Are car ads effective and money well spent.

tj123 · 11th August 2009, 16:44

Personally I felt that FIAT has wasted its bucks on hiring Cricketers, the advertisement fails miserably to inspires me "to be bold".
The ad neither exudes style not confidence which FIAT needs to instill in its customers.

I think FIAT should have advertised Punto as a fun to drive Car as it does in Europe.
I especially love the Jumping jack advertisement, which post Punto as a fun loving car.

amit · 11th August 2009, 16:49

Some more silly adverts come to mind.

- The old Accent ad where the car dodges missiles!

- The new Verna ad showing fighter pilots in full flying gear driving a A/T Verna on the runway.

- The Palio 'sapno ki rani' ad. What were they trying to say?

Some nice ads.

- The old Cielo A/T 'I just want to hold your hand' advert starring Kavita Kapoor.

- The Esteem ad where the family celebrates their husband and father's birthday.

- Optra 'karva chauth' ad.

Isn't it odd that the normal, senti ad's leave a more lasting impression then the hi tech action packed ones?

Celebrities are a total waste of money. Only SRK was moderately successfull in selling cars. However, even he couldn't ensure the success of Elantra and Sonata. Fiat have used celebrities in the worst possible manner. Doing ads for Fiat must have been the easiest way to make money for Sachin and Yuvraj. (Sachin not only got a Ferrari but he even got Fiat to pay for the duties to get it to India!)

diabloo · 11th August 2009, 17:34

Quote:

Originally Posted by rohan_iitr

I don't think there is another type of car buyer who buys the car just because :
12. Young guys and gals party inside a MUV, which apparently has killed the sedan market in the country (Xylo)

Well Xylo is selling in good numbers.

Quote:

I have to admit that some advertisements just touch the right spot. Few that come to mind are:
1. Fiat Linea (stuck at the sight of you)

Linea sales are going down.

Hence the poll.

Quote:

Originally Posted by diabloo

This thread needs a poll.

Do you like ads that:
1. Soothing to eyes & mind
2. Increase sales

motorpsycho · 11th August 2009, 17:44

one more thing , In the AutoExpo the girls in the stalls are meant to serve what purpose (strictly from marketing point of view.. so please don't any ideas.. but i like the way you think) they distract the attention form the product and help in no way actually to push the product, anybody who would want to buy a car will visit the stall irrespective of the girls or no girls. only thing they do is attract customers who wants a different kind of "ride" then the one the company is trying to sell

BomBatt · 11th August 2009, 18:12

I think GM is the one which spent money very well and effectively on ads.

A disaster stuck them when the parent in US went bankrupt. There was lot of doubts in the mind of customers. Even most of T-Bhpians were apprehensive about GM India. But then they came out aggresively on print media and telivision. Even more surprising is their CEO himself became a brand ambassador thereby saving good money

rohan_iitr · 11th August 2009, 18:28

Quote:

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

nice one rohan

- foolish man in wannabe hyped up car does handbrake turn and tries to face off speeding truck - SX4

- two school kids making funny noises going over rumble strip speed breakers - Opel

cheers

- SX4 vs truck Ad, how did I miss this one.

- I actually liked the Opel Ad - "The difference is German engineering". Thought it was cute.

Quote:

Originally Posted by diabloo

Well Xylo is selling in good numbers.
Linea sales are going down.

Hence the poll.

Xylo is a good MUV, but why do the Ad makers have to compare it to a sedan ? It doesn't make any sense.

No idea about Linea sales, I'll believe you that its sales are going down. It just proves the point that advertising is useless unless the product (vehicle and A.S.S.) is good.

Quote:

Originally Posted by motorpsycho

one more thing , In the AutoExpo the girls in the stalls are meant to serve what purpose (strictly from marketing point of view.. so please don't any ideas.. but i like the way you think) they distract the attention form the product and help in no way actually to push the product, anybody who would want to buy a car will visit the stall irrespective of the girls or no girls. only thing they do is attract customers who wants a different kind of "ride" then the one the company is trying to sell

The hot girls posing next to the swanky cars are actually quite useful. When you see them posing next to the car, your subconscious mind tells you that you could be popular with the hot girls if you are driving one of those swanky cars. Most people buy expensive cars to show off and impress others, not because they need it. Middle aged men going through mid-life crisis are especially prone to such kind of impulse buying.

