I’m not entirely sure who the car manufacturer is for this commercial, I THINK it’s Saturn. Anyway, the commercial shows a guy on a busy city street come to a stop light. He sees a sign pointing to the right saying ‘Freeway 1 Mile’ or something like that. He is in the third from the right lane and turns on his right turn signal. When he comes to the stop a bunch of taxis pull up in the lanes to the right of him. The narrator is says something like ‘Maybe they will see that you have your turn signal on and will let you go when the light changes’ with a sarcastic tone and then goes on to say something about how it’s good to have such a powerful engine in situations like this.
What the fuck? Basically what is implied is that this idiot who didn’t see his turn come up and isn’t in the turning lane should take advantage of his fast acceleration to pull ahead of and cut in front of the cars on his right to make his turn when the light turns green. This is a dangerous and illegal maneuver, and is obnoxious and unnecessary. I hate it when people cut across traffic and force people to slam on their brakes because they didn’t pay attention and didn’t get in the right lane ahead of time. Yes, I know it happens, it happens to me, but you know what? I’d rather just continue straight, and at the first opportunity turn around and come back to my turn.
I’ll pay attention next time this commercial comes on to find out what car manufacturer this is, and I will NEVER buy a car from them. I’m kinda hoping I was wrong and it wasn’t a Saturn ad, because I have a couple of friends who have them, they seem like decent cars and are quite inexpensive, I was thinking of getting one for my next car.
I think most car commercials are stupid. What about that dumbass commercial where the fortyish-sounding guy says in sort of a five-year-oldish tone, “IIII’m better than yoooouuuu aaaaarrrre.” He says this in reference to the kind of car being driven. If you think you’re better than someone else based entirely on the make and model of your car, you have serious issues. And I laugh whenever a commercial shows an SUV in an off-road situation. The chances of anyone taking their SUV off-road is slim-to-none.
I think that was the shortened version. In the full cut, after that, dude takes advantage of that acceleration and cuts across, and receives a taxi plowing right into the side of the car. It goes on to say that in moments like this it’s good to have side air bags installed as a basic option.
The tricky part is, it’s not a car commercial at all, because the part after that is when the driver is being hauled away in the ambulance, and the narrator solemnly goes on about how in moments like this, it’s good to have full medical coverage. The really tricky part is, it’s not for medical insurance, because the final segment is a casket being lowered into a grave, cut to crying wife and children, then cut to same wife and children with big smiles as they pick up their brand shiney new car. In times like this, it’s good to have good life insurance.
Wait, wait, I’m wrong. That’s just the version that exists inside my head. There’s also one that goes on even further, but that’s a special ending crafted for the 700 Club.
I think this commercial is an order of magnitude worse than most car commercials. Yes, the ones that push the car as a status symbol are annoying, but when someone acts superior because he wasted more money on his car it doesn’t really hurt anyone. Commercials showing SUVs and trucks being used in off-road conditions most vehicles will never be used in are just pointless. Even the commercial where the power of the car was shown as being useful in passing is only showing a legitimate use for the car - everybody needs to pass someone sometimes, and it IS easier if you have a more powerful car…but this one was suggesting that it was OK to cut in front of traffic at a light to make an illegal turn because your car is fast enough to pull it off.
Yes, it’s an obnoxious car commercial, but you’ve misinterpreted it.
The guy in the far-left lane isn’t trying to make a right-hand turn… his destination is a little ways down, and his options are either A: try to slip in between all the taxis, B: wait for all the taxis to pass by him, or C: get ahead of them.
Basically, it’s saying that “Our car can accelerate faster than others”, and has nothing to do with making an illegal right-hand turn.
They definitely should have made it more clear, if that was the case. For one thing, he has his turn signal on at the light, before an intersection - it’s illegal to change lanes crossing an intersection, and it seems wrong to signal a lane change while sitting at a light, well before you could legally change lanes.
I haven’t seen it, but from your descriptin, I’d agree that the commercial encourages deadly driving habits. In that situation, there is nothing to be gained from zooming ahead and trying to grab the slot ahead of the taxis. There is nothing you could achieve with a lead foot on the accelerator that you couldn’t achieve more safely with a foot on the brake. It is good for your driving karma to let others pass and wait for your shot.
