Grey Poupon to air new version of famous Rolls-Royce ad, this time with car chase [w/video]

John Neff — Wed, 20 Feb 2013 16:58:00 EST

Filed under: Marketing/Advertising, Videos, Rolls-Royce, Humor

Grey Poupon mustard will revive the concept behind its famous Pardon Me commercials with a new ad that will air only once on television during this Sunday's broadcast of the Academy Awards.

The original spot, which showed two one-percenters sharing the condiment between their Rolls-Royces at an intersection, first aired all the way back in 1981, and variations of it continued up through 1997. Kraft, owner of the Grey Poupon brand, is hoping that reviving the commercial will boost sagging sales and raise the mustard's profile with a younger generation of fancy folk.

So why are we talking about this on Autoblog? Because the new version of the ad won't end with a polite passing of the bottle. Rather, we're told a car chase ensues when the Grey Poupon's owner doesn't get it back. We're assuming the two cars in question will again be a pair of Rolls-Royce sedans, probably Phantoms unless they go with more vintage model years.

This should be an ad worthy of a potty break during January's big NFL game, as a 30-second spot during the Oscars is estimated to cost $1.7 million and the director they got has upwards of 40 Super Bowl commercials under his belt. Scroll down to watch the original ad, and we'll bring you the new one as soon as it airs during the Oscars and becomes available online.

Continue reading Grey Poupon to air new version of famous Rolls-Royce ad, this time with car chase [w/video]

Grey Poupon to air new version of famous Rolls-Royce ad, this time with car chase [w/video] originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 20 Feb 2013 16:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Big Cheese: Kraft pushing for 97,000-pound "bridge wrecker" trucks

Jeff Sabatini — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 10:01:00 EST

Filed under: Government/Legal, Safety

Kraft Foods wants to bring you more Velveeta, more efficiently. According to Bloomberg, the food giant says it needs to pack its 97,000-pound trucks full of processed deliciousness in order to combat high diesel prices. Problem is, interstate highways have an 80,000-pound weight limit.

But Kraft (along with other big corporations like Home Depot, MillerCoors, and Archer-Daniels-Midland) thinks it can get the law changed. Congress just extended a one-year pilot program to allow 100,000-pound trucks on interstates in Maine and Vermont for an additional 20 years, and a new bill would let every state decide whether they would allow the heavier trucks on their interstate highways.

Advocates of the "Safe and Efficient Transportation Act" say that the proposal is an economic necessity, and point out that states are already allowing heavier trucks to travel their secondary roads. But others have raised concerns about increased wear-and-tear on roads, and the questionable state of repair of the nation's interstate bridges, which were only designed for 80,000-pound trucks, according to the report.

There's also the potential for more highway fatalities. Though highway deaths have been on the decline, commercial truck-related deaths were up last year, according to the report. John Lannen, executive director of The Truck Safety Coalition, told Bloomberg that if the weight limits go up, "The entire country's motoring public will be put in grave danger."

Big Cheese: Kraft pushing for 97,000-pound "bridge wrecker" trucks originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 17 Dec 2011 10:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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