Ford Just Absolutely Destroyed Cadillac's Ad Praising Rich Guys Who Work All The Time

[cali]

Ford is giving Americans a choice: Either you can be a self-absorbed Cadillac owner who spends his entire life working so he can buy expensive things, or a civic-minded Ford owner who pours her heart and soul into a project aimed at making the world a better place.

That's the message in a new Ford commercial skewering Cadillac for a controversial recent ad that ruffled feathers by presenting what some felt was a misguided perspective on the American work ethic.

The Cadillac ad starred actor Neil McDonough as a rich guy looking out at his pool and pondering why he and other Americans work so hard when people in other countries take off the whole month of August.

<snip>

In order to draw a contrast, Ford mimicked the structure of Cadillac's commercial. Only it decided to use Pasho Murray, a real woman who founded Detroit Dirt, a company that turns waste into compost and sells it to people who want to create urban gardens.

Murray looks out at a landfill and wonders why Americans aren't more like other countries who buy locally grown food.

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/ford-destroys-cadillacs-rich-guy-ad-2014-3#ixzz2xCi9PRdu

Yes, it's all marketing but this is really quite interesting.

[MicaelS]

1. Ooooh, what a smackdown! I love it! n/t

[cyberswede]

2. Freakin' awesome!

[Scuba]

25. Fabulous! Thanks for linking it cyberswede!

Love that Angela Davis afro!

[progressoid]

27. She is sooo much better than that douche from the Cadillac commercial

[Schema Thing]

3. love it.

[quinnox]

4. Cadillac raised its American corporate scumbag meter to the top with that commercial.

Nice to see a proper response. I would be embarrassed to drive a Cadillac, if I could afford one, that is.

[arcane1]

49. Indeed, it was so bad it was damn near satire

It's amazing to think of how many people had to sign off on that idea.

[idendoit]

5. Ford just wants to sell more Lincolns.

[Blue_Tires]

6. I think that Cadillac ad was intentionally made to be

"so-bad-its-almost-but-not-quite-good", in a sort-of subtle way...

It certainly did get people talking, which is a good thing *IF* you belong to that "no such thing as bad publicity" school of thought...

[Spitfire of ATJ]

14. Cadillac knows their demographic is middle aged self important white guys.

[Jackpine Radical]

18. Actually, I think I see more of those hogs being driven by

little old blue-haired ladies wearing ostentatious gold earrings & displaying pearl necklaces around their wattled necks.

[Polly Hennessey]

26. What?

Thanks, now I know what I look like.

Polly

[Spitfire of ATJ]

30. A Maddam?

[Polly Hennessey]

37. A Maddam?

Well, I do live in Las Vegas. I guess I could qualify. Or do you mean Mad Dam as in Mad Damsel? I still qualify. My husband thinks I am quite mad and I am a damsel.

Polly

[Spitfire of ATJ]

57. "Well, I do live in Las Vegas."

Ditto. In the Winchester area.

[happyslug]

68. I have not seen Blue hair in 20 years

Prior to the 1980s, hair stylists would give senior citizens the option of what color they wanted their hair. Do to the decline in their eyesight, many senior citizens opt for blue hair for it looked blonde to them. In the 1980s Blue Hair was "big" then Senior Citizens learned that their hair was blue (no one wanted to insult grandma, so people for years did not tell them). The hair stylists would make comments among themselves, but like the rest of us, they did not want to insult grandma.

Once senior citizens learned about their eyesight and blue hair, they decided to either have a younger member of their family pick the color, or told the hair stylist what they wanted and that given their eyesight it was better for the hair stylist to pick the actual color. That killed off blue hair.

Thus I have NOT seen Blue Hair in 20 years, and I live in an area with three senior citizen apartment buildings.

[Jackpine Radical]

69. Wow, thanks for the info.

I had no idea of all that.

The things you learn around here…

[snooper2]

72. Somebody forgot to tell all the nice ladies in Texas

[CFLDem]

7. Meh

👎

[deaniac21]

8. My daddy said you're gonna make start drinkin'

if you don't stop drivin' that Hot Rod Lincoln

[Ferretherder]

31. Hope you don't mind if I correct you, 'cause it's...

...My daddy said 'son, your gonna' drive me to drinkin' if ya' don't stop drivin' that hot rod Lincoln'.

At least that's the way I remember it goin'.