Rohan,
Bangalore

GTO · 11th August 2009, 18:34

In a nutshell : Ads can only help a good product that has been positioned well. Case in point : The Honda Jazz. I have never seen Honda advertising a car so aggressively, it's like they are all over television. Yet, in its 2nd month, the sales fell to a measly 1,000 units (about half of their expectations).

Reminds me of the proverb "You can take a horse to the water, but can't make him drink". Ads can get buyers into the showroom, but at the end of the day, it's the car that has to speak for itself. 'Nuff said.

s_pphilip · 12th August 2009, 00:06

Thanks rohan, that was nice to add with the good ads and stupid ads. Even I agree Fiat wasted money on celebrities without gaining an inch of market share or acceptance. Yuvraj money could have been used elsewhere, maybe a sensible Fiat mileage drive or invite all fiat owners one sunday and take them arround a race course. these may have done more good.

shankar.balan · 7th February 2012, 18:45

Another grumbly one here guys!

The latest Mahindra XUV 500 TV advertisement has got to be one of the stupidest ads in creation! Some good looking but cannibalistic women wearing primitive clothing. A silly looking chap. A weird setting complete with flashbacks and a very idiotic tag line involving carrots etc. I mean how stupid can the Marketing team of such a large company get and approve such an ad which has nothing whatsoever to recommend the product? More so, how idiotic can the ad company be, that recommended such a bad ad? There's something seriously stupid going on at M&M in the name of glamourization!

By contrast, the Tata Safari ad with the 'Reclaim your life' tag line was so superior to this, and so much classier, so much so that it is almost an interplanetary difference!

The new VW Polo ad also oozes quality. Such a heartwarming feeling, such a nice happy setting and such a nice story line! That will remain in ones memory for ages indeed and make one want to come back for more!

blackasta · 7th February 2012, 18:56

I have rarely seen a car ad, for that matter any ad, reaching this height.

Chrysler Commercial - It's Halftime in America - YouTube

It's the SuperBowl XLVI half time ad.

n.devdath · 7th February 2012, 19:12

Most car ads, at least in India barring Tata Safari and VW, are senseless and are simply made too carelessly by the ad makers IMO. No wonder they never picked up as much as the FMCG and cosmetic ads on TV.

On the contrary, some of the best ads abroad are car ads, be it print or multimedia.

iceman7 · 7th February 2012, 19:34

I am awed by VW's agency in India. The have made some real out of the box efforts to market their cars in India. The top 2 that come to mind are:

1) the talking ad on the TOI front page.

2) the sliver glitzy full page advertorial on the TOI opening page.

Fiat make OK ad's but seem to have lost the plot for the 2012 Linea and Punto.

The "India comes home in a Maruti" campaign by Maruti was good.

Mahindra's agency should be fired right away for cooking up (pun intended) such a preposterous ad for the XUV 500. It deserved so much better.

Tata for some reason has always been able to make awesome commercials for the Safari.

To go back to the topic - IMO, a neatly executed campaign generates the right amount of interest in people. Enough interest to pull them to the showrooms. At this stage, I believe the ad has done it's job. Time for the product to take over.

s_pphilip · 27th October 2012, 00:12

Quote:

Originally Posted by iceman7

The "India comes home in a Maruti" campaign by Maruti was good.

.

Agreed, Maruti ads strike an emotional cord and 'part of family' feeling with the masses.

Rufus_M · 27th October 2012, 06:32

Quote:

Originally Posted by iceman7

I am awed by VW's agency in India. The have made some real out of the box efforts to market their cars in India.

+1
VW has marketed their cars very well. The new Polo & Vento ad is also good. Their aggressive marketing of their products works well for them.

Disappointed with the way Fiat brings out its ads. The Punto & Linea 2012 ads certainly do not convey what it intends to.

Surprisingly, for a Maruti Suzuki, I found the Ertiga ad to be well made with a catchy background score. The setting of the ad is just perfect.

pganapathy · 28th October 2012, 06:13

The greatest ad (car or anything else) I have ever seen was made in south Africa in the early 90's. It even won the best prize in that years ad awards (can't remember what that is called).

