I keep seeing exciting ads for dull sedans, and I invariably
think how jarring and unconvincing the ads are, juxtaposing exciting claims and
a boring sedan. Why don’t they take the following approach for a boring sedan
commercial?
We see the inexpensive, boring family sedan driving down the
road, and the driver sees someone breaking into a car, and the announcer says: “When
you buy the (whatever brand of boring sedan), you can be pretty sure it’s not
going to get stolen. And even if it did, the thieves wouldn’t get much for it
anyway. And why even break into a car that’s so inexpensive? There’s probably
nothing of value in it. And if it gets wrecked, it’s pretty inexpensive to
replace.” And when he says the part about if the car gets wrecked, we see a big
car accident through the eyes of the driver.
I wonder why we never see anyone take this approach. Doyle
Dane Bernbach did the “Think Small” campaign for Volkswagen in the 1960s, and
it was a smash hit. I never seem to see underwhelming claims in a positive
light in car ads now. Maybe it would work and get a lot of attention just by virtue
of being different.