[3catwoman3]

58. That is my recall as well...

...with great little rhythmic pauses between the last 3 words -


Hot......Rod......Lincoln......

[name not needed]

9. After watching that ad I think I'd rather have a Cadillac.

[cali]

12. why?

[cyberswede]

34. Well, the woman in the ad really does what she claims to do in the ad...

as opposed to being an actor. (As I understand it, anyway).

[Squinch]

38. I didn't see that woman as being anything like Mitt Romney. And I didn't think the

project she runs or the idea of trying to make things better is faux populist bullshit.

[MrScorpio]

44. Wow

Talk about faulty comparisons.

[Scuba]

10. Ford and their marketing team have realized that appealing to mainstream American values ....

... is different than what Cadillac thinks it is. I'm betting Ford's ad is the winner.

[reddread]

11. Ford 1,2,3 n/t

[totodeinhere]

13. I would rather promote both Ford and Cadillac as products of unionized American companies.

We can have marketing spats like this one, but the bottom line is they are both American made in union shops and having both Ford and GM thrive is good for our economy.

[pintobean]

16. I hear that. /nt

[7962]

81. And Ford got their shit together without needing to be bailed out by the govt.

[MisterP]

15. "sit down or get out of the way" (or howzabout "Cadillac: the Cadillac of cars"?)

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

17. I think people missed the punchline of the Cadillac commercial

But then again, yeah, it's not directed at people like us, and those people probably missed it too.

[arcane1]

52. I missed it too, what was it?

Was the commercial supposed to seem ironic or satirical?

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

59. Basically, here's this red meat loving alpha male....

....who loves his money, luxury, etc. talking about American ingenuity, and at the end we find out the Cadillac is a hybrid which is supposed to be decidedly against what the guy represents or what people of his ilk find "manly".

[GETPLANING]

19. Cadillacs are overpriced and poorly made cars

They last about three years, then they just fall apart. My colleagues at the Cadillac dealers tell me they are a pain in the butt to work on as well.

[lastlib]

50. my dad had an old used Cadillac a few years before I was born......

always needed fixing (I think it was severely abused, maybe wrecked by previous owner). He swore he'd never have another one, and he hasn't. I think I was about twelve before I realized the brand-name wasn't "damnCadillac"...........

[Ikonoklast]

53. Cadillacs used to have a high rating...until the Great Recession hit.

People that owned Cadillacs traded them in or got a new lease within four years, and always gave high marks on quality surveys. Easy to do with a relatively new car, nothing has broken yet.

Until the Great Recession. Like everyone else who got slammed economically, they kept their vehicles longer.

The quality surveys took a nosedive.

The owners found out they started to fall apart after four years and were quite expensive to fix.

[ProfessorGAC]

64. I Had An Old One

I beg to differ. We got it when my FiL died. It was 16 years old at the time. Ran like a new car. Sold it to a old Caddie lover for a couple grand. He's still driving it. Thing is 22 years old.

Lady who lives on a farm just outside of town has a 1990. A little rust but runs great.

That's only anecdotal, but no less say than your opinion.
GAC

[FogerRox]

76. JD Power might disagree, some Cadillacs get the highest rankings

In quality and reliability.


http://autos.jdpower.com/research/Cadillac/index.htm

The 2014 CTS got Motor Trends car of the year.

The DTS is a staple in Limo fleets, not because it lasts only 3 years....

[OverBurn]

83. That is just NOT true.

[lumberjack_jeff]

20. Frankly, I like both ads.

"We left a car on the moon with the keys in it. Why? 'Cuz it'll be there when we go back for it."

Both ads are different riffs on the same theme. Americans get shit done. Exceptionalist? Maybe. Americans have done some exceptional things... in both realms.

[Hissyspit]

24. Yeah, we blew up several people TWICE trying to go back and get the car with the keys in it.

Lots if people are exceptional all the time all around the world.

[Brigid]

22. Best. car. ad. ever.

[adirondacker]

28. "Mama, if that's movin' up then I'm movin' out."

Billy Joel couldn't have said it better...

"Movin' Out (Anthony's Song)"


Anthony works in the grocery store
Savin' his pennies for someday
Mama Leone left a note on the door,
She said,
"Sonny, move out to the country."
Oh but workin' too hard can give you
A heart attack
You oughta know by now
Who needs a house out in Hackensack?
Is that all you get for your money?

It seems such a waste of time
If that's what it's all about
Mama, if that's movin' up then I'm movin' out.

