Watch Cadillac SUVs Star In The ‘Rise Above’ Ad: Video
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The marketing campaign for 2019 Cadillac SUVs premiered last month as the luxury brand released several promotional ads for the XT4, XT5, Escalade and soon-to-launch XT6. The marketing material made its debut during ABC’s coverage of the 91st Oscars award ceremony.
We’ve already covered the four main ads in the 2019 Cadillac SUV lineup ad campaign – Rise Above, Take The Stage, Make Your Escape and Take Flight. Now, let’s take a closer look at the complete video for the Rise Above spot.
The ad bears a lot of symbolism, as suggested by several instances of characters walking up staircases, ascending in elevators, plus the visual cue of the XT6’s engine revving towards redline – and that’s just skimming the surface. These portrayals seem to reflect current social trends which seek to empower women and break away from traditional gender norms. It’s a craft that can be appreciated regardless of one’s own political/social beliefs.
Music for the 60-second advertisement is provided by famed rapper Childish Gambino, an alter ego played by the multifaceted Donald Glover. The title of the song is Me and Your Mama and is off of Gambino’s third studio album Awaken, My Love.
Cadillac seemed to know its target audience, since the ad aired during the 91st Oscars award ceremony. In other words, SUVs – including Cadillac SUVs – are the most popular type of vehicle for the female demographic, and statistically speaking, the majority of Oscar viewers are female.
In addition to the ad itself, Cadillac also launched a social campaign using the hashtag #KeepRising that will highlight various storytellers’ “steps in breaking barriers and overcoming adversity.” These storytellers will allegedly include “accomplished artists and Oscar nominees across music and film.”
One noteworthy element is the use of the blue step graphic, which is a rather neat idea. Overall, we appreciate the craft of the commercial, along with its sentiment and the music that accompanies it. If we had to guess, we’d say Cadillac made an impression, at the very least.
For the 2019 calendar year, the Cadillac SUV lineup includes these models:
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And you’re posting this now, because why?
Is it airing again on the Final Four?
Setting the stage in case Sparty runs the table, and they can show Izzo & co climbing the Werner ladder to cut down the net?
Just seems odd to highlight this, if there’s not a reason.
Cadillac’s done a number of big-time Oscars media buys – this year, and in the past – that just seem to evaporate.
One and done. (Or four and done).
Step up would be good for the National Championship on Mon, stepping up the ladder.
Otherwise, not sure why Oscar comm’ls are news right now.
You are grossly overthinking it. Grossly.
The answers to your question of “why” are:
1. The spot is still airing, thereby making it obviously relevant.
2. Covering it aligns with GM Authority’s mission of covering everything and anything related to GM, its brands, products, services, etc.
At the end of the day, this is not much different than when we cover a Chevy ad from a decade or two ago. The only difference is that this is still very much relevant to the overwhelming majority of the populous.
Ok – just asking.
Seen a lot of Buick during the tourney (no surprise), and the GMC tailgate comm’l, but Cadillac not so much.
Seems like it’d be prime for the few appointment viewing oppty’s that exist out there anymore.
Thx, Alex
Sure thing. Appreciate ya, Cap’n. 🙂
Childish Gambino loves using guns in his videos and pretending to murder people. Yup, PERFECT guy to use a song from for Cadillac.
The fall of Cadillac will only accelerate. When you are chasing fads and trashy gun-loving murder-making rappers, you know it is only going to get worse.
You and your sources need to have a serious talk. The music is the best thing the commercial has going for it.
http://time.com/5267890/childish-gambino-this-is-america-meaning/
https://www.thisisinsider.com/this-is-america-music-video-meaning-references-childish-gambino-donald-glover-2018-5#did-you-notice-the-screen-corners-20
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Glover
*yawn* Oh, what? Wait. Sorry – I feel asleep.
People actually watch the Oscars still? ??
I think the point of this ad is to illustrate Cadillac has caught up to where the competition was 5+ years ago in that they have a range of SUVs. That seems to be the overarching message; Cadillac has SUVs (plural!) now. None of them are any good but at least they have filled in the gaps in their lineup with something and that’s the point they hammer home with this commercial. Beyond that, the ad apparently targets buyers other than me so I can’t say whether it’s effective or not. It doesn’t move me at all but then I don’t think it is supposed to.
