Jens Meiners once again wrote a letter to the car media portal. This time it's about the Superbowl, a new off-road vehicle and the discussions about the Alfa Romeo brand.
Advertising clips for the Superbowl 2014
The competition for the best, funniest, and most demanding commercials during the Super Bowl soccer game has become part of the cultural heritage of U.S. automotive history. Now it's going into the hot phase - and some of the most prominent contributions come from the Volkswagen Group.
With a one-minute teaser, the VW brand has already managed to turn several US colleagues against itself. In this, the attempt to analyze and re-enact successful US commercials was humorously targeted. From scantily clad dancers to babies, dinosaurs and puppies to “Uncle Sam” and the wall decoration with “hashtag” no cliché is left out. The irritated reactions of some Americans suggest that VW is dangerously close to reality:
The final spot has nothing to do with it anymore and is much more conciliatory: a father tells his skeptical daughter that German engineers always have wings when a Volkswagen crosses the 100-mile mark. And of course that happens non-stop:
Toyota is much more conventional with the Off-Roader Highlander, which is captured by a team of Muppets. In its predictability, the Toyota factory could have been the inspiration for the VW teaser:
And the Kia and Hyundai spots also stay good: At Kia, the “Matrix” figure “Morpheus” in the back of a K900 plays the Puccini shreds of “Nessun dorma” to suggest an incomparable luxury experience:
Hyundai, on the other hand, appeals to parental protector instincts with an automatic emergency brake at the wheel of the Genesis premium sedan:
So far, so unspectacular.
A selected malice then affords Audi with its “Doberhuahua” stripe, in which - the name suggests - a cross between Dobermann and Chihuahua is the focus. He was teased with a separate spot in which the popular singer Sarah McLachlan sang about the “misunderstood” Doberhuahua, whose heart is as big as its (grotesquely oversized) head:
The spot caused guesswork until Audi delivered the resolution with the final film:
He identifies the Doberhuahua as a compromise with which Audi drivers - it's about the A3 notchback - can't do anything. The animal - which is "unpleasant to look at" - causes chaos and terror. And whether it is coincidence that the proportion and physiognomy of the creature is dem Mercedes-Benz CLA resemble, let's say ...
Old Arizona
Once again, America has completed the Barrett Jackson auction, which is traditionally like a cattle market. The atmosphere at US auctions with the largely incomprehensible, sometimes swelling and soon declining singing of auctioneers is a culture shock for more delicate Europeans. The price trend was rather sideways this year, which will reassure those who already expected the harbingers of a new speculative bubble in Scottsdale. The prices remained largely within the expected range, some specifications were even clearly missed.
News from DC
The highlight of the Washington Auto Show last week was the presentation of the Lincoln Navigator off-road vehicle, which will be significantly revised for the coming model year. As part of a major facelift, the large SUV from Ford's noble daughter Lincoln receives a completely redesigned front section, a new rear panel and an instrumentation that, stylistically, now refers to the smaller Ford model series instead of the design icons of the 60s. The most significant change is the waiver of the large-volume 5,4-liter V8 engine in favor of a V6 turbo, which brings 3,5 HP from a displacement of 365 liters. This reduces both consumption and fascination; The rumbling bass of the Cadillac Escalade with its 6,2-liter V8 and 414 PS, which was completely redeveloped in contrast to the Navigator, now has no adequate countermeasure.
Meanwhile, the industry is discussing the future of Fiat and Chrysler. With the Lancia brand announced by CEO Sergio Marchionne, Chrysler's European export market will cease to exist. Chrysler had only disappeared from Europe three years ago; some models of the brand had been resold under the logo of the aristocratic Italians - but with little success. Also questionable is the future of the Alfa Romeo brand, which currently only assembles small and compact cars as well as small numbers 4C has on offer. According to the latest status, it should come to US dealers in mid-2014. Originally, the largely handcrafted four-cylinder sports car should have been in the showrooms for a long time. In the meantime, the VW group continues to think about how to integrate the traditional Italian brand into the range ...
This article appeared in the Auto-Medienportal.net and was published there by Jens Meiners.