Bob Lutz unhappy with new Buick campaign?
Buick LaCrosse "Photo Shoot" ad - Click the image above to view the video after the jump
Looks like there could be too many cooks in the Buick PR kitchen, and the soup is looking worried. For the new GM to get on its feet, Buick has to find its feet. To do that, Buick has created a number of ad campaigns meant to showcase its new product and bring new, younger buyers to the brand. One of the commercials in the campaign is called "Photo Shoot," and according to a report, the recently empowered VP of marketing, Bob Lutz, isn't particularly pleased with the spot.
Both Lutz and GM CEO Fritz Henderson don't believe the commercial positions Buick as a luxury brand that competes with Lexus. They have told GM's ad agency, Leo Burnett, that it needs to do better. However -- and here's where it gets convoluted -- the ad was created by an independent shop that Leo Burnett was told to hire to do the work. Mark LaNeve, GM's head of marketing, allegedly instructed Burnett to hire Gary Topolewski, a former creative director at Burnett who worked with LaNeve on Cadillac's Break Through ad campaign, and who now runs another ad agency.
The other character in the middle of all of this is Buick VP Susan Docherty, who defended the commercial. She said it fulfills its role of promoting a revamped Buick brand, adding that she looks "forward to working with Bob and sharing spots two through six with him." Follow the jump to watch the commercial, and you can decide if it makes you put the word "Buick" in the same sentence with "Lexus."
[Source: Automotive News - Sub. Req.]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 6)
Jim in Tampa 5:04PM (7/20/2009)
I saw this ad on TV over the weekend and I can't blame Lutz for being unhappy.
It sucked.
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Tool 6:35PM (7/20/2009)
The New New GM has the same people working for them in marketing that got into this mess.
Is there any wonder why GM's marketing sucks?
If GM has a culture problem -- and it does -- why aren't these people being removed and replaced with some new blood? There are plenty of great people out there that could and should be leading GM's marketing efforts.
nzo 6:53PM (7/20/2009)
No quality or quantity of commercials is ever going to put the word "Buick" in the same sentence with "Lexus."
But I agree, the commercials are still really stupid.
cdwrx 7:30PM (7/20/2009)
Doesn't matter what Lutz thinks, Fritz is going to change his mind for him tomorrow.
roadkillrob 8:13PM (7/20/2009)
Oh look, the new GM is just as bad as the old GM - how long will it take to fail again - not long by the looks of it!
AZZO45b 8:24PM (7/20/2009)
The only thing "NEW" about this version of GM is that they got to $h*t-can a helluva lot of staff, dealers, etc... & oh yeah get out of a ton of debt!!!
What's that line in an old song by The Who...
... Meet the New Boss, Same as the Old Boss... who knew Pete Townshend was writing about the car biz!!!
AMcA 8:55PM (7/20/2009)
They might as well just say:
"It's not your Father's Buick!"
AMcA 8:59PM (7/20/2009)
I've got to just rant a little bit more.
What's a 45 year old man who can afford a Buick going to think seeing that ad?
He's going to think: it's a car for vain people who are not like me.
Judy Zik 8:59PM (7/20/2009)
People got paid to make that commercial and people at the "New" GM sat down and watched it and thought it was worth paying money to run it. The more things change the more they stay the same.
the4thheat 11:51PM (7/20/2009)
Wait...Buick is supposed to be competing against Lexus since when?! If Buick is a "Lexus competitor" then what's Cadillac competing against, Rolls Royce?
Maybe they should remove their heads from their behinds and try to come up with a marketing plan that's at least vaguely believable instead of expecting everyone to undergo mass hypnosis and suddenly go from thinking of Buick as a dead pseudo-luxury brand to equating it with Lexus.
Dave 12:05AM (7/21/2009)
"No quality or quantity of commercials is ever going to put the word "Buick" in the same sentence with 'Lexus.' " - nzo
Most Lexuses are nothing special. The IS, RX, and SC styling is awful, and their engineering is so-so. The ES is a rebadged Camry.
The LS and GS may be out of Buick's reach (unless Buick gets zeta like they do in China). But the rest arent.
nzo 12:26AM (7/21/2009)
My point is that commercials arent what makes good cars.
And there is no Buick that I would ever dream of buying over an IS.
Gstill 5:06PM (7/20/2009)
I'm with Lutz on this one. Using a tragically hip British photographer isn't going to make Buicks look luxury. I'm pretty sure that guy is a coffee barista in a Frosted Mini Wheats ad too.
Maybe they can get Tiger Woods back.
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AZZO45b 8:28PM (7/20/2009)
Maybe Starbucks can buy this concept from Buick... I agree it fits the coffee demographic better than anything else
fixitfixitstop 8:53PM (7/20/2009)
I don't think Tiger Woods did much for moving Buicks.
AZZO45b 11:23PM (7/20/2009)
^^Agree... another GM executive "perk" Meet Tiger & get a sweet snapshot to frame for the office. Get your buds nice hospitality @ the Buick Open (& for Tiger to treat the tour stop like a "major").
mikemaj82 5:07PM (7/20/2009)
Just watching the first 5 seconds and hearing the music made me think it was a Scion commercial.
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jv2k 5:39PM (7/20/2009)
It really screams youth, but it's stupid and let's be real here the young people can't afford luxury cars anyway.
madtuscan 5:09PM (7/20/2009)
A failed brand!
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Mr.Oak 8:45AM (7/21/2009)
That FAILED brand sold an awful lot of BUICKS (at a profit) in China. You folks think a misguided ad, that was running long before the "New GM" emerged form bankruptcy, is going to decide the fate of this company, is just as stupid as the person that made the ad.
It all comes down to the product. I live in northern NJ very upscale Maplewood/Livingston/Short Hills/Milburn/Morristown area, I'm seeing an awful lot of domestic GM, Ford & Chrysler models in driveways that were formerly populated with European/Japanese brands. While the domestics will never have the market share they enjoyed 50s and 60s, the imports will never again enjoy the rout they had in the 80s, 90, and early 2000s. It's going to be a dogfight from here on in, and baled on product that I see coming out of the domestics lately, I have to say that I like our chances.