I’ve noticed a recent truck commercial devoid of specs and consisting entirely of sentiment and macho appeal. Do ads change based on a yearly sales cycle, or is this more likely an attempt to sell off excess inventory?
No, they change based on new ad agencies coming up with new strategies. Chrysler, for instance, has found some recent success in appealing to emotion rather than reason. Emotional advertising has a long tradition in auto advertising, going all the way back to 1923, when “somewhere west of Laramie” sold Jordans by selling the romance of the West. In recent decades, Chevy has had their share of sepia-toned footage hoping truck buyers will link Chevy trucks to memories of granddads and favorite uncles.
You’ll find different advertising based on whichever segment of the target audience they happen to be talking to. Open a copy of Farm Journal or Construction News and Review magazine and you’re likely to find truck ads with all the specs you’d ever want. TV ads aimed at a more general audience will necessarily be less specific.
TV is a poor method for delivering specs and specific facts anyway. Stuff like that goes by too quickly to really register. It’s far more effective at appealing to emotions.
I bought a new pickup last year. As I left the dealership, I asked the salesman where my rock was. In response to his puzzled look, I told him the ads specifically promised me a large rock and a chain to pull it around with and that I didn’t want to leave without it.
This was off his script, and apparently he was only trained to parrot the stock phrases (“What can we do to get you in this truck today?!” “What payment were you looking for?”, etc.). As far as I know, he’s still standing there like a computer in an endless loop.
FWIW: I have trailers (plural) that I must pull, and I arrived at each dealership with written requirements for GCWR, max tow capacity, pin-weights, max bed-load needs, and a spreadsheet detailing the min-max of all bed dimensions for floor-height, clearance, max/min wall height, etc. (in order to fit currently owned equipment). Not one salesman for *any *dealership, for *any *brand, could converse intelligently about the utility specifics of *any *truck on their lot. Not one.
My guess is most are purchased as fashion statements, and they figure utility customers with defined needs will use the web to determine what they want. The commercials are for the same demographic that buys fake balls to hang from the back. :rolleyes:
A lot of guys seem to want a truck for some sort of image / vanity thing. I’ve driven trucks (and now a van) for work because I need the hauling capacity for all my tools and materials. More than half my clients will have a big stupid vanity truck that they drive to the office with. Sam Elliot’s manly voice helps sell them Dodge’s.
I’m sorry that they have issues with their masculinity, but I think its fuck’n stupid to drive a truck when you don’t need one. Why not buy a nice car?
Now Im going to walk down the block to grab the closest Smart car and get some groceries.
I have had this experience buying cars. Salespeople know NOTHING about the stuff they sell. It’s probably not their fault, they are trained to sell using bullshit and high pressure tactics.
My favorite is when you ask a question and they start reading the window sticker. As if I can’t do that myself.