Find Reviews by Make:
Automotive News [sub] says it’s been five years since GM ran a Corvette ad… and if the last ‘vette ad is the one I’m thinking of, Chevy had to pull it after safety advocates protested. Is it a coincidence that this new ad has GM comparing itself to that other federally-funded money pit, NASA? With both the automaker and the space agency fighting for their futures, the cross-branding works well, and it allows The General to indulge in some trademark nostalgia without digging too deep into its own past. All in all, it’s a quite effective ad… provided you don’t think about it too hard.
32 Comments on “When Was The Last Time You Saw A New Corvette Ad?...”
Read all comments
NASA a “federally-funded money pit”?
That’s more than a little over the top.
+1
The NASA ‘money pit’ inhales only $18 billion annually, yet outputs scientific and safety research unlike anyone else, provides kids a little inspiration for their future endeavors, and instills pride in American leadership which is unmatched by any other country. Most people are unaware that the “Aeronautics” part of NASA is responsible for numerous safety improvements employed every day in commercial aviation.
Bailouts don’t do that. Comparing their use of tax dollars is totally unfair.
Americans can give all that back in exchange for the $10/month/taxpayer it costs in tax dollars.
Few private companies are lining up for manned launch capability, because it’s hard and because it’s financially risky – (SpaceX / Tesla’s Elon Musk being a notable exception). It’s hard to make a business case for space exploration, which leave tax dollars as the only option. If this defines ‘money pit’, then you could list everything in the Federal budget as such.
Interesting that the ad ignores the Space Shuttle era which covers 30 years – 3 times longer than Apollo – although I’d agree that most Americans take more pride in Apollo’s accomplishments than the shuttle’s.
I have no problem defending the NASA of Gene Krantz, the flight director for Apollo 13. He said, during the crises following the Apollo 13 support module oxygen tank explosion, “Failure is not an option”.
Compare and contrast to that federally funded money pit we call the White House. During the much larger BP oil spill cleanup crisis, someone said, “Let’s play golf!” and “Hey, some concerts would be nice” and “It’s about time for a vacation or three, and not anyplace stinky”. Guess who?
OTOH, where NASA has headed is sad. We couldn’t build the Saturn rocket’s F1 engine today if our lives depended on it. Still the most powerful liquid fueled single rocket engine ever built – 1.5 million lbs of thrust.
Love it. And the NASA tie-in is historically correct, most (if not all) astronauts in the sixties and seventies drove Vettes. Not sure if that is still the case, but it made for great marketing for GM.
P.S. Couldn’t help but notice the chevy.com at the end of the commercial… I thought Chevy instead of Chevrolet was now taboo?
“Now” is not 5 years ago.
The only ads I have heard lately are on the radio, offering as much as $10k off 2010 models.
I see Corvette adverts quite frequently, just not on television.
There’s a pretty strong presence on the web, both by Chevy itself, as well as a number of large dealers like Kerbeck and Boardwalk.
For me. The tail-end of the commercial was the best. Lose all the NASA stuff and bring more tail-out track footage. The ZR-1 sounds insane.
+1
I enjoyed the buildup followed by an instant “holy shit yes!” when the ZR1 comes screaming out of the left hander sideways. That is well executed target marketing. And that car is something GM can be genuinely proud of. It reminded me of the Ford GT ad that played in the 2004 Super Bowl commercial with another left hand drift – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XVPX2ZwlxNs
Of all the things the Gov’t spends money on, NASA is easily providing the greatest return for society.
“The ZR-1 sounds insane.”
I’d say awesome. Sorry, but after hearing that I’m heading to the bathroom.
That ’05 ad was awesome; I remember seeing it on TV, before it was removed. Were those safety advocates illiterate? There’s a very clear disclaimer stating it’s a dream. Maybe they should advocate getting a life.
I like it. I still get a kick out of the 84 Corvette commercial (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CP7ijUkgc-4). To a highly impressionable (then) 16-year old, that was the stuff, especially the over the top “Most Advanced Sports Car on the Planet” claim.
I wonder how much time GM spent before finally locating a new C4 that a) had all the flourescent dash displays working, and b) had both headlight buckets in sync when opening.
So I’m guessing from the URL at the end of the ad that GM’s nonsensical don’t say Chevy fit has passed? Good.
Nice ad. Shame about the car…
How is this not the Jeep “Manifesto” ad? It was jingoistic and offensive then, actually less so now.
Who’s the agency of record for the two?
https://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/jeep-grand-cherokee-manifesto/
+1… Bunch of nostalgia crap and then a cool performance shot.
I liked the jeep commercial, but now that I see they think we are a bunch of chumps I’m much less enthused.
Corvettes sell at close to the same rate every year don’t they? The people who buy them are affluent and every few years they get a new one right? If I win the lotto I might splurge on a new one, otherwise… it’s almost a waste of advertising dollars isn’t it?
