I came across this Volkswagen ad tonight starring my music idol John Mayer (who seems to get a mention in every one of my music-related posts). I’m not sure when the ad aired or where it was aired, but it targets car buyers who are also music enthusiasts. And not even regular “I like to listen to music” music enthusiasts, but very specifically “I like to rock out with my guitar” music enthusiasts.
If this ad had aired in Toronto in August, I probably would have taken a second look at VW’s. I too was in the market for a new car at the time, and I am also very much a guitar-playing music enthusiast who may or may not have ever had the urge to plug into my car’s stereo system and rock out on a white backdrop and be cool like JM. But the question is, how many of us are there?
We see car ads targeting audiences as specific as soccer moms, construction workers, and extreme athletes. Are guitar players (or musicians in general… I suppose you could plug in a keyboard too) out of sync (hah! pun was actually not intended) with these audiences, or did the marketers at VW see them as a natural (and profitable) segment of their typical audience?
If anybody has any info on the ad or campaign, please share!
In light of this year’s wireless number portability hoopla, I found Fido’s latest approach sort of interesting.
Thank god! I was growing tired of my 7-hour conversations having to be cut off because my phone battery wouldn’t keep up.
Wait, do the phones come with 7 hours of free minutes too?
Isn’t it a bit weird that such a competitive service industry has one major player showcasing their products on the frontline (especially since 7-hour mobile batteries aren’t exactly unique to Fido)? Unless Fido expects wireless consumers to naively rack up their phone bills by making use of their “new-found” 7-hour batter life…
Anyone who has ever watched a segment of Chinese television will know that very little money is spent on marketing and advertisements, and that the quality of commercials is almost laughable compared to mainstream North American media (more people would laugh if it wasn’t so sad). Anyone who has ever been to a Chinese restaurant will also know that tea is served in, well, a tea pot.
One marketing genius from what appears to be GEM or GARYA has come up with this clever idea:
Talk about capitalizing on high-reach media.
What I’d like to know is (a) how much was paid for this “prime” spot, and (b) what’s the return on their investment.
Then again, I could be wrong and this could be just be one of those “contents are very hot” warnings. Any translators?
