Ha! Am I the only one out there who thinks this commercial is hilarious? I am? OK, so it's just me, but I couldn't believe my eyes and ears when this commercial began to unfold. By now we're familiar with the Silverado commercial template: Set to the brand anthem (Will Hoge's "Strong"), we see the role that the capable, reliable Silverado plays in the relationships between their owners and the things they hold near and dear. "Convert" tells the story of a man, his truck, and the camping trip that brought him closer to his son; "Her Horse" is about a woman, her truck, and her cherished rodeo horse; and "Band" is about a dedicated father who goes the extra mile (in his Silverado, of course) to help his daughter's dreams come true. All of those spots are straightforward, well-produced, and believable. A little melancholy perhaps, but that's okay, since cowboys and farmers—the truck's target audience—are often softies beneath their steely (or aluminum-y, if they drive new F150s) veneers.
"Romance" opens the same way. The music rolls (only this time it's Hot Chocolate's sultry cover of Rick James's "I Believe in Miracles") as an announcer sets up the story: "This is about a man . . . a man and his truck. A man and his truck and a very eligible bachelor . . . and bated breath, and lonely hearts, and love is in the air." These suggestive lyrics are intercut with shots of the bull, who looks like something good is going to happen to him, and shots of the cowboy, who is clearly pleased with his purchase. Whoa, pardner! Wait a durned minute! What exactly is going' on here? It's the Super Bowl! My kids are watching and I'm not sure I like where this is going! Sorry, folks, maybe I've been watching too many Seth MacFarlane TV shows lately, but I guarantee you a bunch of other football fans have, too, and they might find the first 45 seconds of this commercial as confusingly funny as I did.
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Or not, in which case I'll just say that Chevy could have saved its production dollars and run one of the campaign's aforementioned spots instead. "Romance" doesn't really bring anything new to the table. Indeed, much of the cattle auction and pen footage looks like it could have been lifted from "Her Horse," which also showcases the truck's hauling ability. And unlike the other three spots, this one doesn't tell us much about the loyal, loving nature of Silverado owners, unless the message is that the cowboy generously purchased the bull to enhance the horned beast's quality of life ("Helloooo, ladies" and cue that ear!). A more likely explanation, this being their Big Game spot and all, is that Chevy knows that the mack daddy of all Super Bowl campaigns—Budweiser's on-going horse and/or puppy series—creates a tide that lifts all commercials featuring big farm animals. Which brings me back to them just airing "Her Horse" and calling it a day.
Award-winning ad man-cum-auto journalist Don Klein knows a good (or bad) car commercial when he sees one; the Ad Section is his space to tell you what he thinks of the latest spots. The ad's rating is depicted via the shift pattern at the bottom, but everyone has an opinion when it comes to advertising, so hit Backfires below and tell us what you think, too.
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