Media Hype: Buick Debuts Two New Ads
November 2, 2009 by Colin Bird
Buick recently revealed two new 30 second ads for the 2010 Buick Lacrosse.
The first ad, called “Push,” goes over the infotainment and navigation features on the new Lacrosse. The second ad, dubbed “Smooth Ride,” details the Buick’s sophisticated adaptive suspension (see videos below).
The new ads follow the same logic set up in Buick’s “Crosswalk” commercial from earlier in October. It’s an ad that follows what’s almost becoming a cliché in modern TV adverts: basic elemental concepts, conveyed through simple clauses with an intelligent-sounding announcer and great imagery. For examples, watch the latest Apple iPhone or Master Card commercials.
The new ads are a part of an initiative by Bob Lutz, who took over GM’s advertising/marketing department in July. Lutz’s intent was to reform Buick’s advertising so that it properly projects the design quality and technological advancements of ‘new’ Buick.
The commercials also feature Buick’s new ad tagline, “The new class of world class.”
These ads are much, much better than the “Take a look at me now” garbage from this summer.
They are, in fact, reminiscent of Acura’s latest TL commercials, and that should go without surprise.
Buick clearly has Acura in its crosshairs, as many of its recent and future product launches will compete directly for Acura’s customer base and with the few other mid-luxury marquees.
I also like the fact that all three Buick ads were shot in downtown Chicago, where I spend about 50% of every work day. Downtown Chicago does have this rough texture to it, something that can easily contrast the Lacrosse’s ability to traverse the urban jungle with the proficiency of a sedan $10,000 more expensive.
Despite the new publicity, Lacrosse sales were down 11.7% in September. However, GM doesn’t break out sales of the new Lacrosse from the legacy model (2009MY).
GM blames this Buick’s initial poor sales on production oversights. According to Bob Lutz, GM anticipated a need for only ~3,600 Buick Lacrosses for October, but dealer demand was nearly three times that amount.
This begs the question: with all this new advertising on the Lacrosse, will there be a car to sell at the local lot? According to Bloomberg, Susan Docherty (former VP of NA Buick GMC) set tighter supply limits in July to maintain the Lacrosse’s pricing power.
The same supply constraints also occurred during the Chevrolet Malibu’s launch during its big advertising rollout.
Still, while American Lacrosse sales were down, GM managed to sell an astounding ~20,500 of the redesigned Lacrosse in China during its first two full months of availability.
Sadly, I couldn’t find a TV advertisement for the Chinese 2010 Lacrosse, so this Sino-Buick Ad will have to do:
