I got an email yesterday from a mob called LandLine TV. They sent me a link to the above video asking if I wanted to post it for your amusement. Of course I said no. It’s so not funny. OK, the pitchmen have natural comedic talent, in that gormless, Pineapple Express kinda way. But the ad itself could’ve been made by a 12-year-old with his mom’s video camera. I suppose that’s the point, but, again, it’s just not funny. So I wrote back explaining why the faux ad didn’t work and offered my services as a script writer. That fish is wiggling on the hook. They sent me back an email saying that they were open to suggestion (the seminal work on hypnosis by the way). They’re thinking about spoofing this Caddy ad. Not only is the Caddy slingshot ad older than John McCain (in Internet time), but who cares? Why not spoof the Caddy Escalade Hybrid ad. Or the Dodge Boys’ “man step” dissing ad? Or… well, there are lots of possibilities. And so I throw it open to you, our Best and Brightest, to share some ideas for spoof car ads. And remember: these guys are hiring.
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Its amusing in that “I didn’t see that coming in the exact way I envisioned…” kinda way. Like this one…
I’ve always thought that Caddy ad deserved a good lampooning. I mean if I owned a 335i or an Infiniti G37S the answer would be, “Yes! Very much so! What’s your point?”
But other than that, meh.
[the girl isn’t even that hot, but…meh]
Well, the Dodge Ram commercial almost lampoons itself. Nevertheless, I think there’s a lot of material there.
Without giving too much away, a special appearance by Nancy Pelosi in Godfather inspired ad for the new Audi R8.
Thanks John R. That is probably the funniest thing I’ve seen this week so far.
I’d say wait until after Sunday and see what (if any) car ads are run. Better to go after the freshest possible target.
One of the tricks of most American car ads is to compare the features of one car to a host of other cars, i.e., “car x has better gas mileage than car y, more rear seat leg room than car z and more horsepower than car w.” How about a parody where car x is some Detroit POS and cars y, z and w are extreme examples, something like “The new Dodge Crapmobile has better gas mileage than the NASA Rolling Launch Pad, more rear seat leg room than the Audi TT, and more horsepower than a 3/8″ drill!”
As they’re closing up shop for good this weekend, one final Isuzu commercial: pitching every last Ascender, pickup truck, CEO, CFO, Joe himself, etc.
Yo!
I’m still having trouble seeing the posted video links in IE7, although Google Chrome sees them well enough. Anybody else with this problem?
Anyway, the “road-hugging weight” ads from a few years ago could stand a few elbows, as should the more recent “go farther on a tank of gas” ads for certain trucks. (“Yeah, we still only get 15mpg, but we got a REALLY big tank…)
But like Tom Paxton says “Some people you don’t have to parody; you just quote ’em.”
/JT
I’d suggest either the Escalade Hybrid ad, or any GM ad for the Volt. What’s GM’s tagline again, “From fuel-efficient to fuel free”? Last I checked, even the alleged Volt allegedly needs fuel at some alleged, unknown, futuristic, yet-to-be-discovered point.
How about this for a tagline: “GM – Our execs blow more hot air than our cars do.”
I thought it was funny. But only as a random video, not as an actual car ad parody. It reminds me of SNL’s Mercury Mistress (aka Lincoln Continental) car ad a few years ago.
Okay, this is a long shot, but there was an excellent parody produced a few years ago by some guy trying to sell his old K car. He compared his K car to an older Hyundai. He was a hilarious riff on car ads, but I can’t find it anymore. Has anyone seen this?
“See the R.O.K. in your Chev-ro-let!”
@NickR:
Just search for “aries” and “ad” or “commercial” on YouTube. For a while, it was near impossible to find an actual Aries commercial due to the popularity of the parody.
http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=ZgoWeNeItzY
No need. The best parody has pretty much already been made.
Okay, so it’s technically a parody of a dealership ad, but still.
When it comes to SUV parody the Simpsons bit “Canyonero” was dead on.
Can you name the truck with four wheel drive,
smells like a steak and seats thirty-five..
Well, it goes real slow with the hammer down,
It’s the country-fried truck endorsed by a clown!
The Federal Highway comission has ruled the
Canyonero unsafe for highway or city driving.
12 yards long, 2 lanes wide,
65 tons of American Pride!
Top of the line in utility sports,
Unexplained fires are a matter for the courts!
Canyonero! Canyonero! (Yah!)
She blinds everybody with her super high beams,
She’s a squirrel crushing, deer smacking, driving machine!
Canyonero!-oh woah, Canyonero! (Yah!)
I can’t find a video clip anywhere on the net as Fox employs virtual Dobermans to enforce their copyright.
As part of the Sierra Club anti-campaign against the H2 Flash Cartoonist Mark Fiore made this video:
http://hummerdinger.com/flash/h2_movie.html
I’d have to go with the Dodge truck commercials with the hillbilly manlymen yeehawin’ their way through it.
NickR is right, there’s not a lot you’d have to do to it.
The Brooke Shields Volkswagen Routan ad is another self-parody.
One Word: HYBRID.
The South Park Episode “Smug Alert” was a poke at the greener-than-thou attitude of many Prius owners.
Two words.
Jill. Wagner. Naked.
Wait…where’d that third word come from?
1. Ford Freestyle ad with the divorced Dad.
2. The Ram Challenge
3. The Dodge Caliber “Stupid Fairy” ad
4. Toyota “Saved by Zero” (kind of already been done)
5. GM’s “Surprised?” ads.
I actually like the Cadillac ads. Especially the one with that Latina chicklet talking about cupholders.
Now the one with the dude who wants a toilet in his Escalade? That’s weird.
But the easiest parody is of the Lexus commercials and their smug sounding announcer. “The December to Remember sales event at your local Lexus dealer.” Actually, Hyundai has essentially parodied them already, although not humorously.
The VW CC commercial with TTAC quotes in place of the original glowing reviews.
Jeremie:
The VW CC is actually a good car. The parody would be funny if they used a Jeep Compass, then put in the TTAC quotes, where it gets slammed. And the tagline being “The Jeep Compass, by Chrysler. Chrysler, yes, we are still a viable corporation!”
on several of the forums I frequent we already spoof the Cadillac Escalade Hybrid ad with “CHECK MATE” and a picture of the ridiculous tank of a vehicle whenever some “pwnage” occurs.
Too bad those old “Chevy – An American Revolution” ads are gone. They’d be ripe for something involving Che Guevara or Chairman Mao nationalising GM.
Those VW ads with the talking Beetle leave themselves open to something where someone else provides the voice to the car (a la that bit involving the GT-R warranty that was posted here a few days ago). But I beg of people in the name of all that is decent, please don’t do it. There’s nothing even remotely funny about that former German leader.
As a veteran automotive ad copywriter, I agree that most recent car ads are self-parodying. The Cadillac spot being parodied is truly dreadful, as are the current VW spots (anyone else think the old Beetle sounds like the fish in American Dad? And who can forget the monumentally awful Cadillac Catera spots of yore? Nothing says luxury sport sedan like an animated duck, I suppose.
Two current spots in particular depress me: the F-150 “man step”, and “It’s a big girl car” with the redheaded moppet. Both are supremely worthy of derision, and I urge my fellow TTAC posters to have at it.
Visit You Tube and check out Volvo’s “Survivors” spot (in my opinion, the best car commercial ever done), and Jeep’s “Singing Animals” spot. While coming from opposite creative approaches, both are effective and memorable.