Whats wrong with this Caddy commercial?

[wooley12]

Anyone else disturbed by this? 1%er wannabe guy brags how that by working hard and taking only two weeks off he is able to amass "all the stuff", his words. As he walks through the room to get ready to go to work he shows love(?) by giving a high five to his daughter who never looks up from her Ipad. Reminds me of that other luxury SUV commercial from last year where the "hip" tween-ager is riding in the back with headphones on while his parents are staring straight ahead lost in their individual own worlds. The kid feels bad about the poor kid in the car next to his who has to listen to as his parents are singing out loud and grooving to an old hit tune. A recent run-in on the road with the the son of such a family has me wondering if what we are told we should aspire to by Mad. Ave. is a good thing.

[mobygrape]

I thought it was totally fucked as well. I just don't understand.

[wooley12]

So who's going to be secure enough to step up and say "Fuck yeah, I want the stuff and will do whatever it takes." I'm not jealous or envious. I planned my life so that I could afford to retire to a van down by the river and have outdone my own expectations by shedding 90% of my stuff to be with my kids/grand kids and live in a rented house down by the river.

[stfu&gbtw]

So who's going to be secure enough to step up and say "Fuck yeah, I want the stuff and will do whatever it takes." I'm not jealous or envious. I planned my life so that I could afford to retire to a van down by the river and have outdone my own expectations by shedding 90% of my stuff to be with my kids/grand kids and live in a rented house down by the river.

If you're so secure in your decision, what's up with this post? We all make choices... Did you pick your lifestyle because you like it, or because you think it's right? If it's the former, what's with the call out? Shouldn't you be too busy meditating to watch caddy commercials?

[wooley12]

Not a call out. Unless you take it that way. Just wondering if choosing stuff over relationships is a good thing to advertise as a goal. I'm sure there is just as much family dysfunction in trailer park life. I know a bunch of 1%er wannbe's with solid priorities, sorta. I'm still not happy that we went from Ozzie & Harriet to Jersey Shore. Maybe the ad is a spoof and I missed it?

[Benny Profane]

Nice car.

[schuss]

I think his post was to point out there ARE plenty of people on TGR who've made sacrifices of time and family to make more money, just curious if they'll come out and say it. I thought the ad was dumb, but it probably resonates with the people I know who own cadillacs.

[iceman]

It's advertised as a goal because they're trying to sell fucking Cadillacs, not handwoven dreamcatchers.

You fish where the fish are.

[Vt-Freeheel]

I'm confused by the comparison of The Wright Brothers and Ali.

[Benny Profane]

I'm confused by the comparison of The Wright Brothers and Ali.

Listen, the intended target is some guy sitting in his couch after a long day staring at the tube as wifey and or children ignore him or be all passive aggro on him, drink of choice in hand, just an hour or two before sleep and the same shit tomorrow, so they hit him with a few names like that, real fast. You know, "squirrel!", and "squirrel!". That wakes him up a little, then they show him the car.

Nice car. Still a fucking Caddy, though.

[that dude who did that thing]

The ad was a spoof mixed with an ode. They wanted to make fun of the over-driven lifestyle while also giving a wink and a nod to it. The idea, I think, is to appeal to those who do work hard to get the stuff, but who think they are too cool to really care about having the stuff. It's an effort to sell Cadillacs to someone other than retired dentists by making them seem cooler than they are. It's also an attempt to make a Cadillac seem like a reward for hard work.

The reason it seems odd to you, Wooley, is that nobody is trying to sell you a Cadillac, so they didn't create a message that resonates with you or people like you. If you don't "get it," the makers of that ad would say "Fine, you weren't the one we were hoping would get it." I don't get it, either, and I actually am someone who will proudly admit that I work harder than I really want to in order to accomplish my goals, some of which involve having at least some of "the stuff." (Though my goals are quite a bit broader than that).

[iceman]

Nice car. Still a fucking Caddy, though.

I'll tell you what, there's these two lines on the chart, one is my coolness going down and the other is Cadillac's coolness going up, will they intersect? Doubt it, but hey could be, maybe. Would never have thought that 10 years ago.

[Benny Profane]

I will admit that Caddy's coolness did a spike on that chart when Michael drove one in the Sopranos in, I think, season 4.


They did a track thing on Top Gear a few seasons ago of the hot Caddy that is sort of a Vette in sedan form, and he called it classic American muscle. Sounds about right.

[El Chupacabra]

It struck me as a Gordon Gecko "greed is good" message. Maybe that resonates positively with Cadillac buyers.

[OldLarry]

I don't know anyone who owns a caddy, or wants to. Also don't know any pimps, so...

[stfu&gbtw]

I'm confused by the comparison of The Wright Brothers and Ali.

Can't take it too literally... Think "upper middle management poetry slam".

[Benny Profane]

I don't know anyone who owns a caddy, or wants to. Also don't know any pimps, so...

Yeah, the pimp machine in Fairfield is a white German thing.

[shaft]

18 posts and no one has mentioned its a plug-in electric? Advertisement fail.

They're trying to sell EVs to the near-wealthy demographic that are too cool for a Leaf but can't afford a Tesla. Middle management.

[ill-advised strategy]

When people start waxing heavy about the heroism and virtue of overworking yourself into an early grave I just assume they spend their evenings getting rammed in the ass and throat by satan's thorny member.

Edit: and that fugly car comes dealer-prepped to smell like old lady perfume and moth balls and nursing home food...there's one about a mile from me right now and I can smell it...they must have just opened the doors.

[GeoMatt]

This is spot on.

The ad was a spoof mixed with an ode. They wanted to make fun of the over-driven lifestyle while also giving a wink and a nod to it. The idea, I think, is to appeal to those who do work hard to get the stuff, but who think they are too cool to really care about having the stuff. It's an effort to sell Cadillacs to someone other than retired dentists by making them seem cooler than they are. It's also an attempt to make a Cadillac seem like a reward for hard work.

The reason it seems odd to you, Wooley, is that nobody is trying to sell you a Cadillac, so they didn't create a message that resonates with you or people like you. If you don't "get it," the makers of that ad would say "Fine, you weren't the one we were hoping would get it." I don't get it, either, and I actually am someone who will proudly admit that I work harder than I really want to in order to accomplish my goals, some of which involve having at least some of "the stuff." (Though my goals are quite a bit broader than that).

I will say though that when I caught it on TV, I loved the line about leaving the car on the moon with the keys in it. It had that "yeah, 'Merica" feel that resonates well around the Olympics.

[OldLarry]

This is spot on.




I will say though that when I caught it on TV, I loved the line about leaving the car on the moon with the keys in it. It had that "yeah, 'Merica" feel that resonates well around the Olympics.

Life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness. And double parking wherever the fuck we want. Fuck yeah!

[that dude who did that thing]

I will say though that when I caught it on TV, I loved the line about leaving the car on the moon with the keys in it.

Agreed, that actually was a funny line, better than most of what we get from the tools in the ad agencies.

[OldLarry]

Yeah, the pimp machine in Fairfield is a white German thing.

We like our cooks French, our mechanics German, and our decorators... Stylish.
-Frasier Crane

[toast2266]

The only guy I know that owns a Caddy is a wannabe businessman who got in over his head and is now on the verge of bankruptcy... which is exactly Caddy's target marget.

edit: on second thought, didn't blurred brag about owning a Caddy?

[El Chupacabra]

Only guy I know with a Cadillac has an Escalade - he was going to buy a Tahoe or Yukon, and found that he could get a barely used Escalade for not much more. Figured why not...