I posted the question on my Facebook page: What are your most and least favorite celebrity car endorsements? I got about 30 comments in the course of one day. Here are a few (check out the videos at the bottom of the post): "Oldsmobile ads with Leonard Nimoy.""Really disliked Howie Long in recent Chevy spots.""Mike Rowe is a great fit with Ford.""Tiger Woods and Buick was a train wreck.""Did every
Well, not actually me but my husband. He loves his minivan. He is a stay-at-home dad and finds it the perfect conveyance for the kids, but also his tools, sports equipment, supplies, and our dog. Boring but practical and I admire that. I am more of a Hemi-powered-Dodge-Challenger-kind-of-girl, so thankfully one of us is practical.?? He was first introduced to the Chrysler Town and Country back whe
New vehicle launches are some of the most exciting events in the auto business. For someone like me who works on the marketing end, there's nothing that gets the creative juices flowing or brings out the daredevil quite like a launch. But unveiling a new model, a product that represents the culmination of years of work by thousands of people, is just about the most stressful thing in the world if
It's a statement that can be the bane of any marketer: "Truth in advertising." No, not because we like to lie, but because the very notion of truth -- or what constitutes misleading -- can be such a gray area that sometimes you need a bevy of lawyers to figure it out. Just this week, General Motors got a taste of what it's like to be on the wrong side of accusations of dishonesty. The Competitive
Less than a week ago, Chevy announced that it would be firing Campbell-Ewald, its advertising agency of over 90 years. This is the firm that brought us the Heartbeat of America, Like A Rock, and American Revolution ad campaigns, some of the best-loved and most memorable car ads in American history. Now it has been dismissed. The sad fact remains that unless you or someone you know works in the adv
It's been all over the news: Last week the Lexus GX 460 was given the extremely rare "do not buy" rating by Consumer Reports. On the heels of Toyota's PR disaster surrounding recalls over cases of unintended acceleration, the once-esteemed carmaker has stepped in it again. Toyota's response was typical: A calculated surprise that betrayed a more general confusion. The initial statement offered to
Follow me. This is just one of Toyota's latest requests to its loyal (and not so loyal) public. In recent days, Toyota has jumped on the social marketing bandwagon with some gusto. Prior to their much-discussed recall, Toyota had what I would consider a rather lackluster effort in the social marketing arena. Today however, you can go to http://www.toyotaconversations.com to follow the latest happe
"Oh what a feeling!" -- Toyota's old corporate advertising theme -- must be taking on a far different meaning these days at company headquarters. From some data we've seen, it appears Toyota could face problems regaining the trust of female consumers as it rebuilds its image in the U.S. The story just keeps getting worse and worse for Toyota in terms of announcements, Congressional hearings and a
In 2010, the Chinese New Year began on February 14. It is the year of the Tiger. Tigers are, according to the Chinese calendar, optimists. This seems very appropriate given that this is the year that the Chinese are planning their automotive entry to the US market. But so far the press conferences have been pretty uninspiring and the buzz on companies like BYD has been pretty lackluster. I always
Back in 2005, I was responsible for launching the Dodge Magnum, Monkey spot on the Super Bowl. It was not our best effort and as I have mentioned in a previous post, it was not even the one we wanted to run but management issues, legal issues and edits by committee tend to muck up the works. And when you run an ad on the big game, EVERYONE wants to have their mark on the spot and it made it less t
Over the past week I have been asked numerous times about my thoughts on Toyota and its recall woes. This past Thursday, I spoke live with Brian Sullivan and Dagen McDowell on Fox Business News on this topic as well. There is no shortage of opinion and while I am not a fan of Monday morning quarterbacking, I do think that there are steps that should be taken to mitigate the damage.A brief rundown
"Just Do It." "Snap. Crackle. Pop." "Great Taste...Less Filling." "Built Ford Tough". The wonderful world of taglines. Recently, Chevrolet opted out of the tagline business. They had been using "An American Revolution" since 2003. You may remember that it was launched on Dick Clark's Rockin' New Year's Eve program with a spot produced by Hollywood director Michael Bay featuring the song "Magic Car
I've enjoyed reading the controversies that surround the Super Bowl advertising space. As someone who loves football and is also a marketing professional, I feel that the Super Bowl is really the supreme event of my first quarter -- combining what's hopefully the ultimate gridiron match-up and also the "best of the best" in terms of advertising. And, like all viewers, professional and armchair, I
