# Why are TV commercials for cars all terrible? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 5, 2008, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-tv-commercials-for-cars-all-terrible/475848 "2008-12-05T14:19:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2008, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-tv-commercials-for-cars-all-terrible/475848/21 "2008-12-05T19:08:29Z")
There are very few good car commercials. If I were doing one I’d do a slow 360 degree camera rotation around a very shiny car, letting the light reflect off the bodywork, all while talking about the attributes of the car, or bullet-pointing them at the top or bottom of the screen. Show the product. Isn’t that the #1 rule of advertising? We don’t need all sorts of fast cuts and distractions. ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2008, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-tv-commercials-for-cars-all-terrible/475848/22 "2008-12-05T23:02:23Z")
Not sure which car it was for, but there was a freaking fantastic ad for a car that was sort of a rube goldberg device, it started with a rolling bolt or something, and it hit a car part, that tipped over onto another car part, which moved another car part … anybody remember that and have a link? ---
**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2008, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-tv-commercials-for-cars-all-terrible/475848/23 "2008-12-06T00:00:06Z")
> [@aruvqan](#): > > Not sure which car it was for, but there was a freaking fantastic ad for a car that was sort of a rube goldberg device, it started with a rolling bolt or something, and it hit a car part, that tipped over onto another car part, which moved another car part … anybody remember that and have a link? It was a [Honda Commercial](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZwwWtbMfEFE). I came in here to mention that I loved the Nissan GI Joe commercial. ---
**Author:** ![Omniscient](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omniscient/32/3290_2.png) [@Omniscient](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omniscient)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2008, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-tv-commercials-for-cars-all-terrible/475848/24 "2008-12-06T00:10:07Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > This seems profoundly counterintuitive to me. Given the dollars at stake, I would have guessed, if I’d never seen TV before, that car commercials would be the BEST commercials, the most cutting edge, the funniest, the most amazing commercials you’d ever see on TV. You are under the mistaken impression that the “best” commercial is an entertaining one. The _best_ commercial is the one that increases sales the most. The fun entertaining commercials for Nike and the like are simply branding. When branding you can afford to sacrifice detail in the sake of cool, however those commercials don’t directly effect sales, they are just branding. Car commercials are generally much more concerned with moving product. They are promotions, not branding. They must feature the product and they must highlight the price and incentives to buy. Years and years of marketing experience has proven that flashy and cool detract from the message when you are trying to promote a sale and a specific products features. The only segment of the auto industry that can really afford to be in branding mode right now is the luxury lines. BMW, Mercedes, Cadillac and Audi tend to do branding and those ads tend to be more interesting and sexy. Ford, GM, Toyota and Hyundai are pretty much left to promote their deal-du-jour. Those commercials are dull and to the point, but I’m sure you know when they start their 0% financing deal and employee price deals. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2008, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-tv-commercials-for-cars-all-terrible/475848/25 "2008-12-06T03:08:44Z")
> [@pbbth](#): > > I think the problem with that was at no point in that ad did I see a car that wasn’t a remote controlled vehicle. It was funny and original and all but I didn’t ever see the product they were advertising. If they had cut out the driving through the house and running from the cat and instead at the end watched a live version of GI Joe and his redhead drive away from a mansion in an actual nissan they might have actually sold a few cars. Good point. Few marketing types have given much thought to _why_ this particular spot wasn’t effective, only that it was creative and original and ineffective, therefore creative and original must always be ineffective. > [@Omniscient](#): > > Car commercials are generally much more concerned with moving product. They are promotions, not branding. They must feature the product and they must highlight the price and incentives to buy. Years and years of marketing experience has proven that flashy and cool detract from the message when you are trying to promote a sale and a specific products features. Which, I think is part of Detroit’s problem. If the Big 3 had spent more time in the last 20 years reinforcing that they were improving the quality and value of their cars, and less time screaming that they were giving us a deal, maybe they’d be getting a little more sympathy right now. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2008, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-tv-commercials-for-cars-all-terrible/475848/26 "2008-12-06T03:15:32Z")
> [@pbbth](#): > > I think the problem with that was at no point in that ad did I see a car that wasn’t a remote controlled vehicle. It was funny and original and all but I didn’t ever see the product they were advertising. If they had cut out the driving through the house and running from the cat and instead at the end watched a live version of GI Joe and his redhead drive away from a mansion in an actual nissan they might have actually sold a few cars. I was thinking exactly the same thing. It’s a cool commercial for selling RC cars. ---
**Author:** ![installLSC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/54ee81/32.png) [@installLSC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/installLSC)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2008, 5:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-tv-commercials-for-cars-all-terrible/475848/27 "2008-12-06T05:43:14Z")
Maybe the reason is because cars are sutch a huge investment. Clothing and food companies can get away with wilder ads because if the stuff you’re selling is crap, the customers’ out relatively little. Cars, being besides housing the biggest investment people make, aren’t really an impulse buy. People worry about mundane stuff like number of seats or fuel mileage. By doing flashier advertising, maybe car companies fear they’ll install a “flighty” image with the public. It’s the same reason banks, investment funds, and real estate ads tend to be so boring–they don’t want to be seen as wild or risky. ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2008, 6:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-tv-commercials-for-cars-all-terrible/475848/28 "2008-12-06T06:06:42Z")
> [@installLSC](#): > > It’s the same reason banks, investment funds, and real estate ads tend to be so boring–they don’t want to be seen as wild or risky. Bank Ads here are usually quite creative and interesting, IMHO- ANZ especially have some good ones, including one with Robbie The Robot answering phones, and the current ad with Bank Tellers from Another Bank ignoring customers at 4:29pm so they can go home, compared to ANZ who are now open later or something. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-tv-commercials-for-cars-all-terrible/475848.md?page=1)