MINIVAN AD: What This Ad Has That the Others Don't
Written: May 04 '00 (Updated May 04 '00)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Wonderfully simple, relates to a massive audience, funny in an endearing way
Cons: Another mention of Epinions wouldn't hurt, could have flowed a little better.
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| vara's Full Review: Minivan |
While I still don't think that this is the "perfect" commercial for Epinions, I feel that it has a leg up on many of the commercials we have witnessed so far.
I'd first like to express my jealousy at being beaten to the punch: I was trying to formulate a good "car review" commercial for submission to Epinions. My shoulders sank when I saw it had been done already. Fortunately, after seeing the ad repetitively, I concluded the commercial was done rather well in many respects.
In all of my reviews of Epinions commercials, I keep many things in mind, foremost among these being whether or not the commercial will benefit Epinions as a whole. In the past, I've split my reviews of the ads into "what I liked" and "what I didn't like" categories. I have since changed the headings to what the commercials accomplished and didn't accomplish. After all, we have a mission here, which is to rope visitors in and convince them to join. If this objective is successfully accomplished, all the other potential positives of a commercial will fall into place.
WHAT DID THIS COMMERCIAL ACCOMPLISH?
I was happy to see this ad succeed on several very important fronts.
People can relate! My family once owned a Plymouth Voyager, and it was the biggest lemon we've ever owned. After reading numerous epinions, professional reviews, and hearing from other owners, I've done my best to dissuade anyone from buying Chrysler products. What's my point, you ask? Well, the greatest advantage of this commercial over the others is that a much larger demographic can relate to Karen's woes. In other words, there are many more car owners than George Foreman Grilling Machine owners, or Breast Pump owners, for that matter. The result here is that many more people can see where the reviewer is coming from, and instantly be roped into the commercial. Some viewers (including my mother, who hated her Voyager) could jump out of their sofas and shout "that's ME talking!" And of course, I'm not referring to owners of Chrysler minivans only... I mean all car owners, lucky and unlucky. Cars are something we can all understand on the same wavelength. The larger your demographic audience represented, the better.
Comedy from misfortune: A lady, on a street, trying to get rid of her piece of junk... take it, it's free! Because many people will be able to understand this kind of humor, it will be funny in its own right. The pitiful site of a desperate woman trying (unsuccessfully) to rid herself of her lemon evokes simple and tasteful humor that many viewers will certainly enjoy. I particularly loved the part when she tossed the keys at the elderly gentleman only to see them bounce listlessly off of his chest. As for the conclusion when she drops the keys in the harmonica player's hat, it was perfect. Great idea. Hey Karen, here's a tip: if you're trying to get rid of a clunker, don't tell people the catch! How do you think used car salesmen make all their money? ...And those sleezy reputations? :)
Keepin' it simple: There's no need for anything fancy in this commercial. Tents aren't run through a carwash (although that commercial was very good), there are no talking belly buttons, there are no computers being shot up... this is a simple commercial that could be understood perfectly even if the TV was put on "mute". The white letters "FREE MINIVAN" say it all. The good thing about keeping the commercial simple is that it is understood easily, thus holding onto the viewers' attention longer. Some complain that the commercial is overly simplistic, but sometimes less is more, and that concept worked very well here.
A perfect product review: For a television ad, this review was perfect. Some reviewers complained it was not detailed enough, but they must realize that time constraints are an important factor when doing a commercial. Besides, a detailed review might even get boring for the viewer. If they want more detailed reviews they can check out the review itself on Epinions. In sum, I felt that Karen went into just the right amount of detail when describing her minivan. Hey- I learned enough to refuse her offer if she came up to me on the street!
OKAY, WHAT DIDN'T THE COMMERCIAL ACCOMPLISH?
Despite the great potential of this commercial, there are just a few elements that the commercial lacked.
More Epinions! Once again, this commercial has the same flaw that many others did: not enough of a tie-in with Epinions.com. This isn't totally Karen's fault: the guidelines for making the commercials inherently call for more of an emphasis on the product being reviewed, not the site itself. I think that's a mistake. You want the viewers to remember that Epinions.com is the place where you can read tons of reviews such as the one you just witnessed. Maybe if Karen had mentioned to one of her skeptical potential "takers" that they could check out her review if they wanted more details...?
A little rehearsed? Some of the reviewers that have made commercials are very good at improvisation in acting. Karen seemed just a tad nervous out there. This observation is a pretty minor point, I realize, but it would have been nice to see a more natural interaction between Karen and the suckers... er... customers. It would have added to the flow of the commercial, which got just a little stagnant here and there. Again, this is a minor point and not blatantly obvious.
SHOULD EPINIONS WATCH OUT FOR CHRYSLER?
In these litigation-happy days, I wouldn't be too surprised to see Chrysler come out with a lawsuit against the site for this television ad. After all, Alta Ski Resort filed one against Epinions for the snowboarding ad, so why wouldn't Chrysler do the same? I personally feel that such a lawsuit would fail, because there are no lies being told in this commercial (so Chrysler deserves it), and if the TV review is considered liable for a lawsuit then every negative review on Epinions.com deserves the same! The only argument I could come up with against my points is that people voluntarily read reviews, whereas TV commercials are shoved right into people's faces... Anyway, I hope Epinions has prepared themselves, because I wouldn't put this kind of thing past a company that knowingly manufacturers cars of sub-par fit and finish.
THE VERDICT: KAREN'S LOSS IS EPINION'S GAIN!
I would like to congratulate Karen for crafting a good commercial. In my never-to-be-humble opinion, it has more potential than we are actually seeing, but Epinion's objectives are met satisfactorily. The commercial is simple in its portrayal, charm, and message. And because simple is good, I'm glad Karen beat me to the punch on this one.
Recommended:
Yes
Would visit Shopping.com? Yes
Increase or decrease trust in Shopping.com? Increase
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Epinions.com ID:
vara
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 in Cars & Motorsports |
 - Top 200 |
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Member: Daniel Ramirez
Location: Miami Beach, FL
Reviews written: 121
Trusted by: 449 members
About Me:
You want a 15 word autobiography? Are you mad, sir?!
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