Below is a listing of some slogans that were recently used by automotive companies, along with a little nugget of truth about each. Being in marketing, I study these kind of things, and I thought it'd be entertaining for you all to have a glimpse into the mind of a genius.
BMW: “BMW.
The Ultimate Driving Machine.”
Audi: “Keeping
ahead through technology.”
You have to enjoy the fact that your
grammar check will grab you for both of these ads and tell you "nein, your
sentence is nicht gut." These slogans are about the same: very assertive,
very German, not bad, but not very memorable.
Mercedes-Benz: “Unlike
any other.”
Mercedes-Benz is deeply involved in so
many different things related to automotive manufacturing; one could really say
that they are “unlike any other.” This one is alright.
Alfa Romeo: “Alfa
Romeo. Beauty is not enough.”
This slogan is good because it is
accurate, not ridiculous boasting or just making up nonsense like most slogans.
Alfa really does make truly beautiful cars, so this works. I also love Alfa Romeo so I'm totally biased here.
Ford: “Built
Ford Tough”
Effective. You have to admit, it works.
My only problem with this is that Ford writes its ads as if their target is
car-buying Neanderthals.
Dodge: “Dodge.
Grab life by the horns.”
Not great. This ad slogan was written
exclusively for high school football coaches.
Chevrolet: “Chevy:
an American revolution.”
You can’t really point out a problem with
this slogan, but then, you couldn’t repeat it to me two minutes from now
either, could you?
Volkswagen: “Relieves
gas pains.”
This is a great plan from VW’s marketers –
have your customers associate your brand with flatulence.
Toyota: “The car in front is a Toyota.”
“Toyota.
Moving forward.”
When you read the old ad campaign, “The
car in front is a Toyota”, you just think - if there is a Toyota in front of
me, the accelerator is stuck. Then you read the new, slightly better slogan:
“Toyota. Moving forward.” – you still think - of course its moving forward, it
can’t stop either.
Saturn: “Saturn.
Like always. Like never before.”
A part of this slogan is accurate; like
always, your Saturn will be absolute rubbish. Like never before… no it will be
embarrassing, like it always was.
(I have enlarged their logo image here so that you can marvel at this absolutely wonderful masterpiece artwork that is the Saturn logo.)
If you have a favorite slogan not seen here, or if I have offended your most beloved car maker in some way, post below in the comment box. I might enjoy reading your submissions.
Looks awful right? This is a 1966 Dodge Dart. They were decent little 4-door sedans. Nothing special though. Just a car. Many who remembered this car were far from elated, or even cared at all, when Dodge announced that they were going to release a new version of the Dart in America last year.
The 2012 Dart was targeted at younger people - those who had no memory of the lame old Dart. The CEO of Dodge-Chrysler said before its release, "Whoever’s buying [The Dart] doesn’t have an historical memory of our segment predecessors... It’s almost virgin territory when you’re talking to young buyers now.”
Dodge did a great job, I think, in targeting this market through funny ads that featured cool guy extraordinaire, Tom Brady, and financing programs that allow you to register parts of the car like a wedding registry.
Also, it looks brilliant.
In spite of its looks and a good marketing campaign though, the new Dart did not sell well in 2012. And I'll tell you why.
First of all, its positioning. Dodge-Chrysler Group is now owned by Fiat Motors, which means really nothing. (The end consumer doesn't usually see a change in mid-range cars when these type of mergers take place.) This means that, while the Dart's success in the small car market is crucial to the success of Dodge, its success is being hindered by its position in that market. You would find the Dart directly between the Fiat 500 and the Chrysler 200, both of which seem to be preferable by the small car buyers of 2012.
Another reason the Dart did not succeed in its initial year was not the fact that the first 5000 sold only had manual transmission. (Dodge's CEO actually tried to use that as a possible reason for poor sales) The reason that the Dart didn't do so great last year was the fact that people don't expect a small car from Dodge-Chrysler, because of their almost total reliance on large cars; trucks, vans, and SUV's. 70% of their vehicle sales last year were trucks, vans, and sport utility vehicles.
What does this mean for the Dart? It means that it may just take a few years to catch on. It is a good little car, without a doubt, and it looks stunning. I think that people are not perceptive of the fact that Dodge can make a good, small car. When they think Dodge, they think big. Dodge will just have to be diligent marketers so they can become competitive in the small car market, like they want.
We will just have to give it another full year to see if the Fiat dream is going to come true, and if Dodge can sustain its survival through a revival of the Dart.
