You may have already seen the Buick commercials featuring Shaq and the laCrosse or Peyton Manning and the Verano. The two athletes aren’t Buick’s first official celebrity endorsers since the Tri Shield brand parted ways with Tiger Woods in 2010 (ironically, Woods’ personal vehicle of choice was a Cadillac Escalade, not a Buick). Rather than tying its brand to a single celeb endorser, Buick’s advertising strategy calls for highlighting a variety of vehicle attributes from several well-known personas, each of whom will tell parts of the brand’s story.
Shaq’s spots, for instance, underline the stylish nature of the LaCrosse, and remind viewers that a big sedan doesn’t have to be inefficient. The LaCrosse eAssist is powered by a 2.4 liter mild-hybrid engine that gets 36 MPG on the highway. Buick’s other spots feature Peyton Manning, who demonstrates the infotainment and safety technology in the Buick Verano, and supermodel Marissa Miller accentuating the luxurious and modern styling of the Enclave. All ads call attention to Experience Buick — the brand’s 24-month leasing program that combines the lease payment, scheduled maintenance visits, OnStar, and SiriuxXM satellite radio into a single monthly payment, and each clip concludes with, “If you don’t know the smart and sexy Enclave, then you don’t know Buick.”
The celebrity endorsements are part of Buick’s image-rebuilding strategy and might surprise those who haven’t considered Buick lately (or ever). Unfortunately, plenty of such car buyers still exist in the market. A specific benefit of Buick’s multi-celeb approach is that the brand is not locked into using a single and usually highly-compensated) celebrity spokesperson. The ads also are right in line with Buick’s newfound positioning as an approachable luxury brand. Shaq and Manning, for instance, are significantly more approachable and likable than Woods was.
The GM Authority Take
It seems that Buick’s newfound ad strategy is highly effective, helping the brand post huge increases in leases and in overall sales. We just wish Buick had a real (and we use that term loosely yet purposefully) flagship sedan larger than the LaCrosse… because some have said that Shaq looks rather cramped in the car.
What other celebrities would you like to see Buick use in its spots? Talk to us in the comments.
Comments
It’s not that Shaq looks cramped in the car, but it’s when he gets out and stands next to it. It looks like a modern day American Bantam next to him.
Even with the new Impala, I think that Buick has definitely found a niche to where it doesn’t have to compete with GM’s other brands. It’s become a stylish, upwardly-mobile brand for people that want something less plebeian than Chevrolet but not as ostentatious as Cadillac. Moreover, the styling and priorities of a Buick make a worthwhile investment over a Chevy of the same platform or class. For example, I’d driven a couple of Chevy Cruzes that I found to be quite nice, and was sure the Verano couldn’t be any better. Boy was I wrong.
I love Shaq but he is all wrong for Buick. The sight of him in the car makes him looked cramped and sends the wrong signal. People look at this do not consider his 7 foot height and there are many who really do not understand how large he is.
Second I think Celebrity endorsements of cars are not much good unless they can contribute something to the add. Often a comedian can make a add funny like the Leno/Seinfeld VW spot.
Buicks making some great product and just need to find real ways to put people behind the wheel to learn how good they really are.
If they need a celb they should have gotten someone 5 foot 4 to make the car look larger yet.
I don’t know. Assuming he really fits in the Buick (which I’m astonished each time I see this commercial, and as far as I know, there is no trick photography involved), that says a lot. Shaq is HUGE – over 7 feet tall and plus 300 pounds. If he can fit in your vehicle without touch the ceiling, you know it’s a big interior.
@Rob agreed. There isn’t any “trickery” when it comes to Shaq fitting into the LaCrosse. It’s just a matter of interpretation: what will consumers think when they see the ad? Will they think he’s cramped, or think highly of the LaX for being able to fit him?
I don’t think shaq can find a car that fits him good.
Yawn
Seeing him reminds me of the racist he is for making fun of Yao Ming by saying something like…
“Ching-chong-yang-wah-ah-so”
Funny how Blacks get away with that stuff.
Oldsmobile tried a Multi-Celebrity Approach years ago with the “This is not your Father’s Oldsmobile” campaign.
How did it work out? Oh wait, dang. Unlike Olds, Buick is not in a death spiral. BMW, MBZ and Lexus don’t use a celebrity campaign, is it worth the money? Lincoln uses celebrities and they are about to die.
There are different ways of selling things and people purchase on their wants or needs. This to me is focusing on the Buick’s interior space & the room it has (a 7 foot tall bloke called Bob would make the car look small because with exeption to his friends or family nobody knows his true size, hence celebrity’s more known).
Its a mystery !Take the beautifully designed Buick Regal , balanced design , hood following grill , engineered for quiet comfort , poised youthful appearance , and sales are quite disappointing . If I recall correctly , here in Canada from Jan. to April 30th Buick sold 418 only . Try as I might I can’t fathom this anomaly . Are the ads aimed at middle aged respectables , a retired Shaq O’neal as a feature spokesman , or others celebs in this age bracket , perhaps not youthful types needed for this role ? Not trying to find fault here , just can’t get a grip on it . The only thing that kind of rings out is the name Buick . From the fifties on up it appeared that Buick was the more sedate GM brand , what respectable middle aged to senior successful men drove .Sales were never large from what I recall , while Oldsmobile became in the late 70’s and early eighties a big seller , the Cutlass winning top sales in north America . So why did GM close Olds but left Buick on the table ? Is it that GM hadn’t yet developed the right plans/development of the Cadillac, which we are now seeing, to become a major force in the luxury market , so Buick would fill the gap ?? As I said , to me this is a big mystery , as to me it hammers anything made by the japanses boys . If you
have any ideas , man I’d love to hear them !
Lessee’s and subprime buyers give a big boost to Buick sales. Dan Ackerson relies heavily on subprime buyers to increase GM’s market share like General Motors did a decade ago.