RE: New BMW television campaign

["Peter K. Wong" <pkw@planet.eon.net>]

I think we all need to just get a grip.  Commercials are commercials,
they're marketing tools that sometimes stretch the truth a bit.  Having
seen a lot of other automobile commercials there isn't a lot of truth in
the things they say anyway.

How about the commercials for:

Mercedes S-Class - Their commercials would have you believe that you
purchased a car that handles well and can be steered to safety quickly.
The reality is that the car weighs over two tons and handles like a Crown
Vic. You've just bought yourself a hummer with wood trim and 148 air bags.
Go ahead hit it, you'll live!

Jimmy Blazer - they'd have you believe that go through rocky mountain
passes on your way home, when in reality you mostly sit and complain about
the noise of the tires over the expansion gaps on the freeway.

Audi A6 - Their commercials would have you believe the styling is so
incredible that people (and water droplets) will stop and stare.  The
reality is that they think you bought a '99 Passat.

Porsche 911 - they'd have you believe that people that buy these cars are
great drivers that crave up and down through windy mountain roads.  The
reality is that when most drivers aren't stuck in traffic, they're cruising
main street looking for action.

Dodge Caravan - would have you believe that their cars were purchased by
happy families loking for a versatile yet nice handling vehicle.  The
reality is that the husband wept quietly into his pillow the night before
picking up the car because he's lost his youth.

Cadillac Catera - The commercials show a car for the younger crowd, the
'yuppie' crowd that would otherwise have purchased an import car.  The
reality: the average age of the Cadillac buyer is 67 and climbing.


And despite all this, people still buy all of these cars.  Commercials are
commercials and in this day and age, BMW really is struggling to justify
their rear wheel drive platform in ways that the average buyer can relate to.

And if we're getting technical, the 50/50 doesn't make sense but not
because the car is not 50/50 but rather that its not 20/80.  The weight
shift during braking requires far more stopping power from front discs than
the back.

Cheers,

Peter

>>Date: Tue, 18 May 1999 07:36:47 GMT
>>From: quk@isham-research.demon.co.uk (Phil Payne)
>>Subject: New BMW television campaign
>>
>>Actually, I don't _know_ that it's new - I don't watch Channel 5 very
>>often.
>>
>>Two new adverts:
>>
>>a) A spinning top. "Everyone knows that moving objects should be
>>  balanced.  That's why BMWs distribute exactly half the braking force
>>  to each axle."
>>
>>b) A man on a unicycle. "Transmitting power through the wheels you
>>   steer with can lead to instability.  That's why BMWs reserve one
>>   axle for steering and one for power."
>>
>>I've never seen anything so oddly indefensible from a major player.  Is
>>quattro really starting to dent BMW's sales figures?
>>
>>(And can the first one even be true?)
>>
>>- --
>>Phil Payne
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