Cadillac’s Branding Goal At Academy Awards: Less Social Movement, More Fun And Focus On Products
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Those who tune into the 90th Academy Awards will see a very different Cadillac on display. In the past, under now-departed Cadillac chief marketing officer, Uwe Ellinghaus, the luxury brand has sided with social change and big movements. This year, it’s about having fun and highlighting the product.
Cadillac marketing director Renée Rauchut told Ad Age the new strategy makes sense for Cadillac’s 2018 state. Unlike last year, 2018 will usher in new Cadillac products. One Oscars ad also showcases Book by Cadillac, and another highlights Super Cruise—two other important facets at Cadillac.
“I kind of feel the public is tired of seeing these heavy, lofty ads. It just seems a little bit more honest right now in my opinion to focus on our products,” Rauchut said.
Ellinghaus pushed the brand to connect with big ideas and social change during previous Oscar spots, and many criticized the ads and the strategy. The spots often didn’t show or mention Cadillac vehicles at all.
The brand’s more blunt and entertaining tone is evident in the three spots ready for national debut this coming Sunday. The first 30-second spot focuses on Super Cruise, a second 30-second ad previews the 2019 Cadillac XT4 to the tune of Bruno Mars and a final 60-second ad rounds up Cadillac’s ideals, history, challenges, and points to the future.
Rauchut didn’t proclaim the more dramatic and social ads would go away forever, but said “it just didn’t seem to make sense against what we have to communicate this year.”
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Finally! I was so tired of Cadillac’s market strategy over the last few years. I like the Dare Greatly slogan, but the ads were not daring at all. They became bland and barely showed products. The V brand is all about daring and pushing the limits, but we never saw that side of Cadillac. Instead, we got slow motion shots of a base model ATS driving around NYC, or people just talking about their lives for 80% of the commercial and only 20% driving a Cadillac.
Cadillac needs to be attention grabbing. Show how daring they are with design, performance, and tech. One of my favorite Cadillac commercials is a 2009 CTS-V commercial. So many action shots, fast-paced, edgy music. It got your attention. Cadillac needs to return to that, and I think the new XT4 commercial shows that happening.
Dare Greatly was aweful. The only thing worse than it was the self-congratulating lovefest known as an “awards show.” Those 20-hour-long infomercials are dying in the ratings, which might explain why they never helped Cadillac sales. Just put the money to building great cars and be more genuine to consumers.
Exactly. Not a single dislike on this comment – which speaks volumes about how all of the watchers here on GMAuth agree that Cadillac was moving in the wrong direction.
Renee worked for Uwe prior to his departure, for whatever it’s worth.
Anyway, this feels like it’s coming from the same direction as last year’s XT5 commercial feat. Lizzo’s ‘Worship Me’ song; quick cuts, upbeat, energetic. Didn’t air much, but it’s on YouTube, etc.
I do wonder, though, why Cadillac doesn’t do longer-format edits for YouTube – Worship Me, or Eat Your Heart Out, Tesla, of this one…
An extra :15 or so really gives a commercial room to breathe – besides, :45 is about where most :30 second edits start, before the team has to decide which shots it can live without.
Well you will see a difference as now we finally will see new product.
They had to do the culture crap because they had nothing really to market. There was no practical need to promote the product you were working on to replace.
It would not look good to say the XTS is a great car then axe it 2 years later and replace it with a totally new model. That is poor message to send.
Now that they have new product they finally can set the message on the product and focus on just what they have today or are working to in the future.
Cadillac has been in maintenance mode and they were just maintaining their lines till they can replace.
Right, Scott.
That down-time (no new product) is when marketers usually do branding work. Meaning, time to make ‘Dare Greatly’ mean something.
I’m not sure the ‘culture crap’ Cadillac did was an opportunity they really capitalized on: let people like the brand, it’s attitude, tee-it up for product to come.
Anyway, it seems they’re getting there.
I don’t think they’re working social media enough (along with paid media);
I know the XT4 is a tease, but I’d guess there’s probably lots of tight, non- revealing shots they could add to make longer-format stuff.
And they’re using Grammy-winner Bruno Mars, they used Lizzo, kinda surprised they didn’t remix the Etta James tune in the interest of funky modernity. But whatever… feels like progress.
Social media, they could (lawyers aside) offer limited time, freemusic track downloads, as another enticement. But – labels, lawyers, recording rights – it can be done.
Scott3, I (as probably many on here) wish you could take overwriting on this site. Always intelligent, well-informed, better written even than the so-called writers on here, and apolitical. You focus on cars and actually know a lot about cars, especially from the inside.
Thank you for your smart and detailed comments. I think others would agree.
