One of our Best and Brightest (Dave) got a sneak peek at Caddy’s new ad campaign at one of those focus group thingies that marketing mavens love so much (when they’re not in Aruba):
The spot starts off in a control room with engineers hooked up to headsets and the soundtrack is like mission control getting ready to launch a . . . Saturn V? A garage door opens with dust and smoke explosions and the CTS comes out from the cloud blasting across a desert scene. The voice over says something like launch stage 1 ignition. Cue the next explosion over the car and the sport wagon emerges from the dust cloud to the voice over “stage 2 ignition” and so on for the crossover and coupe and stages 3 and 4. The spot ends with a shot of a Caddy grill and badge with the voiceover re-invented, re-launched, re-born (or something similar) all three words start with re-. The survey then asks a bunch of questions about whether this spot influenced your opinion of caddy, would you recommend, etc. Couple of thoughts – These are the same old cars, how is this a re launch? The “new GM” is still hawking the same old cars, how is that different? I gave the spot very low marks. To me it’s just more about brand image and not the cars.
The only vehicle Cadillac has that I’m interested in is the CTS-V Coupe.
Its gonna be my next garage project. I’ll get a CTS-V Coupe and put Lamborghini doors on it to make my poor Man’s Reventon.
Advertising *is* all about the image, in the end …
I don’t have a problem with advertising about brand image per se, after all, it works wonders for Coke and Nike, but for a damaged brand like Cadillac, focussing on the best products (namely the CTS line) makes sense.
I remember a Caddy ad that featured a group of late 20s/early 30s guys pulling up to a diner in a black DTS, where they ran into a group of 40/50 something pseudo-mob boss looking men also in a DTS, with the key line being ‘Welcome to the world of gentlemen, gentlemen’. The ad to me had potential, but lost it all in that the first group was in a DTS, which no one under the age of 50 seriously shops for. Had the younger guys been in a CTS the commercial could have showed how Caddy can satisfy both the younger and the older market, and made it a lot more realistic. As it was, it just fell flat.
I will say the CTS Sportwagon looks very hot, and is one of the very few GM products I find desireable.
Anyone know who is the advertising agency again? Was that changed after C11?
Can’t say anything about the commercial. Have not seen it yet. But these are not the same old cars. The SRX and the CTS-Wagon (yes a variation of the CTS) are new. The coupe is not even out yet, is it? And even though the CTS is the oldest of the bunch it is still class competitive and fairly new in Automotive terms. Besides the CTS wagon looks good. I believe it adds an interesting line to the CTS series. And although the 3.0 SRX got so-so reviews, the 2.8 seems to be garnering better praise. Drawing attention the brand is not so bad an idea.
They have to get some sort of attention to their models.
Same old bullshizzle.
When will GM’s advertising people wake up and get their shit together?
Jaguar’s Gorgeous campaign did the same thing, except it didn’t feature the cars at all. Just beautiful people.
Advertising is image. It’s marketing. Hello?
Hyundai’s advertising was mostly facts and product-orientated, cold calculations based on headroom/warranty, etc. It didn’t really improve the brand image and get rid of the stigma of owning a Hyundai.
So, Cadillac wins.
Don’t go all negative on them for just a typical commercial…
I agree with romanjetfighter on the negativity front. But I also agree with Robert on the product front. GM must get their porducts out in front of the public. (Not like those awful Buick commercials.) They have to place the product first, I want to see interior shots, engine shots. Explain to me what these vehicles are about. And not just with commercials. Put on displays at Wal-Mart, Bestbuy, Target, THE DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL CONVENTION.
Hey, a Sport Wagon! I will be looking at them closely once there are some 2-3 year old ones available with typical Cadillac depreciation.
Cue the next explosion over the car and the sport wagon emerges from the dust cloud
Did they let Clarkson direct that?
3 of the 4 cars are brand new launches. The 4th has been on the market for less than 2 years. Not exactly same old, same old as far as the cars are concerned.
Say what you will, but the launch of the CTS Wagon is a gutsy move and the return of a Coupe to the Cadillac lineup signals a move in the right direction of restoring the brand as a premium product for people with means.
The mission control thing is kind of goofy, but if it gets people’s attention, it’s a positive move.
My one real concern about the CTS lineup is the gaping hole between the 306HP V6 and the 553HP V8. I’d love to see a 400HP V8 option using the LS engine from the base Corvette. Put that in the Wagon, price it under $50K well-equipped and I think they’d have a killer product.
If they put the 6 speed manual in the CTS wagon then I agree with John Horner on having to pick up a depreciated one in a few years (or maybe leasing one with a government subsidized GMAC lease).
The re-invention thing is getting old. It’s actually really pathetic that the domestics keep playing the re-invention card, it’s like an alcoholic wife beater constantly saying “I’ve changed, I’ve changed, come back to me.”
Hyundai used to be an automotive joke up there with Yugo, but they’ve never run “re-invention” ads, they’ve just made consistently better cars. Now they have a better mid size RWD luxury car than Cadillac (most people probably cross-shop the CTS and Genesis, but in size and engine availability the Genesis competes against the STS, which nobody buys).
