Cruze, Soul and Wrangler among America's 25 Hottest Products for 2011

2011 Chevrolet Cruze 1LT
2011 Chevrolet Cruze 1LT
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If you ask us, this 25 Hottest Products for 2011 list in Advertising Age isn't exactly packed with automotive excitement. But with Dove soap, Malt-O-Meal, and Goldfish crackers also claiming spots, perhaps we shouldn't be surprised that it's a Chevrolet Cruze, rather than a Camaro headlining the "America's Hottest Brands" issue.

Besides the Cruze, the venerable sister pub to Automotive News points out the Kia Soul and Jeep Wrangler, seemingly more for their marketing campaigns than anything else. Kia's hamster ads are legendary, while Jeep's marketing deal with the Call of Duty video game franchise has proven successful.

The Cruze, on the other hand, is an actual hit for General Motors – topping 200,000 sales through October, and ranking as the company's top-selling car. While that certainly makes the Cruze worthy of recognition, sales have begun to cool now that its newness is wearing off. While GM's marketers can give themselves a brief pat on the back for making the list, clearly they still have work to do if they want to land on the 2012 version of the Ad Age list.

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