“I kind of feel the public is tired of seeing these heavy, lofty ads.”…False…People are tired of seeing POORLY EXECUTED ads, like Pepsi’s social change ad, regardless of type…One of greatest and most memorable “social change” commercials of all times was Gieco’s first Caveman ads which used humor to lighten the ads “heaviness”…
Yes – Apple 1984, Apple Think Different, Nike, adidas, they need to play in that league.
Even FCA occasionally gets that right.
(Eminem, Jeep, etc).
Sorry, GEICO ads are the WORST THINGS ON TELEVISION. You’d have to be brainless lump to even thing they are mildly amusing, let along good or funny, the 2nd worst is Progressive with its endless Flo garbage show…….
GEICO ads sometimes flop, but when they hit the mark they are the funniest commercials on television.
What’s better than:
– The Marine drill sergeant turned psychiatrist (“Ya Jackwagon”)
– The weightlifter who keeps getting stronger while his buddy remains wimpy
– The dad who finds a possum for his kids to have a pet
– The pig going “wheeee” all the way home (with pinwheels)
– The guy playing the triangle like a rock star
And many more. Very creative and humorous commercials. They remind me of the “Far Side” comics. Who knows if they help sell insurance, but they probably do.
“GEICO ads sometimes flop, but when they hit the mark they are the funniest commercials on television.”
Your wrote “funniest” when you must have meant “most awful things ever created”. You should fix that.
No.
The only good GEICO commercial is NO GEICO commercial.
Again, THE WORST THINGS ON TELEVISION, EVER MAYBE….they almost make me loath that the TV was even invented, the make me hope for a giant comet.
That bad and that stupid. YES.
The only way to possibly enjoy a GEICO commercial is if you have an IQ of 3 or less.
And you are having a conversation about GEICO = FREE ADVERTISING
= THEY ARE OBVIOUSLY SMARTER THAN YOU.
Sounds like something most people who know nothing about marketing would say, along with, there is no such thing as bad publicity and other dribble……
No. Taking about the sheer awfulness of GEICO ads is not free advertising…..sorry.
What’s better than:
– The Marine drill sergeant turned psychiatrist (“Ya Jackwagon”)
– The weightlifter who keeps getting stronger while his buddy remains wimpy
– The dad who finds a possum for his kids to have a pet
– The pig going “wheeee” all the way home (with pinwheels)
– The guy playing the triangle like a rock star
Better than those watching those brain dead ads?
Let me see…..
Having Stigmata…..that would be better
Mint flavored Drano….that would be better
A 7 layer lasagna where one layer is made from human feces…..that would be better……
A kick to the nuts with a golf cleat would be better…..
Watching paint dry while ants have sex in front of it…….
A jelly donut filled with tartar sauce………
Discount vasectomy in a gas station bathroom……
These are few of the things that would feel like a Caribbean vacation compared to watching a half a second of brain dead GEICO ad.
That’s marketing at work…The goal is to be memorable…GM has stated they intentional kept the name the “Bolt” despite the confusion with the “Volt” as they said it could spark conversations…People LOATHE the KFC Commercials with different Colonials but KFC head honcho said to mashable: ““I am actually quite happy that 20% hate it, because now they at least have an opinion. They’re actually talking about KFC, and you can market to love and hate; you cannot market to indifference.””…Also Tide has made a killing, literally, from their Tide Pods once eating them went viral…
Good, honestly, who cares if a fashion designer that most people have never heard of was allowed to play with dolls, those ads were cringe worthy sometimes, he’re you are, launching what at the time was Cadillacs first real serious large luxury sedan in decades, and what do you lead with? A 75lb wee man jumping through puddles and talking about dolls……yeah, no.
the craziest thing about your bs comments is that YOU actually remember all these commercials you seem to hate. That is the point of them is to get you to react you dope. Its not like you turn off the tv when these commercials are on either…its funny, youre more in the bag than you thought. Go ahead and buy some Geico, because if they have you that steamed and on the hook, then you need to show them some love for suckering you and making you wet the bed at night. Touche my friend.
I’m both in the marketing business and the insurance business, plus I’m not a drooling moron like yourself, so I can actually remember things……..
I’m so glad I don’t buy cable TV. I have no idea what any of you are even talking about 🙂
These commercials are SOOOO much better than the previous ones. The Dare Greatly commercials weren’t poor in quality, but rather were poor in advertising the product the company was trying to sell. You almost couldn’t call some of them car commercials at all. They barely showed product! These new commercials, however, only show product, and I love it. I’m actually interested in what they’re trying to sell me. An upbeat tone and abandoning the social change thing was a smart move.
I’ll have my wife yell when the commercial comes on so I can watch it.
Looking at these ratings looks like many GEICO employees are on here. You guys love overcharging rates then knock 15% off for “savings” so y’all can still make those crappy commercials?.