Saturday, June 7, 2014

More Shitty Commercials - Cadillac Escalade Edition

How obnoxious is this commercial, "2015 Cadillac Escalade TV Commercial - Evolution of Indulgence"?


So, am I supposed to draw from this ad that Escalades, and its forerunner, slavery, are good things? Yes, watch not so carefully - this piece of shit actually features slaves.
 
There's no doubt that the advertising executives responsible are aware of their homage to slavery because they unsuccessfully attempt to offset the offensiveness by casting the modern-day Escalade driver as African-American with a white man-servant. How does this make your shitty commercial better, idiots? 
 
Fittingly enough, the commercial was followed on cable tv by the also shitty movie musical Evita, directly to a number where Antonio Banderas is furiously singing an awful rock number about tumultuous regime upheavals and military coups preceding an earthquake. I thought I saw somewhere in the mess an Escalade, the vehicle of choice for dictators and future wannabe oppressors.

p.s. While the featured song in the commercial, "Fame" by David Bowie is pretty catchy, Youtube commenters have noted that its critical lyrics (such as "Fame, puts you there where things are hollow") don't exactly jive with the elitist/luxury brand messaging of Escalade. Is this an oversight by neglectful ad execs, or some warped inside joke?

6 comments:

  1. This ad is terrible!! Glad you posted this because I hadn't caught this commercial yet....what are advertisers thinking when they come up with some of the stuff they come up with?? Great entry!!

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    1. Thanks a lot Bryan! I appreciate your comment!

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  2. Essentially: Throughout history, the rich and powerful have tilted their noses up and looked down on poor people. Now you can too. Buy an Escalade.

    It just blows my mind that people are so insecure that they think that a luxury car will somehow make them happy.

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  3. Thanks for the comment Matthew and sorry for the late acknowledgement!

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  4. This add is bizarre and it's message is warped - isn't it great to be among the elite and not a slave - the song "Fame" playing in the background - by David Bowie - starts sounding like "Slave" to me instead of "Fame" by time the ad completes.. The African-American couple (presumably) pull up to what appears to be their home and their white man-servant runs out to carry their tiny suitcase - however it is actually the Vista Aula hotel in Turin, Itally (if you watch the ad, you'll see the name of the resort on the left on the stone wall as they pull up) - Vista Aula - link: http://www.tripadvisor.com/LocationPhotoDirectLink-g187855-i87471462-Turin_Province_of_Turin_Piedmont.html) Who thought this up? Who approved it and why? And more importantly, does this ad make people want to by a Cadillac? And if so, why? Scary if you think about it.

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    1. Thanks a lot Anon! I enjoyed reading your comment! I concur! Also, cool note about the Italian resort. Thanks for sharing.

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