Hooniverse Asks: What Ad Campaign Made its Marque?


Let’s think a minute about advertisements. You remember those, they’re the things you’re using an ad blocker not to have to look at on Web sites right now. At one point in time, ad campaigns for cars established or enhanced the personality of that marque, sometimes it even rejuvenated it.
Today we want your opinion on what car model, or perhaps entire brand, was made more popular by an advertising campaign. What ads really made their marque?
Image: Buzzfeed

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58 responses to “Hooniverse Asks: What Ad Campaign Made its Marque?”

  1. 0A5599 Avatar
    0A5599

      1. Alff Avatar
        Alff

        The neighbors are probably thrilled that you have rear parking.

        1. mdharrell Avatar

          They were less thrilled that I didn’t finish unloading it until about 11:30 last night upon getting back to Seattle after buying it in Hillsboro. The obscured parking, though, I agree is viewed as a plus by all concerned.

          1. Alff Avatar
            Alff

            Congratulations on the purchase. I gather this is the one that was discussed on these pages a couple of weeks ago?

          2. mdharrell Avatar

            Yes. Curiously it was still available.

          3. Fuhrman16 Avatar
            Fuhrman16

            I don’t know if I should congratulate you on your purchase or feel bad for posting the ad about here.

          4. Alff Avatar
            Alff

            He works in mysterious ways … as do the laws of supply and demand.

          5. mdharrell Avatar

            There’s nothing stopping you from doing both.

          6. Fuhrman16 Avatar
            Fuhrman16

            In that case, congratudulances.

    1. cap'n fast Avatar
      cap’n fast

      be safe instead of sexy?
      what jackass thought that one up?

      1. 0A5599 Avatar
        0A5599

        Someone without a Jaguar, I guess.
        https://youtu.be/DGVeZ4XLo4Y?t=57s

    1. jim Avatar
      jim

      What about the very first guy to own one… who did he ask?

    2. Vairship Avatar
      Vairship

      Either only one Packard was ever sold to a man, or most male customers bought more than one…

  2. neight428 Avatar
    neight428

    I can only think of the flops at the moment.
    Chevrolet’s new “real people” ads were parodied as quickly as they were made; it made the viewer think, “yes, real people are horrendously stupid.”
    Infiniti’s launch campaign was one of those groundbreaking attempts at thinking outside of the box that served to show why certain ground is best left unbroken and that boxes often serve a very important purpose.

    1. Citric Avatar
      Citric

      I think my main impression of the “real people” ads were “these actors are terrible at pretending to be real people.”

  3. Lokki Avatar
    Lokki

    It damn near worked. Would have too, if those pesky kids hadn’t changed all the pollution and safety laws….

    1. tonyola Avatar
      tonyola

      I remember seeing this ad on TV when I was a kid. It’s a classic.

    2. 0A5599 Avatar
      0A5599

      1. longrooffan Avatar
        longrooffan

        “You in a Heap O’ Trouble Boy,” is a catch phrase around this longrooffan’s family to this day.

    3. Sjalabais Avatar
      Sjalabais

      That’s brilliant, and here’s an actual “I got a goldfish on the seat”-ad:

      1. neight428 Avatar
        neight428

        So they just kept cutting the power?

        1. Sjalabais Avatar
          Sjalabais

          Four cylinders only, cough.

    4. dukeisduke Avatar
      dukeisduke

      The guy driving the stock Javelin is actor Herb Edelman. The guy in the customized one looks familiar, but I can’t place him.

    1. smalleyxb122 Avatar
      smalleyxb122

      I don’t know how many Isuzus they helped move, but the Joe Isuzu ads were definitely memorable and entertaining.

      1. JayP Avatar
        JayP

        Loved this one… if it wasn’t for the commercials, we’d never have known about Isuzu in the south.
        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f0HX1k9OgVk

      2. Alff Avatar
        Alff

        In that regard, most Isuzus needed all the help they could get.

  4. Alff Avatar
    Alff

    I can’t find it but there was an early Lexus television ad featuring two guys in the country club parking lot discussing the owners of cars going by. “That’s Dr. such and such … There goes the judge…”. The Lexus was driven by a young Bill Gates type character they identified as “The Genius”.

  5. Michael Mitchell Avatar
    Michael Mitchell

    How can we forget….

  6. Michael Mitchell Avatar
    Michael Mitchell

    1. cap'n fast Avatar
      cap’n fast

      the ford has four wheels. so does the benz.
      the ford has a windshield, so does the benz
      ford wins again…..

  7. Victor Avatar
    Victor

    1. Victor Avatar
      Victor

      They were one hellacious fast car at a low price.

    2. smalleyxb122 Avatar
      smalleyxb122

      “It’s easy to pick out the Mustang GT from a crowd.”
      No mention of how easy it is to pick the crowd out of the Mustang GT.

      1. Victor Avatar
        Victor

        This is an example of why I rarely post on the Hooniverse. Has to be that one negative commenter.

        1. smalleyxb122 Avatar
          smalleyxb122

          You have my sincerest apologies for offending you, but I will not apologize for picking the lowest hanging fruit.

      2. Alff Avatar
        Alff

        I don’t get it.

    3. Victor Avatar
      Victor

      For the wise ass part of the audience that likes “low hanging fruit” let me say this,I drove that sonofabitch for three hot summers . Nothing got hurt but the bugs on the front and one dumb sonofabitch thought he had a fast Camaro. He got the $100.00 lesson

  8. tonyola Avatar
    tonyola

    While Jordan didn’t last too terribly long (it died in 1931), this classic ad made the marque’s reputation. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/7040b09f5490863106ffaf643cd4d559511820b8385a3d142f9431c90241e51b.jpg

    1. longrooffan Avatar
      longrooffan

      I believe this is one of the most classic ads ever.

      1. Alff Avatar
        Alff

        Quite possibly the first “chick car”.

        1. Sjalabais Avatar
          Sjalabais

          You know, I used to be a scholar at a Centre for Women and Gender Studies (they’re still called that) and this ad has me stunned. It’s fantastic!

  9. Citric Avatar
    Citric

    Has to be the Lexus wine glasses, I might argue that it’s why Lexus remains a bigger brand than Acura and Infiniti.

    1. 0A5599 Avatar
      0A5599

      Worked for Dodge Ram, too.

  10. ptschett Avatar
    ptschett

    It’s about time for someone in the luxury space to run an ad like Lincoln’s from the mid-80’s again.
    “Please bring up my BMW X6.” “Sir, I believe that’s my Mercedes GLE Coupé!”

    1. tonyola Avatar
      tonyola

      I remember this commercial. Lincoln was being a little bit sneaky with this ad – Cadillac was still offering the big RWD Fleetwood at the same time. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/5cad401220ef361ef1928fbb31ba825ab8ef92933265e00312cf4043436bb70e.jpg

  11. dukeisduke Avatar
    dukeisduke

    One of my favorite Cadillac slogans – “Best of all, it’s a Cadillac”.