program. They weren’t bad, and we’ve got a couple of the clips after the jump for your entertainment.

[Source: YouTube]

Continue reading VIDEOS: The Goodwrench Report with Stephen Colbert

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Filed under: Motorsports, Euro, Marketing/Advertising, Videos

We know that McLaren has a sense of humor, we simply never know when it’s going to reveal itself. Happily for us, the team has decided it’s time to laugh again. The Singapore Grand Prix, on September 28, is the first Formula 1 race at night, and team CEO Martin Whitmarsh gives us a little insight into McLaren’s preparations. This is the kind of silly season that makes sense. Follow the jump for the video. Thanks for the tip, Peter!

[Source: YouTube]

Continue reading VIDEO: McLaren makes a Singapore Sling Zing

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Filed under: Coupes, Marketing/Advertising, Videos, Hatchbacks, Citroen

We often wonder why French wine, fashion and architecture make total sense to us, yet French commercials often make us go “Um, ok, all right….” Citroen’s C4 dancing robot first appeared back in 2004 — well before Optimus Prime and crew teamed up with film director Michael Bay — and since then he’s done four more commercials to showcase the car that is “alive with technology.”

With this latest clip, make that “staying alive with technology.” Roaming the streets of New York, he’s kitted out in chrome teeth and a glitter beret, jiving out to the Bee Gees while he performs style checks in any mirrored surface and poses for pictures. We have to admit his dance moves are hot, but Ironhide would probably shoot him if given the chance.

As for his alter ego, the New Look Citroen C4, it gets a grille, curvier hood and headlight treatment to match the C5. In back, transparent crystal taillamps replace the previous units. Inside, Citroen’s latest NaviDrive has a 7-inch translucent screen pre-programmed for all of Europe. Two new engines, developed with BMW, will provide the car with 120 hp or 150 hp. Most intriguing, the car comes with an integrated, scented air freshener — because all that dancing can make a robot sweat. Watch the new commercial for yourself after the jump.

[Source: YouTube]

Continue reading VIDEO: New Citroen C4 actually a dancing robot

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Filed under: Marketing/Advertising, Videos, Volkswagen

Click image for a gallery of the new Skoda Fabia

This is the ultimate car guy birthday cake. This advert for the Skoda Fabia is designed to hit you in the warm, gooey center. Right away, you’re drawn in by dulcet tones from The Sound Of Music that trigger flashbacks to a Generation Y childhood and endless preschool sing-a-longs. Furthering the irresistible pull of the commercial is the fact that they’re making cake. Anyone who can turn away from watching bakers at work is just dead inside. It’s so much like what we gearheads do - look in the book, follow the instructions using your skills to ensure a proper result. Maybe it’s just us wrench-turners who know our way around a kitchen, and are also suckers for confections. Whatever it is, even if it turns out to be subliminal flash frames (doesn’t work, btw), the Skoda is so sweet, we want to take one home. Which is the point. Except, we still want it for dessert.

Thanks for the tip, Mr. Pink!

[Source: Skoda]
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Filed under: Motorsports, Marketing/Advertising, Ferrari

We reported a couple weeks ago that Shell was pouring big money into furthering its brand association with Ferrari and F1 racing by filming what was projected to be the most expensive television advertisement ever to be produced. The commercial was set to feature a Ferrari F1 car racing through the streets of downtown Sydney, London and New York.

The crew was reportedly all set to begin filming in Sydney last week when they ran into a slight glitch: at the last second, the government in the state of New South Wales denied the film crew the necessary permits to begin filming. When it was suggested that they could obtain the permit by making a certain - ahem - “charitable contribution”, the presumably enraged producer called a halt to production and the entire crew packed up and left.

For our readers in Australia hoping to get a glimpse of the Ferraris racing through their streets, you’ll know who to blame for the disappointment. All is not lost, however, as a Ferrari street parade is scheduled to run down Melbourne’s Lygon street on March 3. The event, which will serve as a combined promotion for the Australian Grand Prix and for Ferrari’s 60th anniversary, will feature 60 Ferraris rolling down the closed-off street section, including a modern Ferrari F1 race car.

[Source: GrandPrix.com]

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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD A new documentary series. Be part of the transformation as it happens in real-time

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Filed under: Marketing/Advertising, Hyundai

While comparisons to the Accord and Camry may be more apt, Hyundai has their sights set on more upscale targets. The Korean company has been looking upmarket for vehicles to benchmark when developing their cars, and that philosophy will extend to marketing. One of the new spots touts the Sonata’s horsepower advantage over the BMW 525i, while another concedes that even though the Azera can’t self-park (a dubious feature, at best), it offers a well-equipped luxury sedan for less than half of an LS460’s price, allowing you to pay someone to park your Azera.

It would seem that Hyundai makes a regular practice of looking over the heads of direct competitors, shooting for a segment above their actual market slot. Indeed, the Mercedes ML ‘ute was a target when the new Santa Fe was being worked up, and at the Concept Genesis’s recent debut during the New York Auto Show, BMW, Porsche and Mercedes were heard, while the existence of Honda or Toyota wasn’t even acknowledged. The last Hyundai campaign we can even recall is the “Hyundai, Yes, Hyundai” effort of the early 1990s, when Hyundai’s hottest offering was the Scoupe. They’ve come a long way from building Mitsubishi cast-offs, and Hyundai is now a force to be reckoned with.

[Source: Automotive News (Sub req’d)]

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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD A new documentary series. Be part of the transformation as it happens in real-time

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