Sergeant O'Leary is walkin' the beat
At night he becomes a bartender
He works at Mister Cacciatore's down
On Sullivan Street
Across from the medical center
He's tradin' in his Chevy for a Cadillac
You oughta know by now
And if he can't drive
With a broken back
At least he can polish the fenders

And it seems such a waste of time
If that's what it's all about
Mama, if that's movin' up then I'm movin' out.

You should never argue with a crazy mind
You oughta know by now
You can pay Uncle Sam with the overtime
Is that all you get for your money?

And if that's what you have in mind
Yaeh that's what your all about,
Good luck movin up, cause I'm movin' out!

I'm movin' out...

[Swede Atlanta]

29. Touche!

What a great ad! This will resonate with "working Americans". The guy in the Cadillac ad comes across as a pompous ass.

[LakeVermilion]

32. We have to encourage the wealthy to disperse their hoarded money.

If the Cadillac commercial creates more money in the economy, I'm all for it. I really don't care if the wealthy have money, its keeping it in their mattresses, or in overseas accounts, that gets to me.

By the way I'm all for ending welfare for the wealthy. They should have to pay for everything they use, just like you and me.

[starroute]

46. You're not going to get the wealthy to spend more than they are

There are only so many limousines and yachts one person can own. And I'm not sure the 1% are buying Cadillacs anyway -- the brand has a bit too much of the Elvis/nouveau riche aura about it. High end European cars is more like it.

The only reliable way to get more money in the economy is redistribution. Give free money to poor people and you'll see how fast it flies out the door.

[snappyturtle]

39. Yep. The lady came across working to help others; he came across as working

for himself. imho

[Marr]

33. It *is* interesting; you're right. Ten years ago...

... that ad wouldn't have inspired a mocking response.

I do think there's a strong undercurrent of discontent in the United States, and a growing disgust with conspicuous consumption and the Randian ethos that's squawked out of corporate media outlets in a thousand little ways every day.

[JackRiddler]

35. That's pretty great. Did you see the conspiracy version?

[snappyturtle]

42. Thanks! this is good. nt

[Joe Shlabotnik]

47. haha Cool!

[oldandhappy]

36. Excellent!!

What a nice response. Love it. I am in favor of Ford anyway. Now I love this lady and activist mind and labor. Yes!

[Skip Intro]

40. Set in Detroit? GM went big with Detroit messaging last year. Ford hit 'em there too. n/t

[Squinch]

41. That ad will make me look at that Ford the next time I am buying a car.

[HughBeaumont]

43. Cadillac further shoots own feet by "clearing up misconceptions".

http://adage.com/article/news/cadillac-clears-misconceptions-poolside-ad/291925/

Advertising Age interviewed Cadillac's Mr. Bierley on the strong reaction to the spot. He said the spot's been "misconstrued" by some viewers. He wanted to set the record straight. Among the misperceptions:

It's aimed at the richest 1%
Not so, says Mr. Bierley. Rather than millionaires, the spot's targeted at customers who make around $200,000 a year. They're consumers with a "little bit of grit under their fingernails" who "pop in and out of luxury" when and how they see fit, he said. "These are people who haven't been given anything. Every part of success they've achieved has been earned through hard work and hustle. . . . One of the ways they reward themselves for their hard work is through the purchase of a luxury car," he said.

It's about materialism

Go back and watch the beginning, said Mr. Bierley. Right up front, Mr. McDonough dismisses the idea the reason American work so hard is to buy "stuff." What he's really saying is that Americans work hard because that's what they love to do. Luxury cars and other expensive goodies are a byproduct of success; not the objective. "It's basically saying hard work creates its own luck. In order to achieve it, you just have to believe anything's possible. You have to believe in yourself, you have to believe in possibilities. It's really about optimism. It's really a fundamental human truth: optimism about creating your own future. It's not about materialism."

Americans work hard because if we DON'T, we're under a bridge and starving. Some of us end up that way no matter HOW hard we work, and working your fingers to the bone often gets you nothing but bony fingers. Certainly doesn't get you a fucking swimming pool.

And is anyone but me completely sick of that line "hard work creates its own luck"?? Or "you make your own luck in life"??

[llmart]

45. What a crock of shit.

I've worked very hard all my life and can't afford a new car right now.

I hated that Cadillac commercial from the first time I saw it and I'll bet many Americans saw it just the way I did. It's like they're rubbing it in our faces that maybe we just didn't work hard enough to own one.

