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Feel free to add more commercials on this thread! (http://www.cleanmpg.com/forums/showthread.php?p=160946)

Chuck Thomas - CleanMPG (http://cleanmpg.com) - Oct 27, 2008

We are inundated daily about GM, Ford, Chrysler running out of green within a year because they did not go green. Since so many have short term memories, why not remind everyone of their stratagic direction for the past 15 years. I’d love for the Detroit management as they are begging for more money to have to watch and explain the following... I’m sure it will come off as well as defendants at the Nuremberg trials saying: “We just followed orders…”

http://www.youtube.com/v/163rCucr47k&hl=en&fs=1http://www.youtube.com/v/07hRXtsLyTM&hl=en&fs=1http://www.youtube.com/v/m-w82kdqHc8&hl=en&fs=1
----Star Trek H2 (I hate this one too, Doc Willie!)------------------------------FAS H2-----------------------------------------------Funkmaster Expedition

http://www.youtube.com/v/G0ziXINPUH0&hl=en&fs=1http://www.youtube.com/v/TP-89gmeIDY&hl=en&fs=1http://www.youtube.com/v/bQvXNrit9ns&hl=en&fs=1
------------------H3: Little Monster-----------------------------------------------Submarine H3---------------------Superman Hummer - pandering to the thug in all of us. :rolleyes:

http://www.youtube.com/v/X0awYFO09Aw&hl=en&fs=1http://www.youtube.com/v/Nv-18ajM_Pw&hl=en&fs=1http://www.youtube.com/v/ESqPcNPLyXo&hl=en&fs=1
--------------Need IS a very subjective word-------------------------------------H2 Nature------------------------------------------------------MTV

http://www.youtube.com/v/Z0bnXI4nTUQ&hl=en&fs=1http://www.youtube.com/v/ZaqeuQoRCnQ&hl=en&fs=1
-------------------Restore the Balance-------------------------------------------Soccer Mom H2

http://www.youtube.com/v/Bmw7un31UR0&hl=en&fs=1
-------------------------Escalade
It may be The Devil or it might be the Lord, but you gotta seeeve somebody...I think he just sold his soul...

http://www.youtube.com/v/--Uhbjri3EQ&hl=en&fs=1http://www.youtube.com/v/j2k3TM9xZ_k&hl=en&fs=1http://www.youtube.com/v/hjciHi5_Yqk&hl=en&fs=1
---------------------Escalade Bull-----------------------------------------------Yeah I need a Tank!--------------------------------------Ram Hemi vs F150


http://www.youtube.com/v/-KYBWCpcBzs&hl=en&fs=1http://www.youtube.com/v/n0THMwP_MXE&hl=en&fs=1
---------------------98 lb Weakling----------------------------Ram Hemi = girl magnet (except Shanna Twain)


http://www.youtube.com/v/vkkUYEvGIWU&hl=en&fs=1http://www.youtube.com/v/foR3sfWu5IQ&hl=en&fs=1http://www.youtube.com/v/fCwGP5NT6Ao&hl=en&fs=1
-----------------Durango - Men's room----------------------------------------------SUV God----------------------------------------------------Yukon Ad
We know what they were thinking, but how crass! :mad:-------------------------Tahoe parody

http://www.youtube.com/v/2ZGjAYp7_Es&hl=en&fs=1http://www.youtube.com/v/AsYfsssFSFU&hl=en&fs=1http://www.youtube.com/v/fL38PFux6wE&hl=en&fs=1
-----CXT (When you need more than a HUMVEE)--------------------------Jeep roller coaster--------------------Nissan (Not Detroit, but deserved dishonorable mention)

http://www.youtube.com/v/Ou3IHU6Hjuc&hl=en&fs=1http://www.youtube.com/v/K4IAycm7V4k&hl=en&fs=1http://www.youtube.com/v/-RjIPS8xIRQ&hl=en&fs=1&
---------------------------Anti Ad---------------------------------Dodge Ram enthausist - not a commercial--------------------------- My Name is RAM and my tank is full

Well, I am and will always be PRO Big 3. They have a very messed up situation to say the least, but to a little to their defence the masses bought and bought Big SUV's and Trucks and they kept making them. Now if you or I were making tons of cash on those, what would our incentive be to stop? Yes now looking back it makes sence, but not back then looking a year or two down the road all they saw were $$$$$.

They did not even have a FIG LEAF of a contigency plan for this year....how professonal is that? The HAD to know easy credit and cheap gas would run out, yet had no Plan B.

But yes, I think the masses are just as guilty for wanting these monsters...good idea for another thread.

I'd be happy to buy a Chevy Volt if it lives up to the billings and makes it to the showroom.

The unfortunate thing right now is the price of oil.

Plenty of folks I talk to see the lowered prices as living proof that we still have plenty of oil left and once the recession ends we'll be back to living it up with SUV's and $1 gas.

Hi Chuck:

___This was a lot of fun even though a bit over the top in some regards ;)

___When it scrolls off the home page, lets move it to the article section as this is really a great article you put together! I already tripled up the top and will continue tomorrow with the rest.

___Good Luck

___Wayne

I do not know what you did, Wayne, but at my location I see only white spaces: no photographs.

Frank

Well, I am and will always be PRO Big 3. They have a very messed up situation to say the least, but to a little to their defence the masses bought and bought Big SUV's and Trucks and they kept making them. Now if you or I were making tons of cash on those, what would our incentive be to stop? Yes now looking back it makes sence, but not back then looking a year or two down the road all they saw were $$$$$.