And yes astronauts drove ‘Vettes. I loved on the old TV show “Northern Exposure” how Barry Corbin’s character, Maurice Minnifield, was a former astronaut who drove a Cadillac convertible from the time of his service. He explained it in a story that spoke of how his “graduating class” of astronauts was picking out cars at the local GM dealer, everyone getting Corvettes when the salesman walked up to him and said, “You’re not a Corvette kind of guy are you?” And then showed him the Caddies. I guess in someways I see myself that way.
Great job, GM… allude to government-funded boondoggles in reference to your flagship product.
-1. Have a look at gslippy’s and Patrick Culligan Jr’s comments above. They sum NASA up nicely.
…and ChuckR’s response to those comments sums up my attitude towards today’s NASA very well.
The Constellation farce is but one reason for my distaste with our current directionless, bureaucrat-riddled national space agency. (And yes, that reminds me very much of today’s GM.)
I am much more a fan of the ‘old’ NASA than the 21st-century NASA, and wholeheartedly apply the word ‘boondoggle’ to the International Space Station. NASA’s space program should be about going somewhere beyond Earth orbit. NASA has become a shameful political tool since 1/20/2009.
However, my defense of this particular government agency is a general one based upon the nature of its work, not the theatrics of the past several years.
Chevy’s ad draws a comparison between 1960’s go-fast innovation (NASA) and their go-fast car. I’m OK with that. But comparing the bailout-sucking GM with a government agency which is by definition taxpayer-funded is quite unfair.
GM received the equivalent of 5 years of NASA budgets, and we won’t be as nearly impressed with the result of that spending as with what NASA could do.
I am not a Corvette fan and I can honestly say I would never buy one. *BUT* The Corvette is a terrific value (horsepower per dollar) and they are an American Icon. Instead of 300 Silverado commercials a day, dial it down and give us some ‘Vette-ness.
“I enjoyed the buildup followed by an instant “holy shit yes!” when the ZR1 comes screaming out of the left hander sideways. ”
I’d like to think the driver is chasing after some euro-trash to beat up on!……heh heh
Cool commercial.
Is there only one advertising theme allowed per year? I saw the Vette ad last night. For the first 30 seconds or so I thought it was the Jeep Grand Cherokee ad.
I wish we could recapture the optimism of the Apollo era – it was a time when people did more than just bitch and run things down.
Times are different, but attitude has a lot to do with the times being different.
I think you mean the Mercury and Gemini eras. The Apollo program ran concurrent with the worst of Vietnam… and after Apollo 11, history tells us the American public progressively ignored subsequent missions.
@ dynamic88: “Times are different, but attitude has a lot to do with the times being different.”
but even more so, realities.
That commercial is so completely politically incorrect from so many different perspectives any true car enthusiast has just gotta love it. Probably will sell few if any more Vettes but if ya got it flaunt it and a ZR1 has definitely got it.
Wasn’t there a ‘flying corvette through the city’ ad less than five years ago?
I love Corvettes – and after driving several I have trouble understanding how anyone who loves cars doesn’t like the Vette. Sure its seems to be a different, less refined approach to the sports car then a Porsche or a Ferrari – but its a great car, great fun, and a great value. You can put 75,000 miles on a Vette with a few services at the local Chevy dealer or put 7500 miles on a Ferrari and need a $5000 valve job and tune up.
As for Mr. Niedermeyer’s NASA comment, I hope nobody in his family ever needs a heart pacemaker – but if they do he should know they were invented using NASA technology. Or an insulin pump for diabetes – NASA technology. Or an implantable heart defibrillator – NASA technology again. Or a ride in an ambulance with telemetry or a battery powered wheelchair. Perhaps he should remember every time he watches a weather report its NASA satellites providing the data. And of course, NASA technology is used throughout the automotive industry. The list of what NASA technology provides, directly and indirectly is endless. Perhaps the shuttle and the space station seem expensive and outdated, but if every government agency gave as much return on the dollar to our country as NASA has, It would still be China and Japan chasing us.
As for Mr. Niedermeyer’s NASA comment, I hope nobody in his family ever needs a heart pacemaker – but if they do he should know they were invented using NASA technology.
Yes, and GM makes the Cadillac CTS-V, which I’m also quite fond of. The term “money pit” doesn’t imply that nothing of value emerges from NASA and GM, rather that lots and lots of (public) money goes in. And with deficits reaching a point where they can no longer be ignored, both are coming under increasing scrutiny… especially since neither justifies its ruinous expense as well as they used to.
Have to disagree that “lots and lots of public money goes in” to NASA. Perhaps you are not really familiar with the details of the federal budget.
NASA is only about $19 billion out of an almost $3 trillion dollar budget. Thats just over 1/2 of a penny of each tax dollar. That is a very small agency.
For comparison, one B-2 fighter is over $2 billion dollars. The Iraq war was costing $11 million PER HOUR. Now they are asking for $33 billion more for Afghanistan. And we also spend over 100 times the NASA budget on social programs each year.
I agree the deficits are out of control and we need to look at every dollar the government spends. And I’m sure there is some waste in NASA. But even if they shut NASA down completely, that would change almost nothing as far as our economy or deficits . . . . in my opinion there is far more waste in other places.
Awesome commercial