Stereotypes are, unfortunately, a powerful thing. And even if some ring true, it’s dangerous to play into them.
In a clever bit of advertising, Chevrolet has rebuked millennial stereotypes in this 2016 Chevrolet Cruze advertisement. In a continuation of “Real People, Not Actors“, Chevy has brought some stereotypical millennial candidates in for a focus group.
Showing ad cards for “possible advertising”, Chevrolet irks the groups over their stereotypes. In the meantime, building the defense over marketing a cool car. Because once youngsters are told something’s cool, it’s no longer cool. See Scion, or Geo.
In the end, a conclusion arrives: rather than designing ads for millennials, the 2016 Cruze is a proper fit for younger drivers, especially due to its one-two punch of technology in the segment.
Comments
Once again — phony.
When the millennials first see the Cruze — their response should have been ‘indifferent’. Because it’s just a nondescript sedan and it’s whatever blue. So when someone said “that’s dope” they must have meant you’d have to be a dope to think kids would respond this way to a MEH sedan. They also had no idea of it’s price upon first glance.
you have to be like 40+ and completely out of touch…. i sell these to millennials all day every day….and they love em… for the styling and for the tech…
Ha. Nice try cowardly named person.
Downtown LA is hipster deep in millennials. I routinely see them. They’re the Vespa ‘alternative’ crowd. The LAST thing they want is an entry level Chevy sedan. No matter what it looks like.
These people walk around in neon orange sneaker slippers, legging jeans, and the strange hats and post Steam punk facial hair. If the Ad people had the SLIGHTEST clue about these people the car color would have been bold. Not corporate blue for uck’s sake.
Don’t lecture me doorknob. You’re worse than clueless.
Once again Pool Man you really do not understand how these things work or the point of this commercial.
#1 when they say real Millennials they have to be real. The FTC would have GM on hot coals otherwise.
#2 If you note that when they make comments they are sound bites of 1-3 seconds at best. This is a sign of heavy editing and that is how they move the commercial along. Odds are they spent 3 days to get the 2:36 you see,
#3 This spot was to show humor. It was reaching out to Millennials as well the general public too.
This was not a bad spot and if it fails with Millennials it will still resonate with others as it was funny but not insulting.
The real people program and worked well as well as the truck bed spot that hammered Ford to the point they had no real response other than people buy bed liners. Well if they have a Ford Aluminum bed they may have to in preventing holes in a new truck.
Millennials with jobs are a segment that fits this car and they are generally open minded to products other then Honda and Toyota. GM needs to reach out to them and for once they have a decent car to show them in this segment. The Cruze does not need to be a race car to them or a family car but just a car that can carry their things, have a good sound system and things like Apple Play etc. Put a price on it that they can afford or they parents can afford and you will get a solid group of buyers. As they age and you earn their trust they will move on hopefully to other GM products.
This is how you build up a company and change your image.
Will it work? Not sure but as time goes they will gain ground and make adjustments to product and marketing and in the end it will work.
If you want to see the indifference and the price quoted then you can go thought the 3 days of recordings and watch it. GM needed to get this in under 3 mins here and 60 seconds on TV so they will show you the message and reactions they need to tell the story.
“#1 when they say real Millennials they have to be real.”
Just like when VW posts diesel mileage it has to be real? Where do you sit in the Chevy clown car again?
“This is a sign of heavy editing”
I’m IN the film industry Zippy. But please — your explanations leave me on the edge of my seat. You DO know SO much. Continue.
“#3 This spot was to show humor. It was reaching out to Millennials as well the general public too.”
I didn’t say the first part wasn’t funny. It was about how clueless a car company could be. But then when the company shows a ‘millennial’ car… it SLAMDUNKED how clueless Chevy apparently is. The ad isn’t about proving Chevy can be funny. It’s supposed to be about connecting Ms to a car they might get excited about.
I’m not saying a Cruze wouldn’t interest them. I’m saying the ad failed to make the Cruze an obvious choice.
Apple Car Play. Oooooooooooo.
:eyeroll:
You may claim to be in the film industry but you do not appeal to have much experience in the marketing aspect.
You hold expectations that are just not there. You may disagree here but you incorrectly identify the intent.
This is not to sell the Cruze as an obvious choice it is to get them to look and decide for themselves that this car is worth a look.
As we saw with the Malibu spots they will continue this in 2-3 more spots where they will drag out the features and aspects of the car to sell it.
In this kind of spot you are not going to sell the car in 2 mins you just want to get them interested and then in following spots bring the details.
This one just plants the seed.
But then you are in the film industry and you would already know that?
“You may claim to be in the film industry”
No on has to be in the film industry to notice that the same four people aren’t in that room at the same time. And so you’re a condescending ass (big surprise) when you lecture me or anyone about editing. Children edit films on phones for crying out cookies.
