Autoblog

GM's Ewanick mulls turning Chevy ad campaign into sitcom

Jeff Sabatini — Sat, 07 Apr 2012 16:03:00 EST

Filed under: Marketing/Advertising, Chevrolet, GM

If you haven't noticed, NBC's The Office has really jumped the shark since Steve Carrell left the show at the end of last season. Or maybe the beginning of the end was Pam and Jim's wedding during the sixth season. Regardless, the point is that the show is no longer very funny or edgy, nor does it ever make the audience uncomfortable in the way the brilliant original BBC version did. Rather, as the main characters in the American version of the show have become caricatures, The Office has grown predictable and formulaic.

And this is why Chevrolet can launch an ad campaign like its "Under The Blue Arch" series. Despite the brief, 30-second running times of the ads, the characters are instantly recognizable and the "plots" are easy to follow. Although the scenes set in a Chevy dealership play with the tropes created by the Emmy Award-winning series, they do so to little comic effect. Because comedy isn't the point - these are ads, after all, full of ham-handed product information and designed to sell cars.

If anyone should understand that it's Joel Ewanick, General Motors' Chief Marketing Officer. Yet he told Automotive News at the New York Auto Show that GM has "talked about turning this into an actual show because we've got so much material."

Well, that Chevy product line isn't nearly the joke it once was, but if you say so...

Let's just chalk this one up to Ewanick being a bit starstruck. "Under The Blue Arch" was created by Randall Einhorn, one of the directors of The Office, and it "stars" Wayne Wilderson, who appeared on the NBC show in 2006.

Click past the jump, where you can watch a few of the ads.

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GM's Ewanick mulls turning Chevy ad campaign into sitcom originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 07 Apr 2012 16:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Video: Michael Vick hawks for Nissan dealership, skirts shame

Chris Shunk — Tue, 21 Dec 2010 12:31:00 EST

Filed under: Car Buying, Marketing/Advertising, Videos, Nissan

Michael Vick's Woodbury Nissan commercial - Click above to watch the video after the jump

When Michael Vick went to prison for bankrolling an illegal dog fighting operation, sports journalists and fans the world over threw dirt on his once highly successful career as an NFL quarterback. Vick did his time and eventually made his way back to the big time, but it appeared that his days as a starting quarterback were over. Not so fast. An injury to Philadelphia's starting quarterback meant that Vick got a second chance to run an NFL offense. And he's been excelling; perhaps enough so to become the league's MVP. But can he sell Nissan vehicles? Not a national campaign, mind - we're talking about a local dealer.

Woodbury Nissan, a dealership in New Jersey just outside of Philly, has hired Vick to hock new and used vehicles. The move probably doesn't endear the dealership to dog lovers (or animal owners in general), but the hope is that Eagles fans really won't care. Interestingly, USA Today notes that Vick isn't getting paid for his appearance, though he is getting use of a $54,000 Armada for his troubles.

Hit the jump to watch the commercial (scripted to mimic The Office)l for yourself. Vick isn't wearing a cowboy hat and he's not yelling about amazing deals. Instead, the nearly two-minute spot is very well done for a local add, and it's pretty funny, too. The dealer even takes a shot at the diminutive Versa, which may not sit well with corporate, but it gave us a chuckle.

[Sources: YouTube, USA Today, Automotive News - sub. req.]

Continue reading Video: Michael Vick hawks for Nissan dealership, skirts shame

Video: Michael Vick hawks for Nissan dealership, skirts shame originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 21 Dec 2010 12:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Video: Fiat takes on 'The Office' with online fleet management sitcom

Frank Filipponio — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 12:29:00 EST

Filed under: Minivan/Van, Etc., Marketing/Advertising, Videos, Work, Fiat, UK, Humor

Episode 1 of The Fleet - Click above to watch the video after the jump

Imagine the TV show, "The Office." No, not the American version that catapulted Rainn Wilson into superstardom, but the British original. You know...the sitcom that helped launch creator and star, Ricky Gervais, into the spotlight. Now imagine it set in a fleet management company called Lightfoot Logistics. That is the setup for a new viral marketing effort created for Fiat's UK van business, of all things.

Fiat has produced a series of short mockumentary-type webisodes chronicling the day-to-day activities at the firm and a full Lightfoot website to go with it. There is plenty of sexual innuendo in the videos, but they are pretty tame and make this Office-knockoff almost as funny as the real thing. Almost. We've embedded the first two episodes after the jump for your lunch-at-work viewing enjoyment. Click through to see Pete and Dave take on a rival's clueless salesman and watch as they head to the area commercial van show to check out the Doblo and its competition, nearly getting sidetracked by an obnoxious acquaintance.

WARNING: Videos after the jump are set to auto play.

[Source: Lightfoot Logistics]

Continue reading Video: Fiat takes on 'The Office' with online fleet management sitcom

Video: Fiat takes on 'The Office' with online fleet management sitcom originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 17 Mar 2010 12:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Missouri reportedly combating icy roads with beet juice, Dwight Schrute pleased

Chris Shunk — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 09:01:00 EST

Filed under: Etc., Government/Legal, Safety

We Americans sure do like our food. Not only does the land of the Red, White and Blue have one of the higher rates of obesity of any industrialized nations, we feed our roads, too. The Missouri Department of Transportation has been solving its road ice problem with the help of beet juice. The product in question, Geomelt, is a sugar beet-based liquid, and according to the Boonville Daily News, MoDOT has increased its use by 700 percent since it was first introduced in the Show Me State in 2006. That's 242,000 gallons of the nutritious substance used in 2009, or more than 50,000 eight-ounce servings for every staff member at Dunder Mifflin. We're guessing it takes it takes more than 60 acres of beets to make 242,000 gallons of nature's de-icer.

While using food to combat road ice might not be ideal for the environment, it's likely better than the salt most states use. Salt gets into fresh water supplies, which can wreak havoc on groundwater quality. Besides, this is the only good use we can think of for beet juice, and we're thinking our man Dwight wouldn't be able to maintain his prized 1987 Pontiac Trans Am without the extra income.

[Source: Boonville Daily News | Image: NBC]

Missouri reportedly combating icy roads with beet juice, Dwight Schrute pleased originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 15 Jan 2010 09:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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eBay Find of the Day: Dwight's Nissan Xterra!

John Neff — Fri, 02 May 2008 14:34:00 EST

Filed under: SUV, Auctions, Nissan, Celebrities

Click either image for gallery of Dwight's Nissan Xterra

Fact: A new episode of The Office aired last night in which Andy sells his Nissan Xterra to Dwight, who then puts it up for sale on eBay Motors.

Fact: the guy who owns the Xterra in real life works for the show and has put it up for sale on eBay Motors along with a script signed by the cast and props used during filming.

Question: how much is owning Dwight Schrute's Xterra worth to you?

The current bid is $15,300 (Kelley Blue Book says one in excellent condition is worth only $9,715) and no, your money will not go to an obscure charity. It will help this guy trade his SUV for a hybrid. That's so Hollywood. Thanks for the tip, Bojac!

UPDATE: Link to eBay Motors auction added, doh!

Gallery: Dwight Schrute's Nissan Xterra

[Source: eBay Motors]

eBay Find of the Day: Dwight's Nissan Xterra! originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 02 May 2008 14:34:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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