The saga of Buick advertising over the last several years is not an encouraging one. However, it’s pretty emblematic of domestic car advertising in general and perhaps sheds some light on the dismal state of the U.S. auto industry period.
Some of you will remember that a few years ago Buick decided that the best way to make its products appealing to people under the age of 70 was to resurrect a guy who’s been dead for nearly 30 years–Harley Earl–thus giving new meaning to the notion of the “spirit” of a brand. This was done in concert with Buick’s continuing relationship with Tiger Woods, no less, leading one to think, “well, in that case, why not pair up Tiger with the ghost of Bobby Jones, or Mr. Earl with Ralph Lauren?” The permutations boggle the mind.
Be that as it may, the effort failed, so Buick tried something else.
Something else being the “Cadillac” approach, i.e. laminate some classic rock tune to running footage and see if that might do the trick. In Cadillac’s case, the track was from Led Zeppelin and the effect was noteworthy. (Of course, it probably didn’t hurt that the Cadillac’s on offer had been radically redesigned.) Alas, in Buick’s case, the track was from Aerosmith, the theme was “Dream Up” and the car’s were more or less your grandfather’s Oldsmobile, so the net result was less than dazzling.
So now Buick is trying again. This time with a truly pathetic: “Beyond Precision”, which is sure to join the pantheon of great automotive themes only about 5,000 places farther back in line. Beyond precision? As in so far past precision we’re back to indistinguishable, Detroit-extruded jelly beans with $5,000 cashback incentives right off the lot?
What is it with General Motors? Detroit? American car makers? They seem capable of losing money faster than a drunken boatswain in San Diego. Shed workers by the legion. And have turned pension obligation into an oxymoron. Yet they still exhibit a “mate-for-life” loyalty to their agencies that rivals the Canadian goose. The net result being more and more ordinary advertising. And possibly the most compelling case yet in support of my “advertising as a proxy for management quality” thesis.
Building a display for some generic Buick was the challenge on last night’s Apprentice: Martha Steward.
When they introduced the judges, three members of Buick’s marketing department, my wife said, “Well, there’s 3 people who have no idea how to do their jobs.”
If you think this Buick effort is terrible- how about the one a few months ago touting the “Buick’s total value promise” where they cut from one actor to another of every ethnic group- talking about how great Buicks are. If you need to talk about yourself to others- you are a bore at any party or as one of my favorite quotes goes:
?When people talk to themselves, it?s called insanity. When companies talk to themselves it?s called marketing.?
~Steve Bautista
I asked for someone to put Buick out of their misery on my blog: http://www.thenextwave.biz/tnw/?p=89