In the Silverado cement block ad someone says, “Gee… I think I’ve been bitten by the Chevy bug.” You’d have to be the saddest little GM Fangirl to buy that as a ‘real’ response, Felicia.
Buick launched a “That’s a Buick?!?” ad campaign that directly addressed the core problem with Buick — which that they were boring to car buyers who prefer Asian. Yet those ads were going after ‘average’ car buyers — not hipster snots with Barnum and Bailey hair stylists.
To reach them is EXTREMELY tricky. To suggest this ad plants a seed is delusional. It just took a poop on these people.
And again — that LAST thing you want to do is associate GM with the idea that they don’t ‘get’ millennials. Even in jest.
Where did is say where I was in the film industry?
You tend to miss glaring details so your mistakes about this are no surprise.
What you take as condescending is just pure and simple disagreement and debate. I support my case and you do not with substance.
My point is that this was a real group of real people. Why because the Federal Trade Commission demands it when you make such a claim. GM would be taken to task over this. That is a fact to back up my opinion.
Then how it is edited is how they get the tone and the statements they want and that is how they can work with real people and get a message they want in 60-2:00 min spot. If you work in the industry as you allude to then you would have to agree that is how things like this are done.
The third point that this spot is for more than just millennials. It show millennials but it uses humor to try to reach them and to reach even older demo’s, The tatts and beard part was their attempt to reach many groups not just one. It takes anyone with even a basic IQ to get the gist of that.
As for Buick they were just trying to reach younger buyers in general no matter the the group. They were like you said trying to say we are no longer just your grandfathers car. The catch phrase was the key as they kept repeating it in all the spots and it has worked in reaching people and I expect has resulted in more sales like the Encore etc. That phrase was used much like how they used PC.com and it sticks with people and you then work to build on it as PC.com has. PC.com is now something with great name recognition and PC.com now has a face of the owner CEO and now his staff in their PC.com commercials. Get it?
Buick will build in this with their new products in the coming year now.
By the way you do not have to poop on people. You must be a hell of a lot of fun on a night on the town? LOL! Crying out Cookies?
As for who is in what group and what sub group and what years divide them are very much in flex. I have a large group of people at work that are millennials and even a few that are too old trying to be millennials. Some take the biker with highlights look with their affliction clothing. Some are just big on piercing. One even has mastered hanging from his skin on meat hooks? One has the Scion thing going as he eats from a Play station lunch bag. They are a very diverse group from freaks to shy soft spoken. Then around the country at our other facilities they vary even more with local cultures are even more diverse or even transient in larger towns.
The bottom line is the people here are real because they legally have to be. The comments are real and that is why you get 2-3 words from each person for the most part. The spot has a little something for everyone. And finally will it work Eh it may work to a point but this is just the set up as there will be 2-3 more with the same people and we will have to see what they target in these to see how it resonates.
FYI the Chevy truck add was real comments but as you should already know the comments were very edited. With what they really said they could get them to come out saying they were about to bomb Russia too.
If I was being condescending I would just call you an idiot and just say I am right. It is debate when you make a statement and provide evidence to back up the statement.
If I am wrong do more than cry cookies and poop (you words) and provide a statement and substantiate it with proof.
My Proof is the FTC regulations. Check it out if you need to. As for Editing you appear to agree in a round about way. As for millennials and about them provide a defining definition from more than 3 places that is identical. That is tough to do as they are defined differently by many people. The basis is the same but their are variable to each.
“Where did is say where I was in the film industry?”
I never said you did. Only that you’re delusional. Which is proven here.
“No on has to be in the film industry” means “no on has to be in the film industry”
LATE BREAKING NEWS: it’s not all about you. Or, as you put it, “You tend to miss glaring details so your mistakes about this are no surprise.” lol
“#1 when they say real Millennials they have to be real. The FTC would have GM on hot coals otherwise.”
LATER BREAKING NEWS: PBS in D.C. just got bagged for showing previous fireworks during last night’s fireworks without bothering to tell anyone.
… like shooting fish in a barrel…
Not even going to bother to read the rest of your response.
Those so called millennials in the ad looked like they went to the travelling circus for their cast of “real people”, the guy with the hat and red plaid shirt said it was a terrible ad maybe he meant what we see but the editing lost it.
Isn’t a “Millenium” someoneborn in this century? So the oldest is only 16 years old.
The demo vary s a little with some but most are those who came of age after the century change in 2000.
So they can be born almost back as far as 1982 with some marketing groups. It is made up of several Gen groups.
Most accepted are people born in the 80’s and 90’s.
I gave a plus one as why vote someone down asking a question.
Also note there will be sub sets in the group too just as we saw with the Yuppies and the other labeled groups.
These days, anyone below 39 is counted as a Millennial. Its become a catch phrase to link Gens X, Y & Z.