It had a drivers point of view from a BMW 3 series (318i IIRC). You saw the car in motion. You saw a cute little mouse standing on top of the steering wheel. The mouse then ran a little (like on a log) and the steering wheel moved a few mm and the car then followed suit in the same direction. The mouse then ran in the opposite direction and exactly the same thing happened.

The point of the ad was to show how sensitive the steering wheel of the BMW was.

The concept was stunning in simplicity yet was so beautifully done that even now, 20 years later, I am yet to see a better ad.

An ad like that is definitely money well spent and definitely got BMW more footfalls. I can only assume it translated into more sales as BMW is one of the biggest car manufacturers in south Africa today with the 3 series in the top 10 of sales annually.

Most ads seen today are a waste if time and money. Admittedly, few of them are designed to appeal to the more car educated classes (Tbhp members belong to that class) and more towards the aam-admi who is looking for status, image, good looks etc. That is the only way I can figure out for car companies to spend crazy amounts paying celebrities to endorse a brand or specific car

11th August 2009, 16:44	#16
tj123 Senior - BHPian Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: BLR Posts: 1,148 Thanked: 680 Times	Personally I felt that FIAT has wasted its bucks on hiring Cricketers, the advertisement fails miserably to inspires me "to be bold". The ad neither exudes style not confidence which FIAT needs to instill in its customers. I think FIAT should have advertised Punto as a fun to drive Car as it does in Europe. I especially love the Jumping jack advertisement, which post Punto as a fun loving car.
	() Thanks

11th August 2009, 16:49	#17
amit Senior - BHPian Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Mumbai Posts: 3,717 Thanked: 449 Times	Some more silly adverts come to mind. - The old Accent ad where the car dodges missiles! - The new Verna ad showing fighter pilots in full flying gear driving a A/T Verna on the runway. - The Palio 'sapno ki rani' ad. What were they trying to say? Some nice ads. - The old Cielo A/T 'I just want to hold your hand' advert starring Kavita Kapoor. - The Esteem ad where the family celebrates their husband and father's birthday. - Optra 'karva chauth' ad. Isn't it odd that the normal, senti ad's leave a more lasting impression then the hi tech action packed ones? Celebrities are a total waste of money. Only SRK was moderately successfull in selling cars. However, even he couldn't ensure the success of Elantra and Sonata. Fiat have used celebrities in the worst possible manner. Doing ads for Fiat must have been the easiest way to make money for Sachin and Yuvraj. (Sachin not only got a Ferrari but he even got Fiat to pay for the duties to get it to India!)
	() Thanks

11th August 2009, 17:44	#19
motorpsycho BHPian Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Hubli Posts: 482 Thanked: 448 Times	one more thing , In the AutoExpo the girls in the stalls are meant to serve what purpose (strictly from marketing point of view.. so please don't any ideas.. but i like the way you think) they distract the attention form the product and help in no way actually to push the product, anybody who would want to buy a car will visit the stall irrespective of the girls or no girls. only thing they do is attract customers who wants a different kind of "ride" then the one the company is trying to sell
	() Thanks

11th August 2009, 18:12	#20
BomBatt BHPian Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Bangalore Posts: 208 Thanked: 35 Times	I think GM is the one which spent money very well and effectively on ads. A disaster stuck them when the parent in US went bankrupt. There was lot of doubts in the mind of customers. Even most of T-Bhpians were apprehensive about GM India. But then they came out aggresively on print media and telivision. Even more surprising is their CEO himself became a brand ambassador thereby saving good money
	() Thanks

11th August 2009, 18:34	#22
GTO Team-BHP Support Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Bombay Posts: 70,512 Thanked: 300,680 Times View My Garage	In a nutshell : Ads can only help a good product that has been positioned well. Case in point : The Honda Jazz. I have never seen Honda advertising a car so aggressively, it's like they are all over television. Yet, in its 2nd month, the sales fell to a measly 1,000 units (about half of their expectations). Reminds me of the proverb "You can take a horse to the water, but can't make him drink". Ads can get buyers into the showroom, but at the end of the day, it's the car that has to speak for itself. 'Nuff said.
	(1) Thanks