Let's rephrase your question in terms of stock investments: "Now if you or I were making tons of cash on Lehman Brothers, what would our incentive be to invest in other stocks? Yes now looking back, it make sense, but not back then." GM did the equivalent of putting all their eggs into one basket, and they lost big time.

Even Mr. Magoo could see that oil prices wouldn't stay low forever, and would have kept 2 or 3 highly fuel efficient models in their product lineup as a hedge against future fuel prices. GM didn't, and now they're paying the price for their myopia. Diversifying a product portfolio may reduce profits in the short term, but it gives you more options when things go pear-shaped.

Without apologies - that second commercial (where the kid builds a Hummer and races down the hill) is hilarious. :)

Added a poll to vote the most offensive ad.

Actually some are anti-ads (including the Tahoe one).

IHMO, 4-5 of these are really offensive, including "Restore the Balance", the Durango Men's Room, the Dodge Ram with the girls, and Superman Hummer

So much to be said about these ads.

Just the "Superman Hummer" - isn't this a twisted image of how we want to be viewed as Americans? From the Barbary Pirates in the early 1800s to the Taliban today, our Armed Forces have dealt with thugs and bullies, but seriously, does the H2 evoke images of a vitrous superhero or a superbully?

This ad should hint why America has lost respect with much of the world.

Hi Frank:

___Make sure you have updated to the latest IE and Flash Player and you should see all the YouTube vids.

___Good Luck

___Wayne

Well, I am and will always be PRO Big 3. They have a very messed up situation to say the least, but to a little to their defense the masses bought and bought Big SUVs and Trucks and they kept making them. Now if you or I were making tons of cash on those, what would our incentive be to stop? Yes now looking back it makes sense, but not back then looking a year or two down the road all they saw were $$$$$.

I guess I'll be one of the exceptions. Even when I was 5, I've always had a preference to Japanese cars. They were reliable and fuel efficient. Even before gas prices were on the rise past $2 I was already thinking of having a fuel efficient car. While most people my age wanted a fast car, I just wanted something sensible.

Ironically my first car was a 1999 Ford Escort ZX2 purchased second hand from a family member. It had this strange problem where the car would accelerate on its own when the A/C was running. I found reports of people who had a fix by Ford that did more harm by cutting off the engine while driving. Needless to say, I was "forced" to get rid of the car by a Toyota SUV that ran into me. (Increased my hate even more for SUVs and trucks).

I used the money from the insurance company to pick up a 1995 Honda Civic EX that had double the miles but no problems. I plan to keep it and not dump off new cars every 5 years for a new SUV or truck.

No way I'm watching all those ads.

I voted for the Ram Hemi. That one rankled me a very long time ago, and stuck in my mind. I've mentioned Chrysler burger flippers many times, and it was all from that series of ads.

Bob Dylan is a cool guy, but he made a better counter-culture hero than Escalade salesman.

Harry

Those who think I'm 100% anti-Detroit and pro-Japan will note that I voted for the Nissan commercial. Actually for me it is a virtual tie with the Hummer submarine ("customize") commercial. There are three things that to me are patently offensive and should never be shown in car commercials:

Showing the vehicle doing something it can't actually do. Both the Nissan and Hummer-submarine commercials commit this crime. I understand that car ads inherently appeal to our reptilian fantasies, but it crosses the line once you depict the vehicle doing things that it can only do in fantasy. It's blatant false advertising, and the automakers should be prosecuted for such when they do it. I don't care if you slap the word "dramatization" across the screen, it's still a lie.
Showing the vehicle being used in a blatantly reckless or irresponsible manner. Automakers have long depicted cars driving in the surf (as in the "'Need' Is a Subjective Word" ad), and as a resident of a coastal state I'm always offended by this. I've driven cars on the beach myself, and we have strict rules about where and how fast you may go. You don't drive on beach dunes shredding the plover nests, and you sure as hell don't go out into the surf ripping up the clam beds. Around here he have a word for people who drive in the surf: a**holes.
Actually, to me the most offensive commercials are the ones that depict vehicles being used as weapons or in a threatening manner. Vehicles are inherently deadly weapons, a fact our society glosses over far too easily. Depicting their willful use as weapons is simply intolerable. I'm surprised no ads crossing this line were selected for this thread -- both Hummer and Escalade have crossed this line in the past -- but three of them come close. To me the Superman commercial comes awfully close at the "Germany beware" moment. The "running of the bulls" Escalade commercial would cross the line if the aggression were directed towards people and not animals. Although the F-150 Crew Cab commercial doesn't depict the truck as threatening, it celebrates threatening behavior by people -- and carries the implication of the big tough truck as proxy for that.


Beyond those patently offensive depictions, lots of the other commercials are offensive to my intelligence or simply stupid or annoying, but that's the nature of advertising and well within their right. That's not to say I agree with them, of course. Still, among the better (less bad?) ones in the bunch:

The Jeep roller-coaster commercial. Reasonably funny, and though the knee-jerk reaction might be that it's irresponsible to go racing up and down sand dunes like that, there are plenty of OHV areas where it is perfectly legal and I saw nothing unrealistic depicted in the ad.
The Durango "7 inches" ad. Hilarious! Could practically have been lifted from a Seinfeld episode.
The kid building the Hummer and "winning" the race. Although I of course disagree with its premise (cheating=winning?), I have to admit it's a pretty clever ad anyway.
The Ram Hemi burger-flipper ad. That guy has a big "L" on his forehead, and not because he's a burger flipper. To me the ad screams "Hemis appeal to goobers." One of the more realistic ads I've seen, really, and a reminder of who's behind the wheel of those things (or wants to be). In the same category as a Calvin-peeing-on-competing-truck sticker informing me that a truck has a sociopath behind the wheel. Thanks for the warning.