What makes a great auto commercial? A lot of things can make an auto ad or TV spot “good” but to be truly great a commercial needs several things. It must be memorable so that people know what the ad the car was for. It also needs to speak to a wide range of people (without being offensive) and strike an emotional chord that ads rarely do. The follow commercial fit all of this criteria at least in my expert automotive opinion.
The Parisian Pinball Park – Ford Active Park Assist
I wrote about the Ford Parisian Pinball Park commercial before on this blog and it might be the greatest auto ad of all time. It's clever, funny, memorable, awesome, and shows how creative Europeans are with ads. (I have never seen a Ford TV spot this good in the US.) Most importantly it shows Ford Active Park Assist and how useful it can be to a driver who is not good at parallel parking in Paris, where parking space is worth it's weight in gold.
Rear-View Camera – BMW
This is an absolutely brilliant! Not only does it get across the technology behind the car but nobody talks in the commercial. Even if you muted the sound this would still make you laugh.
The Force – VW
Come on! What kid hasn't seen Star Wars and tried to use the “Force?” You probably did the last time you watched Star Wars. VW is known for making great ads but this one is truly great.
Cog – Honda Accord
It looks computer generated right? The crazy thing is it's not! The whole contraption was real and they used real parts from the Honda Accord to do this. The best part is you can watch this commercial a few times and it doesn't get old.
Baby Driver – Subaru
While this Subaru commercial will speak to parents a lot more than someone like me who doesn't have kids (that I know about) I think a wide range of people find it appealing.
What do you think of the commercials I choose for this list? Do they deserve to be recognized? Do you think I missed a great auto commercial in this list? Let me know with a comment below.