And the re-invention claim in the ad is not even true, Cadillac hasn’t re-invented itself. Like the alcoholic wife beater it’s gone back to its same old ways, making fancier versions of FWD Buicks.
re: Flashpoint:
Come on, saying that you will put lambo doors on a CTS-V and acting like that is actually a project, you have to be trolling the site.
In other GM related news, the “230” thing has finally been explained.
230 is the city MPG estimate for the Volt.
That’s cool, but can they sell the Volt for less than $40K at a profit?
Is that not the desert from the horrific ‘born from jets’ Saab advert in the background? Looks kind of familiar.
Its been done before…
I dont have the exact address but if you go to youtube and type C5 corvette commerical, there is an ad from when the C5 vette debuted back in late 96, guys in a control room tracking the corvette as it zooms across the desert..not a new idea, in fact it seems like every car company uses the car zooming across a desert plain when they launch a new car…
John Horner
I agree as well. I hope that this is something.
I just wish my wife and kids would let me get a wagon.
They simply hate the wagon look.
Tha’s why I am searching for an A3 right now.
I won’t take another sedan because we need to carry lots of stuff.
I alm ost got the OK for the 2010 Mazda6 wagon…but the damn Europeans were the lucky ones.
I hope this is a good looking/performing wagon.
I am a closet wagon fan.
The ad may sound crappy, but the CTS sportswagon is hot. Too bad it’ll probably tank because Americans think “wagons are too utilitarian” (and what’s an SUC or crossover, please?)
Might even be a good buy in Europe, considering how few Caddys there are there
re: ferrarimanf355:
If the Volt actually gets rated at 230 mpg it will not need to be anywhere near profitable, it will allow GM to sell a lot more of its profitable cars and still remain CAFE compliant.
I was excited about the CTS Sport Wagon.
But, after visiting the Cadillac website, I saw that the base engine is going to be the awful 3.0L DI V6 that is currently stinking up the joint in the SRX, Lacrosse, and Equinox. It looks like Cadillac is no longer going to be offering the non-direct injected version of the 3.6L V6 on the CTS line.
Potential Cadillac CTS customers would be wise to save up some cash and opt for the much better, larger, more powerful, and somehow equally fuel efficient 3.6L DI V6.
I’ve seen a couple of CTS wagons on the road (in red) and I think the styling really works. Always hard to make a wagon look stylish but Cadillac designers did a good job on this one. On the sales and marketing side, didn’t the Lexus IS wagon tank? What makes this any different?
Here you go Lutz. I will give you the marketing message you should be using for GM, no charge:
First, immediately implement a 10 year, 100,000 mile warranty on everything except wear items and contingent upon the owner following the required service intervals to the letter or better.
Now, the new slogan:
Great Cars. Great Trucks. Great Warranty. Do an serious of ads with different percussion effects after each phrase appears on the screen interleaved with shots of the vehicles. Cymbals, gongs, tympani, rockets launching … whatever, as long as it is attention grabbing. But, no sound while the key words flash on the screen. Momentary silence between big sounds grabs attention more than an endless wall of sound does.
By all means, stop the whining, explaining, apologizing and begging. Enough already! You are making us sick!
To me it’s just more about brand image and not the cars.
Of course it is. Cadillac tries to make Americans think that it is a performance vehicle on par with the Germans. But Cadillacs are not engineered to be driven at the limit…they’re made to be driven at 70mph on the crappy American interstate system. To GM’s credit though, why would they put the extra $$$ into building a true luxo-German peformance vehicle? It’s not like they’re exporting them to Europe in any decent numbers…so there’s no need to put in any real effort into it for that reason. Rather, it’s cheaper to give these things the appearance of performance, charge a little less for it, wrap it in an American flag and sell it to every sucker who doesn’t know better.
If one buys a 5-series, you know you are getting a true performance vehicle engineered and built to be driven (abused) at speed on the Autobahn. Granted, you’ll end up giving it the “creampuff” treatment…’cuz we can’t be trusted to consitently drive over 110kmh. But it’s still their car…
Buy a Caddy and you get bolts and nuts and washers and other unseen tidbits that ultimately are shared with the Cobalt or the G6 or the Vue. None of those cars are created to be driven at the limit…and as a result, neither should the Caddy. It’s a pretender…and as of fairly late, not a particular handsome one, IMO.
Always hard to make a wagon look stylish
Just my opinion, but I think wagons look far better than sedans. Can’t think of many exceptions, except maybe the Ford Taurus and 500, and older American cars.
“Buy a Caddy and you get bolts and nuts and washers and other unseen tidbits that ultimately are shared with the Cobalt or the G6 or the Vue. None of those cars are created to be driven at the limit…and as a result, neither should the Caddy. It’s a pretender…and as of fairly late, not a particular handsome one, IMO.”
Horrors! My STS has the same bolts as a Cobalt? It must be an utterly awful piece of crap. I’m glad you set me straight on this.
Putting sarcasm aside for a moment, with precious few exceptions, modern German styling is so awful that I’d have to think that they’re playing some sort of joke on gullible Americans.
@AKM :
Just my opinion, but I think wagons look far better than sedans
That’s true for 100% of cars on sale today. I can’t think of any sedan I’d like to have.
Looks like the branding folks at Caddy can’t seem to commit to the product – even when it’s been segment proven.
RE – this.
I really like that woman who talks about cupholders.