“They call her Corvette, and she belongs to the highways.” The Chevrolet Corvette throughout automotive history has represented the finest in American performance. Known for high power, low profiles, and the most exciting ride you will ever experience, the Corvette dominates the American performance scene. The name comes from a ship design named “corvette.” This unique ship was small, fast, and could out handle other ships of its time. The modern Corvette lacks cannons, salt-cured meat, grog, a crew of 60 seamen and sails, but still holds some qualities of the original ship. Precise handling, untouchable speed, and unique appearance are still common traits shared between the ship and modern automobile.

Corvette propaganda has always been interesting to watch. “They built her to handle like an angel…” as the first 1953 video suggests below. This is totally true! Whether you are a fan of the Corvette or not, take time to enjoy the following footage. Learn more about Corvette classic commercials at Tampa Sports Car Examiner.

Did a commercial over the last few days. Now normally, a commercial shoot can be tough, but not like this. Most of the time, things go great if you have a professional production company. Let’s see, where do I begin?

I can’t mention the client right now, but we shot in Van Nuys and Glendale in over 100 degree heat with a 1st AD (Assistant Director) that seemed to get his jollies out of yelling at people. ‘Scuze me, did I say yelling? I meant to say “Lecturing,” then yelling.

Continue reading after the jump!

Continue reading "The Shoot From Hell" »

A lot of you have probably seen Acura’s latest TV spot and figured it was just plain old CGI. Turns out, though, that the ad was done entirely with stop-action animation using the talents of UK street artists David Whittle and Henry “Sainty” St. Leger. They used one giant 40′ x 60′ board with the Acura positioned in front of it, then created a moving tapestry of urban scenery, one frame at a time, by repainting the canvas (and in some cases, the car) for each successive shot to create the illusion of forward movement. Nothing was computer generated or superimposed–see that aerial view where the birds fly over? Those birds were painted directly onto the floor and the vehicle’s roof to produce that sequence. The whole thing took ten days, 455 gallons of paint, and 503 rattle-cans, and they had to keep an automotive detailer on location–and you thought your last spray-bomb paint job was messy. Follow the jump to check out the making-of video.

Continue reading "Making Of Acura’s RDX “Wall Art” Ad" »

While there have been many plugs for the new Dodge Ram pickup, nothing beats this campaign that Dodge is running at its site, clips of which you might’ve seen on TV. Head over to ramchallenge.com to check out this actually pretty clever reality-TV themed video series for yourself. The site is currently running the first episode in a series of four, which will show the new Ram competing in a variety of challenges from payload to offroad. And while it’s hard to gauge from only the first episode, what they’ve got so far is about seven minutes of absolutely decent advertainment. Watch!

Though it’s kind of trippy, there’s actually more Aston Martin action in this Coke Zero spot than there is in the actual Quantum of Solace trailer. And even though I think diet soda makes about as much sense as light cigarettes, I still like the old-school Bond vibe of this commercial. Apparently, the soundtrack is a instrumental version of the Jack White/Alicia Keys track that will be the new flick’s theme, and while I still wish Amy Winehouse had pulled herself together enough to contribute the music—listen to "Back to Black" and try to tell me that wouldn’t have been awesome—it still sounds good. And hell, anything will be better than the crappy Chris Cornell cut they used for Casino Royal. Yuck.

When I stumbled across the Mercedes-Benz video "One Goal," late last month, I wrote; "I’m aware that inspirational corporate propaganda can be mind-numbingly bad, but ‘One Goal’ is so awful that I really can’t believe Mercedes had anything to do with it." Well, this morning we got an email from Stuttgart, saying which said; "Somebody in your community published our video on your site without having the copyrights for doing so. We are owning the video and no copyrights to publish the video do exist."

Now, I don’t know about you, but to me, that suggests Mercedes-Benz commissioned this clip, and I have to admit, I’m shocked. And not because the music is obviously a terrible U2 retread. Or that the messaging is basically one hyper-boring corporate cliche’ after another. I mean, that’s pretty standard stuff. But then comes the part where the Bon Jovi wannabe sings "Volvo, they worry, the Japs they just cry." Like, seriously? Last I checked—and I checked 30 seconds ago—"Japs" was still considered a racist term. And since M-B prides itself on attention to detail, the idea that nobody—nobody?—on the brass caught what looks to be a corporate-sanctioned slur is just unbelievable. Maybe they figured it out, which would explain why the video is being purged from the internet. We managed to grab a screen shot from YouTube before it got yanked, and you can read the full text of the lyrics after the jump.

Continue reading "Mercedes-Benz: “The Japs They Just Cry”" »

Now, I’m aware that inspirational corporate propaganda can be mind-numbingly bad, but "One Goal" is so awful that I really can’t believe Mercedes had anything to do with it. After all, the company is responsible for one of the best car commercials of all time, so how could this piece of crap get past the brass? I mean, the horrible music is one thing—Hasselhof is popular in Germany—but all the stuff about the competition, specifically the part about how the Japanese "just cry?" It seems like somebody from HR would have totally sent this motivational movie back to the editing room. What do you think? Is this real? Thanks to Winding Road for finding this wild clip. 

I’ve always thought my little GTI was somewhat of a green-er car. Even with all the upgrades and power enhancements, I still pull out between 28-31mpgs, which isn’t too bad by today’s standards. However, I never considered the spin SAAB is using in their most recent TV commercial to market turbocharged engines: recycling your exhaust. That’s right, I’m greener than most cars because I recycle my exhaust and turn the spent gasses into more power for my little four-banger.

Of course, we’ll ignore the fact that since I enjoy boost, I probably burn more fuel when the turbo starts to spool, since the best way to get lots of boost is to romp on the long pedal. Oh well. It’s a good commercial and a fun marketing spin.

Ok, I can see what Goodyear was going for here. After all, I’d prefer that my girlfriend not have to change a tire on the side of the road at night. But the dramatic music and frantic jump cuts while the woman is driving are a little over the top. Even back in the ’70s, I’m sure there were plenty of ladies who could handle driving to the airport without having a panic attack. It’s hilarious this was ever played in prime time. Thanks to Winding Road for finding it.

While I’ve always assumed that Lamborghini’s—like crack or illicit substances—sold themselves. But apparently, that didn’t stop the company from commissioning this spot showing off the lines of its new Gallardo LP560/4. It’s a little artsy, and I doubt that it’ll ever be broadcast, but it’s still entertaining. Enjoy. via CarScoop

Since this Tundra ad is obviously a plug for an individual dealer, it kind of made me wonder if the Toyota brass has veto power over the kinds of spots its affiliates can air. And then I wondered if the powers that be had seen this yet. Because while potty-mouthed editors—like yours truly—may find substituting truck for the world’s best curse word to be pretty funny, I imagine there are plenty of more conservative folks who don’t. Of course, as funny as this is, it still doesn’t have anything on the fictitious—and expletive-laden—ad for Big Jim Hell’s Cars.

Rob’s Mustang post from earlier today got me thinking about Volvo’s "Lonely Supercar" spot. I don’t know exactly what it is about this commercial, maybe it’s the music, the way the fictitious exotic’s headlights look away from the sympathetic lady, or just how completely forlorn the pedestal-bound beast looks, but I think it’s great. Which current car commercial is your favorite?