12th August 2009, 00:06	#23
s_pphilip BHPian Join Date: May 2009 Location: Anjuna, Goa Posts: 370 Thanked: 533 Times	Thanks rohan, that was nice to add with the good ads and stupid ads. Even I agree Fiat wasted money on celebrities without gaining an inch of market share or acceptance. Yuvraj money could have been used elsewhere, maybe a sensible Fiat mileage drive or invite all fiat owners one sunday and take them arround a race course. these may have done more good.
	() Thanks

7th February 2012, 18:45	#24
shankar.balan BANNED Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Bangalore Posts: 11,368 Thanked: 23,149 Times View My Garage Infractions: 0/2 (8)	Another grumbly one here guys! The latest Mahindra XUV 500 TV advertisement has got to be one of the stupidest ads in creation! Some good looking but cannibalistic women wearing primitive clothing. A silly looking chap. A weird setting complete with flashbacks and a very idiotic tag line involving carrots etc. I mean how stupid can the Marketing team of such a large company get and approve such an ad which has nothing whatsoever to recommend the product? More so, how idiotic can the ad company be, that recommended such a bad ad? There's something seriously stupid going on at M&M in the name of glamourization! By contrast, the Tata Safari ad with the 'Reclaim your life' tag line was so superior to this, and so much classier, so much so that it is almost an interplanetary difference! The new VW Polo ad also oozes quality. Such a heartwarming feeling, such a nice happy setting and such a nice story line! That will remain in ones memory for ages indeed and make one want to come back for more! Last edited by shankar.balan : 7th February 2012 at 18:47.
	(1) Thanks

7th February 2012, 19:12	#26
n.devdath BANNED Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Bangalore Posts: 4,287 Thanked: 2,811 Times	Re: Are car ads effective and money well spent. Most car ads, at least in India barring Tata Safari and VW, are senseless and are simply made too carelessly by the ad makers IMO. No wonder they never picked up as much as the FMCG and cosmetic ads on TV. On the contrary, some of the best ads abroad are car ads, be it print or multimedia.
	() Thanks

7th February 2012, 19:34	#27
iceman7 BHPian Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: BOM \| TLL Posts: 751 Thanked: 469 Times	Re: Are car ads effective and money well spent. I am awed by VW's agency in India. The have made some real out of the box efforts to market their cars in India. The top 2 that come to mind are: 1) the talking ad on the TOI front page. 2) the sliver glitzy full page advertorial on the TOI opening page. Fiat make OK ad's but seem to have lost the plot for the 2012 Linea and Punto. The "India comes home in a Maruti" campaign by Maruti was good. Mahindra's agency should be fired right away for cooking up (pun intended) such a preposterous ad for the XUV 500. It deserved so much better. Tata for some reason has always been able to make awesome commercials for the Safari. To go back to the topic - IMO, a neatly executed campaign generates the right amount of interest in people. Enough interest to pull them to the showrooms. At this stage, I believe the ad has done it's job. Time for the product to take over. Last edited by iceman7 : 7th February 2012 at 19:36.
	() Thanks

28th October 2012, 06:13	#30
pganapathy Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: Bangalore,Coorg Posts: 1,088 Thanked: 765 Times	Re: Are car ads effective and money well spent. The greatest ad (car or anything else) I have ever seen was made in south Africa in the early 90's. It even won the best prize in that years ad awards (can't remember what that is called). It had a drivers point of view from a BMW 3 series (318i IIRC). You saw the car in motion. You saw a cute little mouse standing on top of the steering wheel. The mouse then ran a little (like on a log) and the steering wheel moved a few mm and the car then followed suit in the same direction. The mouse then ran in the opposite direction and exactly the same thing happened. The point of the ad was to show how sensitive the steering wheel of the BMW was. The concept was stunning in simplicity yet was so beautifully done that even now, 20 years later, I am yet to see a better ad. An ad like that is definitely money well spent and definitely got BMW more footfalls. I can only assume it translated into more sales as BMW is one of the biggest car manufacturers in south Africa today with the 3 series in the top 10 of sales annually. Most ads seen today are a waste if time and money. Admittedly, few of them are designed to appeal to the more car educated classes (Tbhp members belong to that class) and more towards the aam-admi who is looking for status, image, good looks etc. That is the only way I can figure out for car companies to spend crazy amounts paying celebrities to endorse a brand or specific car Last edited by pganapathy : 28th October 2012 at 06:28.
	(1) Thanks