The Oddest Super Bowl Ad Involved Ford (F), GM (GM), and Twinkies...
Up)
Those who watched the Super Bowl (or couldn't resist looking at the ads ahead of the game) may have been treated to a rather comical spot from General Motors (NYSE: GM) highlighting the Chevy Silverado as the sole surviving truck following a catastrophic apocalypse of the earth. Of note, earlier versions of Silverado's are also seen in the commercial, suggesting Chevy's quality spans generations.
Toward the end of the spot, one survivor said "Dave" didn't make it because... he drove a Ford. The commercial ends with the Chevy slogan to the effect of them building the "longest lasting trucks on the road."
Ford (NYSE: F) didn't like this direct shot, possibly to no one's surprise. Normally in ads, there's a "generic" competitor with a vehicle shaped strikingly close to an F-150 or Tundra (in the case of Toyota (NYSE: TM), or whatever vehicle one company is trying to position as a superior product to the competition.
Ford issued a statement Monday saying, "What's important is that Ford is proud to be the best-selling truck in America for 35 years, the best-selling vehicle for 30 years and the only brand with more trucks on the road with more than 250,000 miles -- demonstrating just how durable our trucks are in the real world." Unfortunately, no one got Ford's message because it wasn't in a cleverly insinuated advertisement...just plain black-and-white lettering.
Hilariously enough, CNN got a quote from GM Global's marketing chief Joel Ewanick, who said, "We stand by our claims in the commercial, that the Silverado is the most dependable, longest-lasting full-size pickup on the road...In the meantime, people who are really worried about the Mayan calendar coming true should buy a Silverado right away." Yes, that's the statement.
While the advertisement may have been the talk at water coolers in offices nationwide, neither the Ford F-150 or Chevy Silverado are really that great, according to Consumer Reports anyway. The CR rep said the F-150 had "predicted reliability" while Silverado's was "below average." Beating both were the Toyota Tundra and Nissan (OTC: NSANY) Titan.
Get immediate access to market moving news and alerts with StreetInsider.com Premium - FREE TRIAL!
Toward the end of the spot, one survivor said "Dave" didn't make it because... he drove a Ford. The commercial ends with the Chevy slogan to the effect of them building the "longest lasting trucks on the road."
Ford (NYSE: F) didn't like this direct shot, possibly to no one's surprise. Normally in ads, there's a "generic" competitor with a vehicle shaped strikingly close to an F-150 or Tundra (in the case of Toyota (NYSE: TM), or whatever vehicle one company is trying to position as a superior product to the competition.
Ford issued a statement Monday saying, "What's important is that Ford is proud to be the best-selling truck in America for 35 years, the best-selling vehicle for 30 years and the only brand with more trucks on the road with more than 250,000 miles -- demonstrating just how durable our trucks are in the real world." Unfortunately, no one got Ford's message because it wasn't in a cleverly insinuated advertisement...just plain black-and-white lettering.
Hilariously enough, CNN got a quote from GM Global's marketing chief Joel Ewanick, who said, "We stand by our claims in the commercial, that the Silverado is the most dependable, longest-lasting full-size pickup on the road...In the meantime, people who are really worried about the Mayan calendar coming true should buy a Silverado right away." Yes, that's the statement.
While the advertisement may have been the talk at water coolers in offices nationwide, neither the Ford F-150 or Chevy Silverado are really that great, according to Consumer Reports anyway. The CR rep said the F-150 had "predicted reliability" while Silverado's was "below average." Beating both were the Toyota Tundra and Nissan (OTC: NSANY) Titan.
Get immediate access to market moving news and alerts with StreetInsider.com Premium - FREE TRIAL!
You May Also Be Interested In
- Siliconware Precision (SPIL) Shares Drop on Volatility Spike
- Apple (AAPL) Snubs Google (GOOG) in China, Opts for Competitor
- Billionaire Trashes Facebook (FB) IPO, Then Buys a Slug of Stock
Create E-mail Alert Related Categories
Insiders' BlogSign up for StreetInsider Free!
Receive full access to all new and archived articles, unlimited portfolio tracking, e-mail alerts, custom newswires and RSS feeds - and more!
