Turn it up!
I thought the commercial you posted is very similar to Cadillac's initial ATS campaign where they had the series with the ATS on winding roads. I think they were in Monaco.
And I also thought everyone on GMI said GM screwed up because no one wants performance cars, the ATS needs to be bigger and softer. Chasing performance is copying the Europeans.
Will advertising like this attract the general female population? I'm thinking not, so 50% of the population is already out. This ad is targeting a very small slice of the buying public, performance oriented people. And even a smaller slice of that marketing due to the style (as with any car), I myself don't like the styling, particularly the grill. And even a smaller segment will consider buying because of the perceived quality of Italian cars that it will need to overcome. This ad to me almost screams "we wont be able to sway people who are buying German luxury, so we need to go after a small niche.".
And sadly, the new GM isn't about passion anymore, it is about where they can make the most profits and targeting an entire lineup at a small segment probably wont cut it in the new GM.
I thought I was alone with this! Lol I cringe when I see those NYC themed backdrop ads running. Does absolutely NOTHING for their 'Dare Greatly' campaign.I agree though Cadillac's ads suck.
The first one was okay, the second one, meh.. That commercial is 5 years old, BTW.What's so great about that? It's no better or interesting than these:
And while we're on the subject, where are the ads from the Germans?
Excellent!I'm really late to the conversation, and someone may have mentioned this, but a big part of this is about the perception of the brand and their history.
Alfa was always a sporting brand before it ever was a "luxury" brand. Their cars went racing, their marketing highlighted their efforts there, and they made a big deal over the fact that their cars were all about the visceral-ness of driving (the sights, sounds, feeling you get when you drive it). In taking on the Mille Miglia, clocking times through the Stelvio Pass, or just getting celebs to drive their cars, Alfa increased that aura. And thanks to the Press from the 1950s through the 1970s, this aura and mystique is what people think about when they think "Alfa Romeo".
Now, to be fair, until very recently (and with few exceptions like the 1980s GTV and TZ, 1990s 75, and a few other models), Alfa has not lived up to that perception. In that way, it is/was kind of like what we though of Pontiac. In some ways, Pontiac was like Alfa. It had a storied history that everyone waxed on romantically about, but their contemporary products (with few exceptions) didn't live up to the hype. It wasn't all that long ago that Pontiac was selling Firebirds, GTOs, and G8s alongside SV6 Montanas, Grand Ams, Sunbirds/Sunfires, G5s. This kind of product output and mismanagement is what also has plagued Alfa for some time.
Taking all of that into account, Cadillac has a very different heritage and mystique. Cadillac's mystique is all about big luxury, coddling occupants, success, and celebrities. And even on the famous celebrities front, it was more of the "Paul Newman", "Steve McQueen", and "La Dolce Vita" type-set than "Elvis Presley", "Marilyn Monroe", and "Park Avenue/Rodeo Drive". While it's all laudable, desirable, and extravagant, it is much less "pulse inducing" mindset than anything that Alfa (or Maserati, Jaguar, BMW, etc) have in their DNA. People "long to own" a Caddy back in the day because they would have "arrived" and "made it". It was a status symbol. It meant you were at the top of your game and someone who deserved respect. Comparatively, people "desired to drive" an Alfa Romeo. It was all about the experience, the senses you had while driving it, and how it made your blood boil.
I wish Caddy a bit more of what Alfa has in their history and DNA. It doesn't. However, that's not to say that Caddy could try to chase some of that by going racing and competing. Some luxury brands, like Audi and BMW (and, perhaps, even Lagonda or Jaguar) have done this on varying levels of success. Cadillac can do the same, if only GM had the will to see it through.
I hope they do.
Alfa has two stigmas that Cadillac doesn't have.There is a stigma that goes with Cadillac that does not go with Alfa.