Chevrolet US Marketing VP Opens Up About The Magic Of The ‘Real People’ Ads
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“Real people, not actors.” Those four words are all it takes to elicit memories of Chevrolet’s well-known US advertising campaign of the same title, and whether you sit rapt or groan in disapproval whenever one of the ads comes on, you have to admit that they’ve stayed with you.
Advertising Age just spoke to Chevrolet Vice President of US Marketing Paul Edwards about the campaign – one that he says isn’t going away anytime soon.
“Deviating at this point would be reckless,” he told Ad Age. “We are now 25 months in and prior to this campaign it had been 30 years since we had had a really unified market approach that everything was hanging together from Chevrolet.
“In the last 25 months we have learned a tremendous amount, not only on the campaign equities itself and how to fine tune it and keep it fresh, but also on the power of focus and alignment and consistency over time.”
Asked why he thinks Chevrolet’s “Real People, Not Actors” ads have been successful at their goal of exposing consumers to “the real Chevrolet, today’s Chevrolet,” Edwards said: “[The campaign is] young at heart. We don’t take ourselves too seriously. The experiments are enjoyable to watch. We try to get the positive reactions from consumers which are plentiful… The breakthrough levels are at record highs. People now when an ad starts running they recognize that, one, it’s from Chevrolet; and two, they remember it more readily than other advertising.”
Edwards went on to say that he believes “the recipe of real people reacting in a very authentic honest way to Chevrolet and being surprised [by] and enjoying what we’re putting on the road today is very, very powerful.”
Granted, while Chevrolet doesn’t intend to ruin a good thing by deviating too far from a working formula, the ads still need to try and stay fresh. So Ad Age also spoke with Gary Pascoe, Chief Creative Officer at advertising firm Commonwealth//McCann, who said: “We don’t hold ourselves to any rules like it’s got to be this or that. For us, it’s how are we going to surprise people. As we move forward I think you’ll see new things where the focus group moderator will be a moderator in a focus group situation, or he may play a different role. He may go undercover as a valet. We’ve put him undercover as an Uber driver.”
Like Edwards, Pascoe was a fan of the execution of Chevrolet’s Lego-themed “Real People” ad, which featured the Batmobile from the Lego Batman movie. “We Lego-ized one of our commercials and instead of a Chevrolet it was the Chevy Batmobile,” he said. “That is a real fun area creatively to play with when you are well-known and have been out there long enough that you can start playing with and having fun with the rules you set up yourself. I think that is a cool place to be where you can be a little bit self-referential.”
For the full interview with Chevrolet’s Paul Edwards and Commonwealth//McCann’s Gary Pascoe, visit AdAge.com.
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I fear Chevy will hang on to this, like Buick’s held on to ‘That’s not a Buick’ too long.
Neither approach was/is a bad idea. But, for instance, (the old) Anheuser Busch, was always looking to ‘what’s next’ beyond ‘I love you man’, or ‘Whassup?’, or ‘Real American Heroes’.
I suspect Chevy should be working on the next step; Real people, not actors is already the target of spoofers, like ‘Mahk’.
And it’s hard to explain it away – Chevy sales aren’t stellar. Like Malibu, or Cruze. Or, more troubling, Silverado.
Not being harsh – just think they should be hard at work, like – say – Geico, continually exploring ways to keep the marque and Find New Roads fresh.
Not going anywhere soon?!!!
For all the naysayers and competitor crying, this is one of the most successful commercial series runs in modern times. Why it pissed off Ford and others is because it worked and did so for over 2 years. Sure. not it is time to transition…But let’s not forget all the idiots that said it would never last or work…Couldnt have been more wrong on both points.
Oh, yeah, and it won ad awards to boot…
Chevrolet is the fastest growing retail brand. When a company that doesn’t sell a lot (Dodge a few years ago) says that, it doesn’t mean much. But Chevy already had volume, so that’s saying a lot. Looking at their sales and ATPs shows that they are doing very well and making a lot more money than Ford or FCA, so they must be doing something right.
My apologies if that came across as a hater comment.
But … the brand is in the red for 2017 so far. They just launched a discount program, which isn’t great for ATP/margins. Troubling that the heavy lifter (Silverado) is down: good that Equinox is up…
But the point is – as marketers – I suspect it’d be wise to explore ‘where do we go from here?’, vs basking in Real People, Not Actors.
If Ford and FCA are struggling, make the most of it.
Anyway, like I said, wasn’t being harsh. Never too soon to figure out where we go from here.
At least Chevy no longer has the most-annoying commercial out there. Hyundai takes the cake with that god-awful Ioniq song.
My wife and I have to mute the TV every time it comes on.
That one I haven’t seen yet….
the only reason i know this is a chevy commercial is because i hate it so much.
I laugh every time that they show the “awards” ads where the “people” try to read all the Chevy awards on a large vertical display. The first one a woman read out is the “2017 Motor Trend Car of the Year” award, and to the right of that display (as seen on the TV), there is a silver 2017 Chevy Bolt EV which won THAT award. yet the ad never mentions the car that won THAT award, nor is it mentioned anytime.
Annnd, the brand damage continues …
https://youtu.be/rZKUbzAdb7E
I would like to talk directly to Paul Edwards GM VP and tell him bout my Vette. With only 30,000 miles; the driver’s back seat
has a pointy part of the metal assembly now poking out. Only thing between me and the metal piece is the cloth that was part of the so called LEATHER. what a joke. The bottom of the same seat is unraveling. I have photographs showing this problem.
Since it is a defect from the factory, I ask that GM replace the back of the drivers seat. The metal poking out is right by the air bag. How do I know if the air bag will work. The workmanship is incredibly shoddy. The leather is not leather.
I have contacted GM, they will contribute 600.00 dollars to the repair. WHAT A JOKE. I asked a Chevrolet dealer for a repair
quote. It is $2203.00 dlls. I have had corvettes since 1985. none of them gave me any problems. After inspecting my car
I realized how very cheap the materials used are. This might be my last corvette; unless GM takes control of the situation
and corrects this problem.