What makes you qualified to say “none of them are any good”? Do you or have you owned any of them? Given that the Escalade and XT4 are #1 in their segment in terms of Sales and the XT5 is 2nd or third in its, there seem to be quite a few people that disagree with your assessment.
McDonalds is the number one seller of hamburgers with billions and billions sold as they like to proclaim. Few people think their product is especially good.
All of Cadillac’s SUVs are rebadged or rebodied Chevrolets. The Escalade might sell but it’s a thinly disguised Chevrolet Tahoe not even in the same league with the products from JLR. The XT’s are all FWD commodity platform products also derived from Chevrolets. Cadillac’s low budget approach is hardly the way to compete with the Brits or the thoroughbred brands from Stuttgart and Munich. Car and Driver offered a scathing assessment of the XT6 lambasting Cadillac for a product with an interior not befitting a luxury brand.
There are many reasons I could cite for my opinion that none of Cadillacs SUVs are especially good but ultimately it’s just that; it’s my opinion as all of the comments here are the opinions of their authors.
The thoroughbreds eh? Like the Porsche Cayenne being derived from a nose-heavy Volkswagen Touareg/Audi Q7? Or the Bentley Bentayga doing the same?
Or how about the Porsche Macan being derived from an equally nose-heavy Audi Q5?
These are not thoroughbreds whatsoever. They’re following the same formula as Cadillac is, reusing corporately-available platforms. Interestingly, better platforms exist within both, the VW AG and General Motors, for crossovers. But they end up not being used, for various reasons too complex to explain in a single comment.
I only intended for two brands to be identified in my “thoroughbred” reference. I was speaking specifically of Mercedes-Benz and BMW and used the cities from which they hail to describe them; Stuttgart for Mercedes and Munich for BMW. I did not, and would not, include the products from the Volkswagen Group in the thoroughbred category. However, my intended sentiment might not have been entirely clear as Volkswagen’s Porsche unit, like Mercedes, is also headquartered in Stuttgart.
As you correctly describe, the Volkswagen Group has also created “luxury” products from the bones of humble VWs so I wouldn’t consider their products to have a pure pedigree either. However, it is not insignificant that they went to much greater efforts to disguise the origins of a Porsche Cayenne and Bentley Bentayga than GM did with the Cadillac Escalade.
I HIGHLY doubt that the XT6 sounds like that, no V6 does.
I test-drove one 2 months ago and yes, they were able to design and engineer that engine to sound that way.
With Cadillac unwilling to offer the Blackwing V8 in any of their SUV/CUV, it will be difficult for Cadillac to differentiate it’s CUV and SUVs from other similar products especially those made by General Motors and why someone should be willing to pay a $10-15K premium when engine and transmission are the same.
They are showing they dont want to appeal to the old cadillac base, Fine I can find
a luxury car brand that does. So go ahead appeal to that segment if you want too
Ya their driving Cadillac alright , right into the ground. Make an add about the car and keep your opinion to yourself . How well did it work out for Starbucks!
Can’t wait till I see #45 car go to Lincoln.
Well, we traded my wife’s RX350 for a 2019 XT5 just less than 2 weeks ago. Lexus was a trouble free, nice car, but she wanted a more responsive and solid driving vehicle – and the XT5 certainly is that. Took it on a 3 hour Sunday drive yesterday to visit the in-laws and it easily averaged 29.5 MPG on the highway with the cruise control set around 78 MPH, just as the salesman said it would (which I doubted at the time). Can’t comment on long term results yet, and haven’t driven any of the other Cadillac SUVs, but will say, if you are the least bit of a driving enthusiast, you will find the XT5 wins out over the RX. Premium Luxury in white looks awesome as well.
LMAO!
Luckly the Escalade is still ahead of its game in sales.
Q1 sales:
RX 23529
GLC 15366
Q5 15228
X3 14568
XT5 13278 (down 23%) largest lost
Q60 12830
MDX 10783
Nautilus 7734
Velar 4949
XC60 6636
What’s the Xt4 comp?
RDX 14972
Q3 398
X1 5856
X2 2951
XT4 7026
QX50 3583
NX 13775
MKC 5787
UX 3925
GLA 4721
QX30 1577
XC40 3577