Is anyone else annoyed by all those car ads that compare themselves to luxury models?

[vetteguy]

I am so sick of seeing Kia/Honda/Hyundai/budget brand X ads where they compare themselves to BMW, Mercedes, etc. Like they'll show their $15,000 sedan and say "more cargo room than a BMW 5-series!!! Faster acceleration than a Mercedes SLK!!!" Do they think it actually influences anyones purchase decision? If I was in the market for a new car, and a 5-series BMW was something I was able to consider, I highly doubt I'd see a Hyundai commercial and go "oh snap! I can get a Tiberon for $25,000 less!!!"

 

[lupi]

I can't believe someone posted a thread like this when ex members of the Nigerian royal family are making millions a year.

 

[EGGO]

According to their commercial, the Hyundai SUV is better than the Range Rover in every aspect except number of cup holders.

 

[mugs]

There has already been a thread about this. Those ads aren't targeted at luxury car buyers, they're targeted at economy car buyers who want a good value.

 

[thomsbrain]

i prefer those ads to those Ford and Cadillac ads that claim magazine-led "editor for a day" meetings of people preferred some arbitrary aspect of their car to that of the leading brand. they make it sound like the "participating" magazine preferred the car... often in the same issue that the same car gets b!tch-slapped in the real comparison.

at least the hyundai ads state actual objective facts and not the personal preference of some wanker from New Jersey.

 

[Jeff7]

It's to inflate the ego of the person buying it.

"Wow, you mean that BMW's come in this exact same color?!?!? I am SO buying one! What do you call it again? A "Yugo?" Cool, it makes me go! Yay!!!"

 

[lupi]

Originally posted by: thomsbrain

at least the hyundai ads state actual objective facts and not the personal preference of some wanker from New Jersey.

So they should stop any further references to thomsbrain in their material?

 

[mugs]

Originally posted by: thomsbrain
i prefer those ads to those Ford and Cadillac ads that claim magazine-led "editor for a day" meetings of people preferred some arbitrary aspect of their car to that of the leading brand. they make it sound like the "participating" magazine preferred the car... often in the same issue that the same car gets b!tch-slapped in the real comparison.

at least the hyundai ads state actual objective facts and not the personal preference of some wanker from New Jersey.

I haven't seen the Cadillac ads you're talking about, but the Ford Fusion ads make it pretty clear that it's readers of the magazines that rated the cars, not the magazines. The implication being that the readers of those magazines are car "enthusiasts" (I hate that word).

And the two I've seen were in DC and CA - but I'm sure they have plenty of wankers there.

 

[Captante]

Takes me back the the Ford Grenada commercial that compared it side-by-side to a Mercedes & concluded the Ford was a better car because it cost less & looked the same.

I think its safe to say that these ads are designed to appeal to Hyundai etc buyers because nobody shopping for a BMW/Range Rover or other nice car is comparison-shopping at the Hyundai dealer.

 

[LordMorpheus]

One caddy ad I really like was the old classic caddy rolling down a small desert highway and it kept changing into a slightly newer model until they got to their new sporty convertible thing. Good ad. Not going to buy a new caddy, but i'd consider one of the older ones that showed up.

It was kind of funny they they entirely skipped the 80's and 90's models. Nothing to see there, folks.

 

[Chaotic42]

They're better than car ads that don't focus on the actual performance or value of the car itself, but have stupid gimmicks (Ford Edge, those damned Toyota trucks that get hit by meteors). Honestly I'd like an exterior shot, an interior shot, and a list of its specs.

They lose several points for crappy music.

 

[RossMAN]

http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview.aspx?catid=38&threadid=2032923

 

[Zenmervolt]

Originally posted by: mugs
I haven't seen the Cadillac ads you're talking about, but the Ford Fusion ads make it pretty clear that it's readers of the magazines that rated the cars, not the magazines. The implication being that the readers of those magazines are car "enthusiasts" (I hate that word).

And the two I've seen were in DC and CA - but I'm sure they have plenty of wankers there.

Have you driven a Fusion? It's a damn impressive car; easily a match for a Camry or Accord.

And yeah, the Hyundai ads aren't aimed at the luxury buyers as has already been pointed out. They're aimed at people who are possibly getting their first new car and want to be able to feel good about it. Also, by comparing that far upmarket they distance themselves from Hyundai's origins and make people think, "Well, obviously it's not as good as a Mercedes, but if they can compare it to that, maybe it really is an equal to that Accord/Camry/Mazda 6 that we were looking at.".

ZV

 

[91TTZ]

The reliability of hyundai/kia is well above BMW and Mercedes. In fact, all the Asians makes score consistently higher than the US/Euro makes.

 

[Doggiedog]

If Hyundai wants to be a luxury car manufacturer, they need to take marketing 101 and rename their cars. Most luxury car manufacturers use letters or numbers to designate their models not names like Azera or Santa Fe.