AM I the only one who thinks that commericals that seem to advocate getting someone a car for Xmas are stupid? Do they think folks just need a nudge to get that car as a Xmas gift? Hmm, diamind earrings or brand new Lexus…with a big red bow?
There are probably a few people who were already thinking about it as a possible gift and could be nudged, or thinking seriously now that they’ve seen the commercial. Why do you think there aren’t any?
I acknowledge that there are most likely plenty of people in the U.S. (and elsewhere) who would buy someone a car or wildly expensive piece of jewelry for Christmas. If they’ve got the means, they’re entitled to buy, and these companies sure put out the word that they’ve got the stuff these people might be looking for.
But I also acknowledge that for people like me, who don’t have the means to just roll into a Lexus dealership, pull out in a shiny new car and surprise my SO with it for Christmas - well, I gotta admit I usually just roll my eyes when I see those commercials. 
Yeah, I just don’t see it as the basis for a advertising campaign.
Keep winning those tournaments, GO and you just might be the guy who gets “nudged”. 
I’ve never understood them. Cars ain’t cheap. Brand-new luxury cars really aren’t cheap. And to me they seem like one of those things you have to figure out together, if only to make sure that the car is really the one you want, can afford it, and so on.
I could see getting my wife a new car for Christmas or her birthday. Not now because we are not in the market for a car but when we are I could see doing that.
For most people, a car is a big enough purchase that you’d need to discuss with your spouse in advance. Even if you could afford it, are you sure about the brand, model and color they want? If I were doing it, I’d see about borrowing a car from the dealer for the big presentation and then going in after the holiday to finalize everything.
What I want to know is, where do you get those gigantic bows?
I agree. About the only time I can see “surprising” someone with a car for Christmas is if the couple has already been talking about it anyway, and they already know they can afford it. But by that time they’ve probably already come close to deciding the brand and model, so how can it be a surprise?
GO, meet Mrs. Voyager. She virtually pits those commercials every time they come on. In the Bay Area, the Mercedes dealers would do radio commercials around the same theme, as if people gave each other Mercedes like they were costume jewelry. Stupid, stupid, stupid. The only reason I can see for them is to try to make people feel like pikers for not wanting to shell out zillions of dollars for a present.
Good pit!
No. In fact I was contemplating a similar Pit thread myself. I guess they must be worth it, though, since this has been going on for years.
My dad once bought my mom a car for her birthday, when her old car was worn out and ready to be replaced. It was one of the funniest moments ever. We went out to dinner, then walked her out to the parking lot, waiting for her to notice the brand new car sitting there with a big bow and balloons on it. Her reaction? “Oh, look, someone else is having a birthday here tonight, too!”
Dang, maybe this place really is a hive mind. I’ve been thinking about Pitting those insufferably annoying yuppie-fantasy Lexus Christmas commercials myself.
Given that my per-person Christmas budget is about 75 bucks, I don’t think I’ll be anyone in my family a car this holiday.
I could let you have a 95 Dodge Spirit… never mind.
I ahte them too. They are jsut like the diamond commercials. I happen to get a number of trade magazines for jewelers, and they all say that the DeBeers commercials have redefined giving diamonds, in much the same way Pat Moynihan described our society “defining deviancy down.”
I noticed one twist with the Lexus commercial. It’s a woman giving her husband the car. Ordinarily, you’d see hubby buying it the wife.
Considering that upper management in any number of companies can receive a 10 to 25K bonus at the end of the year, buying a new car isn’t really that unreasonable. One of the directors at my office bought himself a Lexus last year after getting a promotion and a big bonus. Just about any professional athlete can afford to buy a surprise luxury car for a birthday or holiday. If you think these are ads are unrealistic, then you aren’t the type of person they are targeting. I can’t afford to get my wife a Cadillac for Christmas either, but if I had that kind of expendable cash, I would. I just tune out during them like I would if it was a feminine hygiene product, or like my wife does when football is on.
Why are you assuming that “buy for Christmas” necessarily means “buy and keep secret fron recepient until Christmas day”? Is it unthinkable in American culture to say “honey, I’ll get you a car for Christmas, let’s go out and choose one”?
Anyway, at any time of year there is a small but non-negligible number of people in the market for a new car. If they decide to buy it this month, they’ll think of it as a Christmas purchase. It makes perfect sense to advertise them as such. Even if you buy one yourself, you may well think of it as a Christmas present to yourself.
Giant bow vendors, where else?
I had no idea how many folks were making those silly-huge things. Note the prices - less than $30 for most. Trust me - the friendly neighborhood Lexus dealer’s going to jack that up a bit - prepare to be gouged for about $300.
I bought a new car on Christmas Eve once.
Not for the holiday, mind you – I just needed a replacement around the end-of-the-year, and a dealer was willing to cut me a decent price on the 24th, so I went for it. No big bow, tho.
I actually saw a Lexus with a bow on it in NYC a couple of years ago, outside the Algonquin Hotel. As I walked past it, this guy, who just exuded coolness, was leaning against the building, in a classic Jimmy Dean type pose, took a drag off his cigarette and motioned at the car. “Look what I got you for Christmas,” he said, and smiled.
I laughed, said thanks, and walked on. Was a surreal moment, though. And the guy was hot.
Anyway…
I don’t like the cell phone commercials either - I mean, if I give my mother a cell phone, does she pay the bill? You can’t really buy the phone and then have the receipient go down and get service - the non-contract price is astronomical. Either you just asked someone to get cell service when they didn’t neccesarily want it, or you’re on the hook for the bill. That’s a pretty big gift.
The car commercials just take it to a new level with insurance, gas costs, etc. I wouldn’t like to be signed up for higher car insurance even if the car was a gift.
I do know a man who would borrow his wife’s car keys at lunch and return a new set. She would walk out into the parking lot and not know which one was hers. She finally put her foot down after 4 cars in 6 months and lots of $$ down the drain. She really missed her first little car.