[AnupamRoy]

I've always had a bone to pick with car and bike adverts that border on the hilarious, and sometimes utterly meaningless, especially w.r.t. features and capabilities. So many adverts nowadays show the car/bike pulling off impractical, sometimes downright dangerous, maneuvers with the fine print at the bottom saying 'stunts performed in controlled situation under expert guidance…should not be imitated…always follow traffic rules…bla bla bla'. Call me stupid, but is it these rubbish stunts that pull potential customers towards buying a particular model? Who comes up with these ideas anyway?

Cases in point below. I've forgotten the makes and models for a few of them, someone might be able to help. These are all adverts that are 'current'.
1. The Thar: 2 vehicles, one driven by a male and the other by a female, ploughing in dusty mountainous tracks with a bizarre rendition of 'Mere sapno ki rani/raja kab aayegi/aayega tu'.
2. A Maruti Ciaz owner who apparently used to be a complete failure in life; now, after buying a Ciaz, he's suddenly getting published left, right and centre.
3. (Make/model forgotten): A woman driving on a mountain road spots a dangerous landslide ensuing just ahead of her, and for some reason, decides to speed up to beat the gigantic boulders hurtling down the mountainside.
4. (Tata EV make/model escapes me): Just a bunch of people in colourful clothing dancing in front of the cars in between shots of a vehicle speeding on a racing track.

These are just a few examples, as there are/have been so many. Honest question: Has anybody here watched an advert like this and thought, I can't live without owing this?

[Garud]

I mean if pan masala can give you a jet set lifestyle, its not far fetched to think that a good looking car like Ciaz wouldn't boost your Esteem in the eyes of other people.

[Totoro11]

I too was thinking of writing a post on this topic, particularly after watching the boring car ads during the FIFA world cup. This could be due to multiple factors a) Ad agency creatives are sleeping on the job b) perhaps their clients don't want memorable ads c) in a sellers market, why bother putting in efforts to differentiate.

The easiest way to make car ad today is to take the car to Gurgaon and shoot videos in Cyber City/Golf Course Road underpasses. Though being a Gurgaon resident, it makes me proud but I am sure India has plenty of other beautiful locations. They can take some hints from the TBHP travelogue section if they need inspiration (no need for the Thar CGI volcano).

Which car ad from 2022 did you like the most? maybe we should have a poll.

[deep_bang]

Originally Posted by AnupamRoy

1. The Thar: 2 vehicles, one driven by a male and the other by a female, ploughing in dusty mountainous tracks with a bizarre rendition of 'Mere sapno ki rani/raja kab aayegi/aayega tu'.

My son said the same thing about this ad. However, the father (me) somehow liked the ad - perhaps the song, perhaps the car, but it connected with me. Hmm. And as you may have guessed, I am not even in the romantic 20's.

[AnupamRoy]

Originally Posted by Garud

I mean if pan masala can give you a jet set lifestyle, its not far fetched to think that a good looking car like Ciaz wouldn't boost your Esteem in the eyes of other people.

You're right, this is true not just for car adverts. The other advert that just infuriates me is the one for Kohler bathroom fittings currently doing the rounds. The entire length of the advert is about a lady complaining incessantly to literally everybody at a house party that her friend, presumably the house owner/party hostess, had not told her about their new Kohler bathroom! I mean, seriously, who the hell cares?!

[Garud]

Originally Posted by deep_bang

My son said the same thing about this ad. However, the father (me) somehow liked the ad - perhaps the song, perhaps the car, but it connected with me. Hmm. And as you may have guessed, I am not even in the romantic 20's.

Hmm, your response makes me think. Maybe, just maybe these kinds of ads work insidiously. Some ads are probably made targeting a particular demographic and the visuals and the song of the Thar ad probably intends to target your demographic. The ads would be shown to millions, and for cars, even if that gives a turnaround of 1%, its a success.

[mayankk]

Wont argue about the inanity of the car adverts, but......

Originally Posted by AnupamRoy

Honest question: Has anybody here watched an advert like this and thought, I can't live without owing this?

One did, long time ago: "Reclaim you life"?

[DicKy]

Looking at how adverts are being banned in nanny states for encouraging dangerous driving, I am not one to complain.

Though I do dislike the supposedly artistic advertisments. There are advertisements that want to convey a certain lifestyle, fine. There are advertisments that want to show just one, single advantage that the car or brand has, fine. There are advertisements that breeze through features and show real case usages (mostly MPVs).

But I just hate those advertisements that show more people than cars. Heck, some don't even show the cars properly. Like they have prepared the advert to submit to some awards committee than showcasing the vehicle's ability.

[Nav-i-gator]

There are only a handful of car ads that have ever touched me, a few more that I register enough to remember it today. Rest all have always been weird or totally unforgettable.

The best one will always be the Tata Safari ones - "reclaim your life". I still watch those sometime on youtube, and somehow (I guess the midlife crisis now), it touches me even more today.

A few more memorable ones were the SX4 ad, which really gave the car a "macho" positioning (which Bajaj took to the extreme with "pulsar-mania). Same one with Chevy Cruze "diesel rocket".

Then the one for Maruti Suzuki as a company (not a specific model) - "india comes home in a Maruti Suzuki"

Latest one that I remember is the "live young, live free" ad from Mahindra, by which they really took the mantle for lifestyle motoring away from Tata.

[GForceEnjoyer]

When the MG Gloster was first advertised, it showed a father nearly crashing into a stopped vehicle as he was busy demonstrating the connected car tech to his very young daughter (who was in the front seat, by the way!), when the auto emergency braking saved the day. Might not have been the best way to advertise ADAS!

There was a Hyundai Creta ad a long time ago where the driver pulls off an incredibly reckless overtake on a winding road all while someone was coming from the opposite side. A friend who was with me at the time (not really a car enthusiast) commented jokingly, "I wouldn't want a car where I have to risk everything just to floor the accelerator!"

Finally, this one isn't a TV ad. I fail to remember when exactly this happened, but I distinctly remember that VW once put a picture of the FWD Vento Sport doing a rear wheel burnout onto its website. Everyone I knew who'd noticed it had a field day up until its removal.

[warrioraks]

I am reminded of the KWID ad - Just because the car has airbags and a couple of other safety features, it is shown fit enough to cross a river flowing with strong water current

[IshaanIan]

After watching the World Cup on Jio two adverts stood out for being absolutely cringe worthy. First is the new Mahindra Scorpio advert and second is the XUV400 EV advert both make the Thar advertisement look like a Christopher Nolan piece in comparison

[AnupamRoy]

Originally Posted by Totoro11

Which car ad from 2022 did you like the most? maybe we should have a poll.

There's a very easy answer to that question. NONE. If, on the other hand, the question is, which car advert did you hate the most, the equally easy answer is, ALL OF THEM.

[cryptarchy]

Automobile ads are so cringe. More cringe is the Live ads during IPL when commentators abruptly start blabbering about the car model on display in the stadium. But I guess mediocrity is the norm in the society everywhere so why should it be different.

[Black_Star]

Originally Posted by Totoro11

Which car ad from 2022 did you like the most? maybe we should have a poll.

Weirdly two ads of the same car

https://youtu.be/YA7c9gZgUUc

https://youtu.be/qMR4MnV1dK0

Originally Posted by cryptarchy

Automobile ads are so cringe. More cringe is the Live ads during IPL when commentators abruptly start blabbering about the car model on display in the stadium. But I guess mediocrity is the norm in the society everywhere so why should it be different.

Yeah the only one I truly liked was last years Tundra ad. Showing the legacy behind it was awesome.

https://youtu.be/ZcqURqtJGjc