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How Great I Am - Toyota Camry Super Bowl Ad

Discussion in 'Fred's House of Pancakes' started by ggood, Jan 27, 2015.

  1. ggood

    ggood Senior Member

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    Nice commercial.
     
  2. The Electric Me

    The Electric Me Go Speed Go!

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    Maybe too nice?

    How does anyone criticize too harshly a commercial featuring double amputee athletes competing, running, dancing and enjoying life?

    How does anyone criticize the voice overs of a young Muhammad Ali in his prime?

    Those aren't "nice" things...those are GREAT things.

    But ultimately? Is it a great commercial?

    Maybe I have to say no, because the Camry itself seems almost out of place. Like what does it have to do with the rest of the subject matter? The commercial sells me on the greatness of the competitive human spirit...but it doesn't really sell me on what that has to do with a Toyota Camry.

    Great things...adding up to a "Nice Commercial".
     
  3. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    well, i'm 60, i hope it appeals to the younger generation toyota needs to attract.
     
  4. 2k1Toaster

    2k1Toaster Brand New Prius Batteries

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    The message the ad is conveying to me is that they think all the previous models are crap, they learned their lesson, and are willing to try and compete again. Hardly the message that I would expect from a car that is already selling really well, really isn't that much different than before, and is a good overall car...

    It might fit with a Hummer H4 commercial perhaps...
     
  5. ggood

    ggood Senior Member

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    Not all commercials need to be fact based. This is obviously just a Halo ad, meant to make you feel good about the company, and/or the car.

    I thought they did a good job of making a boring car look good, and associating the values in the ad with the car.

    I don't think there's any intent at all to suggest their prior efforts have been crap. I think it was just meant to reflect their current marketing line about how "bold" and "aggressive" they are being. How they can pretend with a straight face that this particular car design is bold and aggressive is way beyond my understanding. Even ignoring the blah exterior, the engine and drivetrain hasn't changed in 8 years or more. The real problem with most Toyota ads is that lack of credible connection to the product or the customer.
     
  6. hkmb

    hkmb Senior Member

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    I tried linking to this ad for the Camry in Australia when it came out, but most of you were geo-blocked.

    This copy of it might work - let me know if it does.



    Rather than "making a boring car look good", which I agree is the objective of the US ad, the Australian ad plays on the idea that Camrys are inherently boring. It's funny, and it's realistic, and I think it does actually sell the car pretty well.
     
  7. Zythryn

    Zythryn Senior Member

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    I like the ad a lot.
    However the Camry does seem misplaced.

    This would be an excellent ad for the hydrogen car IF they actually planned to compete with it this year.
    Or perhaps a new BEV which no one knew about.
    Or even a resurgence of the PIP going nationwide.

    But here they are with a very inspiring image and narration, and nothing all that inspiring behind it.
     
  8. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    toyota has been doing the 'boring is good' camry advertising for quite a few years here. and it makes sense, but i suppose us boring types are dying off and they need fresh blood. bungee jumping camry drivers.;)
     
  9. Trollbait

    Trollbait It's a D&D thing

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    Was that a recent ad? Heuy Lewis aside, I haven't heard the "Oh what a feeling" slogan since the late '80s, maybe early '90s.
    I thought the point of Scion was to attract the fresh blood, and then they switch to Toyota once they realize they have gotten old too.:)
     
  10. hkmb

    hkmb Senior Member

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    Ah, no, we still have "Oh, what a feeling" here. The ad is from early 2014: I suspect the choice of Huey Lewis was deliberately lame.
     
  11. hkmb

    hkmb Senior Member

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    I have been boring for ages. As another thread shows, I'm so boring that I'm considering moving away from the excitement and youthfulness of Toyota to a Volvo.

    And I still have a few years left in me, I hope.
     
  12. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    Not bad. If they want to get people to try the new XSE model (which seems to be getting the most praise out of all of the 2015 trim levels), then you need an ad that gets people thinking "Really? What's so good about this Camry?" and have them try it out on a whim.

    Could be worse :)

    U.S. 1990 Camry V6 Advert
     
  13. hill

    hill High Fiber Member

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    Yea - even a tad under 60 & I thought 'do most folks still remember him & Howard Cosell? But hey ... at least it wasn't a bunch of people wrestling together as a giant creepy doll. Too bad that advertisement couldn't be done for the Prius.
    .
     
  14. Zythryn

    Zythryn Senior Member

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    With the new generation this year, that would have been a much better commercial for the Prius.
    It also would have been a great way to unveil it!
     
  15. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    a lot of damning with faint praise here.:cool:
     
  16. The Electric Me

    The Electric Me Go Speed Go!

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    I think I agree with that.

    I think The Prius ties in with the messages being conveyed in that commercial much more naturally than The Camry.

    I also agree, that it's a commercial more focused on making you feel good about "Toyota" than really the individual car. So you can call it a Camry Commercial but it fails on that level IMO. The Camry becomes almost an intrusion or afterthought as you try to absorb "what" Toyota is saying.

    It's almost a schizophrenic commercial, with some uplifting imagery, and voice overs, and a Camry...but really not very well focused. You could remove the Camry and sell Tennis Shoes with that commercial just as easily.
     
  17. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    i'm impressed with the lady in the ad, not sure how that translates to cars. did she invent the camry?
    of course, i was impressed with oskar pistorius at one time as well. maybe they can use him in a priustorius commercial, he could use the work.
     
  18. hkmb

    hkmb Senior Member

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    I think the last bit is key. It would work brilliantly as a sportswear or energy drink advert: the woman is great, and the editing and the Muhammad Ali voiceover are fantastic. It could maybe even be for a political party at a push. It doesn't work as a car ad at all. And even less as a Camry ad.

    I think the ad agency missed the brief. They went out to make the advert they wanted to make, and forgot about the product. I almost think they'd made the ad already, and then spliced in some footage for whoever the client was going to be.
     
    #18 hkmb, Jan 28, 2015
    Last edited: Jan 28, 2015
  19. ggood

    ggood Senior Member

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    For those of you who don't watch Dancing with the Stars, Amy Purdy was a well known para Olympian and became even more well known competing on that show. Here's the Wikipedia bio:
    Amy Purdy - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia