I can’t believe we got to post 21 without riffing on “a string of poloponies”.
No actual incest, please note- all in the eye of some viewers-
I was going to make a similar comment. There is a long history of gift-wrapped Christmas car ads. I’m pretty sure I remember one from the 1970s.
But yeah, those first couple of Lexus ads were super-duper offputtingly smug.
OTOH, the people who could afford a new Lexus as a surprise Christmas gift probably reacted by saying “I could see myself doing that.”
And at that time Lexus was trying to establish themselves as a genuine status competitor to Mercedes, not merely an up-badged Toyota. They had to play the “Our customers are sleek pretentious rich people” card because that was the market they were after. Who all needed to be persuaded that turning in their Mercedes or BMW for a Lexus wouldn’t get them laughed out of the country club or executive dining room.
The larger point being that e.g. Lexus didn’t / doesn’t care about annoying people who cannot be their customers. They only care about buttering up the people who can be their customers.
The current GMC truck commercials are a bit more risky for GMC. Plenty of struggling middle class folks are in hock up to the eyeballs to pay for cars already.
The JG Wentworth 877-CASH-NOW commercials. I’ve been on this rock for 55 years and not once have I known a person who lived off of a structured settlement. I imagine the number of people who do is in the low seven figures. Seems they believe their actual market is considerably bigger than it is.
Back in the 90s, a certain financial services company ran an ad that appeared in Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center concert programs, with the tagline “FACE IT - YOU’RE RICH.”
I remember a few years ago there was an ad for some hybrid car. The driver of said car was trying to use the squeegee at a gas station, getting told it was for paying customers, then proceeding to pump like a dollar and change worth of gas into his car to “own” the mean gas station attendant who wouldn’t let him use the squeegee.
This made me think hybrid car owners are tools and I don’t want to drive one of your tool cars.
Jeep is running ads saying they are the “most patriotic car company.” I guess those of us who don’t drive Jeeps are traitors.
Also I have never figured out why a gecko or emu should influence who I buy insurance from, but maybe that doesn’t fit this thread.
It’s to keep the company in your mind. Can you name the company with the Gecko? The next time you’re looking to change carriers, you’ll give them a shot. If it didn’t work, they wouldn’t keep it airing for decades. This is basic marketing.
Oh they are in my mind all right, along with all the other stupidity in life.
Last time I changed carriers, I thought I would give them a shot. As it turns out, they are not as good at paying claims as those other carriers who don’t have a cute animal in their ads.
That’s nice. But you did give them a chance. You may not have remembered them or known of them if not for the gecko and that’s why they run the ads. I never claimed that they aren’t a shitty company.