This is NOT about the cars.  This is about the car commercials.  I don't care about the specific cars involved.  I like cars.

This is a Volvo commercial from September 4, 2024.  Somehow we missed it at the time.  After seeing the Jaguar ad, I believe it is pertinent.  Turn on closed captions to get the full meaning of the dialog.

You may or may not shed a tear or two.  I did.

 

 

Hook

Thank you. Volvo made it right after the appearance of the Jaguar commercial. Volvo for Life is their new motto.

 

According to Darwin, the poorer the strategy, the less is the chance for survival. Dawinism on parade for all to see: Jaguar vs. Volvo.

Well that plays straight into Volvo's long standing values doesn't it: families and safety, young creative professionals - note the document rolls and drawing paraphernalia as she breaks the news - advertising, architecture?  And of course the young need the environment cleaned up more than anyone.

Do we then think Jaguar's new target market are people who wear weird clothes?

 

 

Over here in the UK, it's a Jag you are, over there, it's a Jagwar.
Either way, it looks like Volvo have stuck to their message and
Jaguar have mislaid the plot.
Volvo's pedestrian protection braking system is not new and is very effective.
In the UK, it's proving hard to sell battery cars, even at allegedly giveaway
prices that are "unsustainable".

Edited November 27, 20241 yr by Reader

OK, guys!  Let's not take this into EV's and the Moose vs Squirrel show! 🥷

2 hours ago, charliearon said:

Let's not take this into EV's and the Moose vs Squirrel show! 🥷

And all these years I thought it was Moose AND Squirrel vs Boris & Natasha 🤔

2 hours ago, charliearon said:

Moose vs Squirrel show! 🥷

Open to anything new, even the internet is struggling to tell me anything relevant about this.
It looks like the reference is to the 1950's, when I was only at a single figure age.
 

Edited November 27, 20241 yr by Reader

1 minute ago, Reader said:

Open to anything new, even the internet is struggling to tell me anything relevant about this.
It looks like the reference is to the 1950's, when I was only at a single figure age.
 

The Rocky & Bullwinkle cartoons.  Rocket J. Squirrel and Bullwinkle Moose.  Their long time adversaries were Boris Badenov and Natasha Fatale, Russian humans.

"Hey Rocky!  Watch me pull a rabbit outta my hat!"  "That trick never works."

Hook

Thanks, presumably, if I was American and my parents had a new fangled TV set, I would have watched this instead of
Andy Pandy, the Woodentops, Bill and Ben or Rag Tag and Bobtail.
Or even Listen with Mother read by Daphne Oxenford on the BBC Light Programme.
I remember all of those and they had nothing to do with the subject either.

Here's an explanation of what is going on with the Jaguar rebranding from someone who is high in the marketing food chain for an Asian branch of Proctor & Gamble / Gillette.  He mentions, without mentioning the company name, the Gillette rebranding attempt that happened  in his company but outside his locale.  It may be a little jargon-heavy but should be quite understandable, at least with subtitles. 🙂 

Quote

There is a Strange Coincidence coinciding with Jaguar's Rebrand and Tata. But the Real Reason could be less conspiracy and more incompetence and cowardice. As a Branding Industry Insider, I give you some insight into the decision process.

 

Hook

Edited November 27, 20241 yr by LHookins

45 minutes ago, Reader said:

Thanks, presumably, if I was American and my parents had a new fangled TV set, I would have watched this instead of

Please tell me you watched DangerMouse.  I loved DangerMouse.

Charlie is talking about the adversarial relationship between EV and IC by relating it to something people our age remember very well.  BTW, I loved Rocky and Bullwinkle, too.

Hook

Speed of lightning!

Roar of thunder!

Fighting all who rob or plunder.

Underdog!

11 minutes ago, Fielder said:

Speed of lightning!

Roar of thunder!

Fighting all who rob or plunder.

Underdog!

The best theme music in all of cartoons.  Thanks for the reminder.  "Not bird nor plane nor even frog, just little ol' me - Underdog."

And if anyone is wondering how any of this relates, THIS is what we grew up with.  This is what made us the people we are today.

Hook