Ford vs. Cadillac

[Dobber]

I thought this was clever of Ford. But obviously not targeted at me, because I'll take the mansion and the good/easy life every time


First, the original ad, from Cadillac:

[Dobber]

And now the Ford ad that mocks it

[Pengwin7]

It's actually not a very clever ad by Ford.
It seems like it is... because they just copied & mocked some other ad - but it's not clever at all and probably won't attract half the new buys that the douche-baggy Cadillac ad actually will.

1. Ford is simply targeting the demographic not chosen in a very OBVIOUS manner. Ooooooo, new brilliant strategy!!! Never seen that done before. -sarcasm
2. Who are they going to get to buy this vehicle: Oh, right... the Democrat that dislikes rich Republicans.
LOL, true. It would have been a brilliant ad during the Bush administration.
With Tiger & Kanye driving their Caddies though... how much of the population are you going to swing here Ford??!
All the Democrats already have their smart cars... it's like trying to sell a cell phone to a teenager: "Sorry, I already have one."

Anybody that cares about the earth already has their car.
But douche-bags... douche-bags are always ready to buy a more douche-baggery vehicle.

As advertising goes:
+1 to Cadillac
Fail to Ford.

My apologies to anybody that actually drives either of these vehicles.
Sorry!
(and for the record... I dislike both political extremists. They are not invited to my party! )

[mounD]

It's actually not a very clever ad by Ford.
It seems like it is... because they just copied & mocked some other ad - but it's not clever at all and probably won't attract half the new buys that the douche-baggy Cadillac ad actually will.

1. Ford is simply targeting the demographic not chosen in a very OBVIOUS manner. Ooooooo, new brilliant strategy!!! Never seen that done before. -sarcasm
2. Who are they going to get to buy this vehicle: Oh, right... the Democrat that dislikes rich Republicans.
LOL, true. It would have been a brilliant ad during the Bush administration.
With Tiger & Kanye driving their Caddies though... how much of the population are you going to swing here Ford??!
All the Democrats already have their smart cars... it's like trying to sell a cell phone to a teenager: "Sorry, I already have one."

Anybody that cares about the earth already has their car.
But douche-bags... douche-bags are always ready to buy a more douche-baggery vehicle.

As advertising goes:
+1 to Cadillac
Fail to Ford.

My apologies to anybody that actually drives either of these vehicles.
Sorry!
(and for the record... I dislike both political extremists. They are not invited to my party! )

Yep, Cadillac really knows its market. Rich douchebags who think that they're somehow deserving of their fabulous wealth when really it's a result of their privilege and the stark inequality present in the global economy. Only a rich douchebag would believe that hard work alone made their millions / billions. I can't believe Cadillac is still playing off this "American Dream" bullcrap when social mobility in American is pretty much nonexistent. But as long as stupid people keep buying the idea that hard work alone makes success we'll never be united as the oppressed 99+++%

When the top 85 individuals on Earth possess as much wealth as the lowest 3.5 BILLION, there is no such thing as real competition in the marketplace. As long as Joe the Plumber thinks that someday he will be rich, and that all he has to do is work hard, Cadillac will keep rubbing it in our faces and selling stupid cars to rich ********. As long as we aspire to become that rich *******, we've got serious problems with recognizing the fact that our economic system is foreclosing REAL opportunities for millions and millions of Americans.

Sadly, people live off wishful thinking like this, it's almost like faith in God in that respect. People construct and propagate this idea of the American Dream to make themselves feel better about the world around them. As long as society at large buries its head in the sand with arguments like "the market will correct the problem," we have no hope of ever coming together as a free people to stand up against the pervasive, fraudulent income inequality in the world. Until then ... Cadillac will sell a bunch of cars. Clever ad, no doubt. But it's only as clever as we are stupid.

My .02

[LawMan]

In marketing you have to both retain your current customers and attract new ones (experts will tell you it’s much more expensive to get a new customer then keep an old one) and with goods like cars that last for years the makers have to be constantly reinforcing to their current owners that when it’s time for a new car they should stick with the same. In that regard I thought both ads did a good job of playing to their purchasing “base” by linking their cars to the values many in said base believe strongly in.

The Cadillac ad plays heavily on the American Dream- work hard and you can have good stuff it says. It reinforces the idea that those with wealth earned it and it lets the buyer feel not only ok but good about buying a Cadillac because he or she is a “hardworker” and “only took two weeks off in August” thus “earning” the nice Cadillac. I’m not going to debate the hardwork v. privilege angle because for the purposes of the ad it doesn’t matter. I will give Cadillac an “A+” for tying its brand into the American dream theme and giving prospective purchasers all kinds of warm feelings about buying a Cadillac. The ad justifies Cadillac as a symbol of success and links that to a symbol of a hardworking, freedom loving American.

I also really liked the Ford ad and how it used the same idea as the Cadillac ad to display a completely different message. Everything in the ad was designed to scream counter-culture and link Ford to rejecting the traditional values in Cadillac and embracing other values including: the lead was a strong minority female who cares about the planet (even her clothes and haircut were designed to show her “un-establishment” attitude). The message was clear; Ford owners aren’t focused on being rich they’d rather care about helping their communities, saving the planet and living happy lives. Those people in the suburbs have stuff but they aren’t happy we’re the happy ones because we make a difference. This message plays well for Ford for a number of reasons:
1. It gives those who can’t afford a Cadillac a reason to not want to buy a Cadillac in an almost sour grapes attitude of “only the entitlement drives Cadillac, Ford is the people’s car.”
2. It encourages those who drive Ford but may be able to afford a Cadillac in the future a reason to stick with Ford- as Ford better reflects their values.
3. It gives off that warm fuzzy corporate glow that the younger generation is embracing more than the older generation, the younger generation is going to be buying more cars going forward.