Good Call: Detroit 3 opt out of Super Bowl ads
During this Sunday's Super Bowl, the Big Three automotive advertisers will be Hyundai, Audi and Toyota, not Ford, GM and Chrysler. In fact, the Detroit Three will be completely absent from the proceedings for the first time since 2001. At a going rate of $2.8 million to $3 million per 30-second spot, we can't say we blame them for sitting this one out. Granted, they'd get roughly 200 million eyeballs for their ads, but with every American citizen watching each and every personal -- and governmental -- expenditure, it would be hard to justify buying the spots.
Although the bailout has created a circus-like atmosphere around the Detroit Three's checkbooks, GM for one, had decided as far back as last September not to advertise during Sunday's game, even though Cadillac is a presenter. Ford thought it unreasonable as well. So what will we see in place of Howie Long and Mike Rowe? How about Jason Statham pitching the new Audi A6, Transporter style. Hyundai will be pushing the North American Car of the Year award-winning Genesis, reminding people of the company's buy-it-back program if they become unemployed. Sounds good, but we wish they wouldn't have banned the Danica ad.
[Source: Automotive News - Sub. Req.]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
JB 5:47PM (1/29/2009)
Uh, actually, Hyundai will be pushing the Genesis COUPE, and not the sedan which won the North American Car of the year. The Coupe debuts along with a debut of a Smashing Pumpkins song and Yo Yo Ma piece in two separate ads. They will add 3 other commercials totaling 5 for the Super Bowl. They will also sponsor the NBC Kick-Off show.
Whoda evah thot we'd see the day with the likes of GM, Ford and Chrysler would skip the big one and be replaced by Hyundai. It's a brand new world, brotha!!
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MajorGeek 5:48PM (1/29/2009)
Smartest move I have heard in sometime, although it should be a no brainer and not news :)
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Johnny P 5:58PM (1/29/2009)
Saaaved by zeeeeero
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RLQ 7:47PM (1/29/2009)
+1
Todd 5:57PM (1/29/2009)
Maybe, but dig deep and you'll find half the executives from GM and Chrysler sitting in $10,000.00 luxury boxes at the game.
...oh and how did they get to Florida from Detroit? On the company private jet of course! Which they now ride in secret after getting the FAA to hide them from public record.
GM Asks U.S. FAA to Bar Public Tracking of Leased Corporate Jet
“We availed ourselves of the option as others do to have the aircraft removed” from a Federal Aviation Administration tracking service, a GM spokesman, Greg Martin, said yesterday in an interview. He declined to discuss why GM made the request.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=afrKemH3i.2Y
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caddy-v 7:24PM (1/29/2009)
It's an evil plot secretly contrived by secret agents of the former KGB. And they'll be wisked in with heavy disguise posing as maids from MolyMaid. And those jets will be made over to look like piper cubs marked with Studebaker logos.
Now tell us your 911 theory.
jg 6:38PM (1/29/2009)
'Granted, they'd get roughly 200 million eyeballs for their ads, but with every American citizen watching each and every personal -- and governmental -- expenditure, it would be hard to justify buying the spots.'
And we're going to see the ad over and over again anyway on tv at all other times so why bother?
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P.V. 6:56PM (1/29/2009)
Good move. Now they can focus on more reasonably priced advertising at more reasonable times of the year.
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casey 7:24PM (1/29/2009)
is that a new A6, or a facelifted version? the taillights are much more like the A4 and A5. i didn't realize it was time for a new A6.
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Jason 8:05PM (1/29/2009)
Wow, the big three finally start thinking. Too bad it took this long.
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why not the LS2LS7? 8:12PM (1/29/2009)
You mean like GM that pulled out of Olympics sponsorship almost two years ago?
http://www.autoblog.com/2007/08/08/gm-ends-1-billion-olympic-sponsorship/
moyoi 1:34PM (1/30/2009)
LS2LS7,
You know you can't fix these people, but I congratulate your heart.
Justin 11:38PM (1/29/2009)
Too much pride in a certain brand = bad news for business.
For once, common sense prevailed.
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k.w.a 8:25PM (1/29/2009)
hmm,
maybe not all of the Big Three, but Ford should have paid for a time slot... they should show the new Taurus and Taurus SHO (i know its not confirmed) and have the viewers go to some sort of website to see more pics and sign up for one!
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elprogramer 9:12PM (1/29/2009)
Wow, Toyota's burning cash.
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jpm100 10:04PM (1/29/2009)
Sounds like this is more because SB ads aren't worth it, at least for the Big 3. The one good ad GM made, they felt forced to issue an apology. $3 mill for 'same old same old' isn't worth it.
If it was gauged to be worth the investment, they would actually be remiss to not advertise, though. Businesses have to spend money to make money. Fact of life.
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vwboyaf1 2:25AM (1/30/2009)
Even though they just got a loan from the government, and everybody is watching them, they still need to market their products. Advertisement is an investment, not pointless spending. They need to show the public the cars that are coming out. This should have been the Camaro's, Volt's, Cruze, New Fusion, and Taurus SHO's Super Bowl. They are just being overprotective of their reputation's and not thinking about their business model at all. Stupid. Now they are going to get beat by Hyundai. HYUNDAI? for chr_st's sake.
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tanooki2003 1:22PM (1/30/2009)
You're actually just now beginning to see that? I saw this happening since the Hyundai XG350 beat out a supercharged Buick Regal years ago and Hyundai has been on an unstoppable roll since then. They have been a very determined company since they have gotten their act together back around the turn of the millennium.
Nowadays trying to best the NA domestics is not really saying much at all. It's trying to best the other foreign competition from the Germans and Japanese gives a company a lot more of a challenge and higher goals to set for themselves, not to mention having a much higher sense of pride once the goals have been achieved.
Hyundai is no longer what they used to be back in the late 80's and early 90's. Even the domestics are having a hard time digesting that fact.
Edsel 8:36AM (1/30/2009)
They'll spend the savings on Congressional campaign contributions.
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