N&O: New Ad Aims to Show What the Client Isn't: A Badger
An article in Wednesday's issue of The News & Observer highlights an ad campaign recently developed for Johnson Automotive of Raleigh. According to the article, the ad was developed by the same agency that created what have become advertising icons for insurer Geico: a gecko and the cavemen.
The N&O's headline for the article says that the campaign aims to show what the client isn't. The ads feature a badger. The message: we won't badger you.
From the article: "Featured in a series of 30-second TV commercials that debut in the Triangle this week, this badger wears loud sport jackets. He uses high-pressure sales tactics on customers shopping for new cars. He's condescending to female shoppers. And quick to anger if you haggle over the price. The message? This is how the competition sells cars, not Johnson Automotive."
Adweek is also running an article about the badger ads; you can read it and view the ad here.
posted by Frank Williams @ 2:32 PM
1 Comments
1 Comments:
I have produced car spots and the simplest ones are the best ones: show the cars and DO say your dealership has the lowest prices anywhere.
Talking animals, commercials that don't even show the product, or some bizarre analogies may look good but don't always sell the product.
In a Beetle Bailey comic strip Beetle and his buddy are sitting and watching TV.
Beetle says: "These commercials are terrific! Great music! Beautiful girls! Funny stuff!
His buddy says: "Commercials are getting better and better!"
Beetle then says: "What are they selling?"
His buddy responds: "I have no idea."
Remember, if beauty doesn't sell you'd better have a message. Unfortunatelly, so many ad agencies miss the boat and end up producing, well, ads.
I think Johnson-Lexus is spending $3 million just for producing 12 car spots @ $250,000 apiece. And who knows how much they'll spend to air the "badger" spots.
Again, you don't see the cars Johnson Lexus is selling, instead a rodent is blabbering most of the time.
When the Johnson Lexus ad campaign ends it will not have increased car sales that much. Most people will vaguely remember some badgering rodent and then press the mute button.
(By the way, a very good ad campaign, and I didn't produce it, but "Leith, a (the) name you can trust," has been repeated for years and years and years. And even though it probably didn't win in Addy awards, that slogan helped Leith expand its dealerships (with no stupid badgering rodent either).
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