When was the last time you saw a major car company do something silly in a commercial? No, not like that Lincoln ad made from Tweets curated by Jimmy Fallon, I mean something deliberately silly. There may be more recent ones but Isuzu’s “Joe Isuzu” ad campaign is the most recent one that I can think of and that was so long ago that when young people see Joe’s I-Mark ads on YouTube they must ask, “Isuzu sold cars? I thought they just sold trucks “
I suppose that Chevy is sort of trying with their current ads that seek to emulate the look and feel of The Office sitcom, only staged in a Chevy dealership, not a paper company sales office. Of course local dealers will still do schtick to get your attention. Few, though, get as surreal as the series of ads that the Firesign Theater made for Jack Poet VW back in the day when sunshine was orange.
So what’s your favorite silly car commercial. Manufacturers’ ads, like the long form commercial for the 1955 Ford Fairlane models at the top of this post, starring comedian Ernie Kovacs and his wife, singer Edie Adams, are preferred, but if you know of a particularly silly (or surreal) ad for a dealership, feel free to share the URL.
Ronnie Schreiber edits Cars In Depth, a realistic perspective on cars & car culture and the original 3D car site. If you found this post worthwhile, you can dig deeper at Cars In Depth. If the 3D thing freaks you out, don’t worry, all the photo and video players in use at the site have mono options. Thanks for reading – RJS
Hamsters driving a toaster while blasting “This or That”
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E-class smashing through glass window.
Ford’s Taurus commercial was completely ripped off by Infiniti.
I’ve had a soft spot for Nissan’s Dogs Love Trucks/Barbie-G.I.Joe ads. They didn’t seem to take themselves too seriously. Since then both Ford and Subaru have seen dog people as a heretofore untapped car market.
+1
Not quite as old as Joe Isuzu, but the commercials for the 300Z showing it as a remote controlled car in a room full of toys. Van Halen blasting and if I remember correctly, a disgruntled Ken doll after Barbie gets picked up by GI Joe?
Also like the Chevy ads w/ Santa Claus as a salesman and the truck buyer says he likes to deer hunt.
Love the Z ad. That one was promoted first during the ’93 SuperBowl. It was also during that awkward elderly Japanese gentlemen, ah, cliche, shilling the Nissan Hardbody pickup by stating, “Dogs. Love. TRUCKS!”.
Didn’t you guys in the U.S. get the Subaru sumo car-wash team?
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=0EVNDnvnAHs&desktop_uri=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3D0EVNDnvnAHs
What about that Mercury commercial a few years back where they are in a courtroom and the guy proclaims “She was out all night with the Grand Marquis” and then it cuts to the Louis XVI looking dude.
A turntable in the back of a 1960’s Ford Galaxie 500 as it drove along and the needle never skipped,
Wait a second! At the tail end of the Silly Ford commercial, the announcer lauds an automatic top raiser as an option on 1955 Ford converts!! I remember having to make a switch using an aspirin tablet on a metal plate that I copied out of a Poplar Mechanics mag for my 59 Plymouth! Did Ford actual have such an option in 55??
They may have planned to make it available in 55, but I think it took a year or two to make it to market. My Mom’s second husband had a Fairlane (58 I think) with a retractable hardtop. He hated it. Used up the trunk, and he described it as “Good when it worked, roughly any day that didn’t end in Y.”
Joe Isuzu? I thought that was Randy Pobst!?! /oldjoke
My favorites are the 5 vs 8 and spy hunter commercials for the G8, besides that the Jeep Liberty ad with the animals singing neil diamond is worth a chuckle…I thought the Kia Forte robot one was just plain stupid.
As for dealership-specific ads as opposed to manufacturer ads, just search “Trunk Monkey” on YouTube and see what you get. Seriously…
Trunk monkey rocks!!!
+1
Give me a car, any car, a Yugo with a seized engine and no brakes! If it comes with Trunk Monkey ® I’ll pay full sticker price.
The black and tan convertible makes me want to reach for a black and tan.
Not necessarily “silly” (though some might have considered them so), but definitely entertaining, were the 1970’s FIAT “Remy Jullienne” stunt driver ads. Chase scenes with FIAT flying from rooftop to rooftop; down stairways; and through an open boxcar of a moving train. Great stuff!
Good lord ~
I lived near that VW Dealer back then & drove VW’s but didn’t own a TV so I wasn’t aware the Firesign Theater made TV commercials ! .
I have most of their records from way back then .
Ernie Kovacs was classic , always was .
-Nate
+1 on Nissan 300zx Barbie Ken GI Joe/Indiana Jones
>>www.youtube.com/watch?v=L8QKK5IDSXE
Nissan Maxima Top Gun Pigeon pooper
>>www.youtube.com/watch?v=74SvoHgW5MA
Any car commercial with Boobs.
Nissan Pathfinder
>>www.youtube.com/watch?v=f8Bj8pM07OI
Toyota Corolla
>>www.youtube.com/watch?v=4HIcZBI5uM8
or killing
Ford Ka
>>www.youtube.com/watch?v=5dzi_8Rscfs
or cops and robbers
chevy impala
>>www.youtube.com/watch?v=PzZFD86K4Rs
chevy malibu
>>www.youtube.com/watch?v=lrULS4fS6FU
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Is being a legit racist still working out for you, Ronnie?
Huh?
“Isuzu sold cars? I thought they just sold trucks “
Love when some ‘know it all’ 20 something gets schooled. [But then I was once that age, lol]
The VW GTI in a tree is still good watching.
“http://youtu.be/yr5ni-5U7UM”
Dammit, now I want a ’55 Ford wagon.
I can’t believe I’m going to win this thread so late in the game, but I am. Friends, I give you Garrison Keillor singing a little song called “Hate Something Change Something” over the silliest animation you will ever see in a car commercial. Hamsters? This ad has bow-shooting earmuff-wearing bunnies as a throwaway gag.
http://youtu.be/RTdMDZth8SU
(The only reason nobody remembers it is it’s a UK-only ad for Honda’s new diesel motor, and it’s about 9 years old.)
Is that what Garrison means by “Do good work”?
Not really an ad, but a parody of Ford Granada ads…who can forget the Royal Deluxe?
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x7ms5l_saturday-night-live-royal-deluxe-ii_fun#.UZ3rJxzcFOg
My favorite car dealer ad: Cuban Gynecologist and American Used Car Salesman. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7b5CKSqlz60
I am personally fond of this one for the Chameleon XLE…
http://cabridges.com/2011/05/10/one-of-my-favorite-snk-commercials-the-chameleon-xle/
Nobody mentioned VW’s “Unpimp Ze Auto” series?
The Lexus commercials that roll around Christmas, where some rich GQ-model looking guy surprises his trophy wife with a new RX with a red bow on it. She is completely ecstatic about it despite never driving it.
(No married man in his right mind would even buy his wife a $30 dress without her picking it out.)
I don’t think anyone will ever beat the cuban gynecologist: