Why are modern car adverts so tame & soulless?

Man of Honour
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If you are French, the law/rules are unimportant ;)

The UK laws certainly are. :p

I just want proper exciting adverts :(

Who buys anything because of an advert? Adverts are there to spread awareness of the brand/product ... not to sell it to people really.

Cars such as RS4 and other fun thing are generally targeted at men ... and men who buy those kind of cars probably tend to remember cool car action sequences rather than boring around town stuff.

Have you actually considered your position here at all? You want exciting adverts despite stating that few people buy anything based on adverts (I'm not going to question the correctness of that assertion for the moment) and you are by now aware that manufacturers are restricted about what they can show by ASA regulations (albeit it may be a voluntary code it's one that it pays to stick to). In light of this what possible incentive is there for car manufacturers to make "exciting" adverts? Going by your logic they're unlikely to sell any more due to these adverts, they might increase brand awareness but will be facing a court case that they'll almost certainly lose and the potential punitive fines for their actions.

Basically the argument seems to be, 'I want people to pander to me despite there being absolutely no benefit to them for doing so and in fact notable downsides'. If you want "proper exciting" adverts then watch a film, a number are little more than product placement exercises anyway.
 
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I was in India a few weeks ago, they have much more in the way of stunts and speeding around a track (especially for motorbike adverts). They do come with a fairly prominent disclaimer along the lines of "performed by professionals on a closed track, do not try this at home". Can't see what's wrong with having that here, especially with such a disclaimer.
 

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Soldato
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I was in India a few weeks ago, they have much more in the way of stunts and speeding around a track (especially for motorbike adverts). They do come with a fairly prominent disclaimer along the lines of "performed by professionals on a closed track, do not try this at home". Can't see what's wrong with having that here, especially with such a disclaimer.

Have you seen how they drive in India?

They've just done a spin off of Ice Road Truckers, sending some of them to work in India for the summer. Bloody I hell I knew the driving was bad over there but not quite that bad. Things like overtaking on blind corners when the road is on the edge of a cliff with a massive drop on one side. Oh and the trucks they are using are half made of wood.
 

nas

nas

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though you wont see it on television, its more of a promotional thing, by broadcasting this sort of thing, it advocates 'this sort of thing' which, as said, isnt legal. Plus, its now a requirement to refer to co2 emissions (as you'd notice in ads today)... so to use a car driven in this manner, to advertise, bearing in mind, that cars aren't normally driven like this on a day to day basis and to then display its fuel efficiency would be somewhat contradictory, which would be, to some extent, false advertising.

Print advertisements are heavily regulated in the UK and car makers are required to publish clear CO2 and fuel consumption information in advertisements by law. The UK motor industry also works under strict Codes of Practice (CAP and BCAP) for print and broadcast media, which include sections specifically related to car advertising.

edit:

as for the audi rs comment...


you dont need to see it on track to know what its about, this is a good example, seeing a fast car on track is abit cliche, anyway.
 
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nas

nas

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The main measures it is proposing in the revised strategy are as follows:

  • A legislative framework to reduce CO2 emissions from new cars and vans will be proposed by the Commission by the end of this year or at the latest by mid 2008. This will provide the car industry with sufficient lead time and regulatory certainty.
  • Average emissions from new cars sold in the EU-27 would be required to reach the 120g CO2/km target by 2012. Improvements in vehicle technology would have to reduce average emissions to no more than 130g/km, while complementary measures would contribute a further emissions cut of up to 10g/km, thus reducing overall emissions to 120g/km. These complementary measures include efficiency improvements for car components with the highest impact on fuel consumption, such as tyres and air conditioning systems, and a gradual reduction in the carbon content of road fuels, notably through greater use of biofuels. Efficiency requirements will be introduced for these car components.
  • For vans, the fleet average emission targets would be 175g by 2012 and 160g by 2015, compared with 201g in 2002.
  • Support for research efforts aimed at further reducing emissions from new cars to an average of 95g CO2/km by 2020.
  • Measures to promote the purchase of fuel-efficient vehicles, notably through improved labelling and by encouraging Member States that levy car taxes to base them on cars' CO2 emissions.
  • An EU code of good practice on car marketing and advertising to promote more sustainable consumption patterns. The Commission is inviting car manufacturers to sign up to this by mid-2007.
(2007)

http://europa.eu
With members of the EU having to adhere to this, it seems that modern car adverts will remain ''tame and souless.''
 
Soldato
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Hahaha at the GT5 advert. I used to love the Pug 405 one with all the fire although I had it in my head that it was for the Montego for some reason.

As for powersliding demonstrating an important safety feature, surely part of that is down to the driver so trying to sell a car on something that is potentially mainly driver dependant would be dodgy ground I'd imagine?

I wouldn't say car adverts are souless but it's good to see marketing are having to put some more thought into an advert than purely flogging something on how fast it goes.
 
Soldato
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The americans showing us how to make car adverts. The Chevrolet Camaro superbowl commercial

:D:D

Some of the best adverts involve subtlety, the Germans do this brilliantly. I loved the Audi RS4/RS6 advert with the bull, and where the rider slowly brings it under control. Far more powerful and effective than somebody drifting a corner in a veil of smoke.
 
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