Ad Break: Discover The Craft Of Making Louisville Sluggers With The 2014 Chevy Impala
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In this Discover The Craft webisode, Chevrolet gives us a behind-the-scenes look at how Louisville Slugger Baseball Bats are made. The two-minute-long video, which is obviously way too long for a TV commercial but perfect for the web, starts off with the following narration:
“Here’s to finely-sculpted body panels, polished chrome, and dramatic lines. Here’s to the all-new 2014 Chevrolet Impala, and everyone who believes in the power of craft.”
The spot then takes us on a story of the bat, and the power housed within it. You see, every Major League Baseball player has a bat tailor-made for him. Each year, Louisville Slugger representatives take notes and measurements from hitters. Using this information, they create a one-of-a-kind template that ends up being used to supply players with bats throughout the entire season.
These templates are also used to create bats for fans and non-professional players, allowing anyone to stand in the box with the bat of your favorite pro.
One day, the spot continues, the bats will introduce ball to sky, and crowds will leap to their feet. It’s just waiting for the perfect pitch, or a promising rookie.
The bat was made to make history. It will earn its place by the tightness of its grain, or the strength of its cut. The wood in these bats was crafted for a higher purpose.
A female voice asks the question, “So what do you do”?
“I make Louisville Sluggers”, replies an employee.
Like the other videos in the Discover the Craft series, the clip is set to a melody that accentuates the well-read copy, which reads something like this:
Here’s to finely-sculpted body panels, to polished chrome, and dramatic lines. Here’s to the all-new 2014 Chevrolet Impala, and everyone who believes in the power of craft.
This is the story of a bat and the power housed within it. One day, this wood will introduce ball to sky, and crowds will leap to their feet. It’s just waiting for the perfect pitch. Or a promising rookie. This was made to make history. And it will earn its place by the tightness of its grain, or the strength of its cut. This wood is crafted for a higher purpose, elevated by the hands that shape it.
Yet somehow, it’s never far from the roots of a white ash forest.
‘So what do you do?’, asks a female voice.
“I make Louisville Sluggers”, replies an employee.
The GM Authority Take
This is a very interesting approach, as it draws parallels between a little-known and low-profile craft of making baseball bats, with making a quality vehicle such as the new Chevy Impala, while respecting the craft that results in the creation of both objects.
If the spot is anything, it’s interesting and engrossing, maybe even captivating. And it seems that Chevy’s goal here it to speak to a certain kind of an audience, one that’s into baseball in general, as it takes you back behind the scenes to experience the story of a bat and its craftsmen, and one that respects the finer things in life. And in that regard, we commend Chevy for thinking out of the box.
At the time of this writing, the video has over 200,000 views on YouTube.
Watch Chevy’s other Discover The Craft videos, including:
- Sweepstakes Of The Month: Win a 2023 Corvette Z06 Convertible. Details here.
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Interesting ad, I liked it.
What is next how to make Hot Dogs and Apple Pie?
Are we selling a car or are we trying to sell more baseball bats?
Sometimes marketing and people at advertising firms get too far idealistic and away from the product being sold. The first spot they had was much better and I am sorry but ball bats are not all that high tech or hold much what I would call impressive craftsmanship. I have seen how it is done and while neat it just does not relate to an Impala in anyway unless they offer a Louisville Slugger edition with a bat to beat the hell our of who ever hits your door and dents it at the mall.
This is for once a car that can sell itself. Styling is top notch, comfort is great and the ride is superb for this segment. If they show and relate to the customer the quality and reliability of this car they will have a winner.
Now if they were selling a 2004 Malibu it showing the car less and distracting the potential customer would be a great thing.
You have a damn good car focus on it and sell the damn car not baseball bats.
I often find that many people in marketing are ill suited for where they work. Many are trying to sell Cars and they ride a subway everyday and do not even hold a license. In my company and my wife’s we often see the massive underestimating of the customer and the misunderstanding of the product.
If you look back the best marketing people hold three truths. They one understand and love the product the automobile. Two they understand the market and what people wants or at least their hot buttons to get their attention. Finally they can focus in on how to make a product look as good or if they are really good make it better than it really is.
One of the best marketing you will ever see is the Pontiacs of the late 50’s and 60’s under JIm Wangers. While the GTO hoopla gets a lot of press he did much to promote the other vehicles in the line and made them appear so much better in many ways than not just the other makes but GM’s other brands. Add to that the print adds of Art Fitzpatrick and Van Kaufmann and you will see how to sell image that enhances a car. Trust me they did not use a baseball bat.
Knowing GM’s luck some green group will blame GM for deforestation for promoting the use of trees in bats.
Jim wangers?
Self promoting idiot.
If you listen to him you would think he engineered the GTO by himself.
And I do know him.
Hell yes he was a blow hard and self promoting but hell he has even made him self a hero to many.
I am no Wangers fan and have met him many a time and can tell you things that most do not know and would only make you more of a non fan. But the fact is the guy was a good marketing guy and did his job well in the 60’s.
He took what Pontiac had and gave it imagery and presents when other division were just stumbling along. Look at any of GM’s marketing in the 60’s and Pontiac blew them away. Even Delorean know Jims worth and was willing to put up with him as he knew the guy could promote a bucket of crap and get people to buy it.
Once he and Delorean left things were never the same.
So yes Jim was an a$$ but look at the Fitzpatrick and Kaufman ads and tell me that they were not as good as the others in the same era.
II got to meet Fitz a couple years ago and he is as classy as his paintings.
By the way Jim is one of the few people I ever saw who has a wing that is bad but Is also going bald. He must also be too cheap to buy a new one. LOL!
I do not admire the man but I do admire what he did for Pontiac out side the GTO in advertising.
Baseball, hot dogs, apple pie and Chevrolet
Chevrolet thinking outside the box. Louisville slugger thinking inside the ( batters ) box.
I hope Louiseville Slugger paid for that ad and not Chevrolet. Nicely done, but a waste of Chevrolet’s money.
How about something better than a bat? A bat is about as low tech as you can get. I went on the Louisville Slugger tour and enjoyed it, but it has zero connection to Chevrolet unless they want to resonate with the 1970’s ad campaign. Rather than a piece of wood, how about aerospace, high end computers, or, *gasp*, the manufacturing process of making an Impala?! Showing the workers making the cars and the precision and craftsmanship in that would make a heck of a lot more sense.