But if I had to pick the car commercial that pisses me off most, its the one with the song “1, 2, 3, 4, 5, everybody in my ford, let’s go for a drive.” Even though I hit the mute button as soon as possible, I’ve been waking up every morning for the past 3 days with that goddam tune in my head. That tune is evil subliminal mindcontrol on some level or another. I’d never buy a ford, EVER, but I made that decision a long time ago, not on the basis of that commercial.
Most definitely. I got the point of the commercial, but I can see how you’d misunderstand it.
All too true.
I think the heart of the problem is that car companies need people to think that a car’s performance is reliant solely on what’s under the hood, and that a good enough car can make even the dumbest shmoe a great driver.
There is another one with some hot looking brunette running out of a farmhouse with an angry “grandmother” type in pursuit. On top of the farmhouse is some albino looking young man. the commercial was implying the woman was getting banged from this guy and momma caught them and now she’s running away.
My wife (and IMHO rightfully so) pointed out that if it was reversed and some guy was banging a young woman and got chased out there would probably be outrage at the commercial.
I haven’t seen the commercial you refer to, Badtz but I’m sure it would piss me off too. Car advertisers should not encourage aggressive driving.
In a similar vein there was an SUV commercial a year or so ago, that showed the SUV out-maneuvering a taxi. A child sitting in back sings a song about “Big bad dad.”
In my mind, the message of the commercial was: "Buy our big, tough SUV, and people won’t be able to push you around any more on the road.
The problem is that most aggressive, obnoxious drivers feel that THEY are the victims and that they are merely retaliating/punishing/protecting themselves. Car advertisers should not encourage this attitude.
How bout the one with the guy bullfighting in his new SUV… yeah alright, “not that you would but you could…”
My favorite one to hate is the chevy commercial where the guy is gonna tow away a semi truck… “make sure it’s it neutral…”, while at the bottom of the screen it says “Think an S-10 can haul a semi? Nah, see the instruction book.” What the hell is that all about?
Man, car commercials suck… AND WHY ARE THEY SOOOOOOOO LOUD???
Hey, I for one am glad that’s there. I was all ready to try it until I saw that disclaimer. Boy, would I have looked stupid!
I despise the one with Mommy driving her SUV over a bridge. Little boy in car seat in back says “look, Mommy, a tug boat!” Mommy says “Where? In the water?”
I truly wish the kid’s next line was “No, you stupid cow, I just pulled it out of my rectum!”
FTR, I like SUVs. I think young kids should be in car seats in the back. I think women should drive. But that conversation just gets on my nerves.
Zoom, zoom.
THAT “ZOOM ZOOM” KID MUST DIE!!!
I have to keep my remote handy so i can click channels to avoid that hockey puck!
As for disclaimers, anyone see the “Uncle Al” commercial, where Uncle Al is in an urn, and the disclaimer says if you drive like these guys are, you’ll end up like Uncle Al?
Hey, I like the “zoom zoom” kid. At least he looks like a regular, although dorky, kid. I’m sick of commercials featuring saccarine sweet, cutsey-wootsie child-doll caricatures. If I see another Welche’s Grape Juice ad, I’m gonna have a brain embolism. (And where do they get those chubby kids? They look like Campbell’s kids.)
I like the new Volkswagen van ad, with the couple picking up all the hitchikers. Dunno why, but that appeals to me. Maybe because it’s so relaxed and understated compared to all the other screaming car commercials.
I read a couple of reports recently that the “zoom-zoom” kid was actually killed during the filming of a Mazda commercial. I’m looking for verification of this.
If true, then it’s pretty odd that Mazda continues to use the commercials, as I’ve seen a few with the kid since reading the reports.
Demographics. Evidentally someone has said lower priced car customers like to be screamed at.
Ever heard a commercial for a tractor pull competition or a monster truck competition? Big booming voice announcer with echo: ONE DAY ONLY!!! TUESDAY!!! TRUCK-A-SAURUS!!! - We have car commercials like that and my guess is the folks who attend the Monster Truck show don’t drive Mercedes or BMW’s. The loud commercials (around where I live anyway) are usually for local Chevy/Ford/Dodge dealers.
The Mercedes and BMW commercials, by contrast, are usually much more quiet (almost whispering at times) with classical-type music playing in the background.