I wouldn't have one anyway. The only people I see driving Cadillacs are old people.

[DeSwiss]

67. He forgot to add:

''The fact that the American public's tax dollars saved our parent company's ass during The Great Recession and the fact that we now make huge profits off the bastards who caused The Great Recession, is purely coincidental. But is our way of paying it forward. In selective areas.''

- He seems nice.

[FogerRox]

77. LOL, not the richest 1%, just the richest 2.8%.

Cadillac has vastly improved quality & reliability compared to the 1980-1990's. they've finally made a non large car that gets respect in the industry.

This add is embarrassing.

[rumdude]

48. Brilliant n/t

[zappaman]

51. Big DU rec and kick! n/t

[MannyGoldstein]

54. Proud to own two Fords

Our previous cars were all imports.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

65. My partner, a car nut, fell in love with sync.

Milan, Focus and now Escape. Before that, he never owned a domestic.

[bullwinkle428]

66. A whole slew of DUers just put their Fords up for sale on Craigslist.

[ProgressiveJarhead]

55. Still Will Never Buy A Ford

Even though Henry Ford apologized later for his stance pre WWII

[Dawson Leery]

56. It is all marketing. Still, Ford took advantage of a competitors mistake.

From the PR side, Ford gets respect, GM doesn't.

[awoke_in_2003]

60. My last three new cars were Fords...

my next new one will be. I grew up in Brook Park, OH. I lived within 5 miles of the Chevy and Ford plants. Most of my neighbors worked at one of them.

[a kennedy]

63. I have to kinda laugh at all the "new" styled Fords.....they remind me of

what older Hondas looked like. ha ha. Honda is the leader in cool looking cars, and now Ford is just using all the older Honda styles. But, good for them, love the Honda style....new or old.

[happyslug]

70. Some of this regulation driven

Europe has adopted rules to protect pedestrians when hit by a car. Given most cars are design for the world wide market (and then modified to meet various nation's regulations), this European requirement is working its way throughout the Auto Industry making more car front ends more and more alike.

[jmowreader]

61. Please don't tell me this is the ad fad of the year

Someone did a campaign where he stood on a ladder and photographed a model pointing down...and for the next five years, every ad in the world had that picture in it. Then UPS did their whiteboard campaign, and now half the ads in the world are those idiotic whiteboard animations. This year, half the ads are going to be someone doing his or her impression of the Cadillasshat schtick.

[Esse Quam Videri]

62. Boom!

That was most excellent.

[CanSocDem]

71. Americans gave up on Cadillac, when DeLorean spilled the beans. n/t

[MosheFeingold]

73. Just marketing

So Ford is picking a niche and some Don Draper wannabe figured out how to push your buttons.

It's not like Ford doesn't make Lincolns.

Heck Ford and Jaguar/Landrover used to be the same company and still work closely together. You don't get much more snotty than a Land Rover (well, except the Land Rover Defender, which is just cool --- and not available here).

Subaru pushes the same buttons are Ford is doing here.

It's all consumerism. They are picking their consumers.

Me? I just pick a good used car, preferably about a year or two old, keep it in good shape, and drive it for about a decade or so. Pretty much any used car, kept in good shape, is more environmentally-friendly than any new car, due to the environmental foot print of making something new.

Don't be a sucker.

[Rider3]

74. I saw that commercial and was disturbed by it

I'm glad Ford is taking the opposite approach. Smart move.

[colorado_ufo]

75. Ouch! That's going to leave a mark!

Go Ford!

[relayerbob]

78. Excellent

I despised that Cadillac ad - nothing would push me faster to buy a BMW if I was into those sorts of things. Thanks, I'll stick to my gas-sipper

[sarchasm]

79. Sold me ...

.. not a bad looking ride.

[rhett o rick]

80. I think this is a huge step in the right direction. The American dream isnt to be wealthy as we

have been bombarded with for the last 30 years, but to be a good spouse, parent, and citizen of the world.

Plant extra for your local foodbank.

[beemer27]

82. Sweet !!!

Somebody at Ford got it right this time. Brilliant.

[mackerel]

84. Damn Ford - fecking Brilliant!

[JDPriestly]

85. Note the woman in the Ford ad looks much younger and smarter than the guy in the Cadillac

ad.

By the way, the Cadillac ad is nauseating. Just nauseating.

[DesertRat]

86. Love it!

k&r