Chop Shop?
March 27, 2008
Hmm… there’s been some buzz about Hyundai and Goodby’s rocky relationship as of late. Kinda makes you wonder if the shop actually got too much of a good thing when it won Sprint and the aforementioned car manufacturer back to back.
Apparently, Hyundai Motor Company’s dealers don’t want Goodby as their agency. They feel the advertising currently being done doesn’t properly connect with their consumers.
And dealers ALWAYS know what’s good for business, right?
Hopefully, Goodby can address their concerns and show them how to do right by their business. Steering around dealership associations is a tricky business, unfortunately. They cause the deaths of more good automotive campaigns every year…
A dealer couldn’t acknowledge good creative even if it rabidly ripped off his left butt cheek, slapped it down on his lap, and then said “hi. I’m good creative. I’m the one who just ripped off your left butt cheek.”
Sad but true. Let’s all not forget the unfortunate dealer-butt-cheek-dismemberment incident at Fiat in the late 70s.
(Kidding.)
- Agent C
agencyspy.agentc at gmail dot com
March 27, 2008 at 1:33 am
Yeah but on the flip side, some of this is self perpetuated considering the horrid TV spots of a lot of car companies that get produced by these agencies. I mean, if the agency hired does god-awful shitty work…than that’s the message they’re giving the car company. “Oh hey, here’s a POS TV campaign where we’re gonna have your car riding on the EDGE of buildings…and the copy is so clever because it’s all about living on the EDGE…and that’s cool n’ stuff….and so so creative and progressive. Here’s your invoice.”
March 27, 2008 at 4:03 am
Yes but the dealers didn’t acknowledge good creative, did they? They acknowledged bad creative. C’mon, Agent C, that’s a piss poor post from you.
Oh and guess what, those dealers are the people who actually SELL the cars.
March 27, 2008 at 4:44 am
Whether Agent C was right in this instance is arguable. But I think we can all agree that dealers aren’t known for being the champions of good creative. Those are the guys and gals yelling for results tomorrow, hard hitting, etc. None this stupid branding stuff.
March 27, 2008 at 9:31 am
those dealers are the people who actually SELL the cars.
actually … dealers are people who prevent cars from being sold. the customer doesn’t want to talk to them, be dicked around by them and made to jump through hoops by them. the dealer system is antiquated and ripe to be replaced by a direct website-based system. why can I buy a fully customized mac at a set price with ten or so clicks and have it delivered to my house but have to haggle with a dealer who is trying to screw and upsell me at every waypoint? it’s certainly not because it’s a big-ticket item – cuban bought a fucking gulfstream via email.
as far as advertising is concerned – the dealers are just as bad in their judgement of campaigns as they are in handling said customers.
March 27, 2008 at 4:19 pm
Agreed. The dealers are the horrid middlemen who keep me from buying a car.
They also expect a lot of ‘good ol boy’ treatment if you want their support.
Jeff & Co. don’t need to throw them a lifeline if they are determined to drown. Life’s too short.
March 27, 2008 at 7:39 pm
No comments about giant inflatable gorillas? Come on? That’s how I decide where to buy a car. No gorilla, no sale. You gotta show me you want it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nx9BuhpM3E8
The shirt made me nauseous. But they had a gorilla, and I’m a sucker for sped-up running around, a la Benny Hill.
March 28, 2008 at 1:16 pm
Goodby has not churned out anything that was
better than the earlier spots done for Saturn by
Riney. Face it, Goodby is no longer the small shop
that could, they are just another chop shop these
days. Sad but true.
March 28, 2008 at 6:33 pm
I think dealerships solely exist so that car companies get the benefit of ripping off customers without it directly tarnishing their image.
I’ve only bought one car in my life, and i plan to run it into the ground until i move to a place where i don’t have to have a car. hopefully soon.