Auto Advertisers: It’s Time To Drop The Clichés & Stereotypes

In this opinion piece, SenseCheck founder and managing director Phil Toppi (pictured below) discusses what auto advertisers are doing right (and wrong) in the SUV segment.
A recent study by Roy Morgan research revealed that 618,000 Australians intend on buying a new car in 2017, up by 50,000 versus 2016. One of the highest growth segments in the automotive category are SUVs. To put their staggering popularity into perspective, in 2015 there were 100,000 more passenger vehicles sold in Australia than SUVs – less than two years later, and it is widely expected that 2017 will see SUV sales surpass passenger vehicles.
With recent SUV launches extending as far as Alfa Romeo, Maserati and even Bentley, it is clear that every automotive manufacturer wants a piece of this highly lucrative segment. Subsequently, the onslaught of messages from auto advertisers has reached fever pitch. But in this increasingly fragmented and highly competitive segment, whose creative is breaking through the clutter and delivering the strongest business impact? We found out the answer by using SenseCheck’s on-demand to test the creative effectiveness of 12 SUV TVC’s.
The results
The following table ranks all ads tested by the SenseCheck rating, a composite measure out of 100 which predicts the emotional, brand and business impact of the ad. There were only four ads which exceeded the Australian TV average of 51, while the particularly poor performance of the bottom six ads placed them in the bottom 30 per cent of all TV ads tested in Australia. So what can auto advertisers learn from the performance of these ads to inform future creative strategy and maximise their share of the flourishing SUV market?
Ad/SenseCheck rating:
Toyota Kluger – 61
Mazda CX-9 – 60
Hyundai Tucson – 55
Skoda Octavia – 53
Haval H2 – 48
Volkswagen Tiguan – 46
Holden Trailblazer – 44
Kia Sportage – 42
Ford Escape – 41
Renault Koleos – 40
Peugeot 2008 – 34
Nissan Qashqai – 33
The top performers were all brave and chose to invest in creativity.
Toyota Kluger and the Mazda CX-9 sat in first and second place respectively for likeability, although they tapped into quite different emotions. Toyota Kluger’s ‘Built for families, designed for attention’ starts like any typical car ad, featuring a stylish vehicle driving around the city. However, when the little boy in the back seat notices a middle-aged man staring inappropriately at his mum, he winds down the window and expresses a disapproving stare. This subtle and clever twist, both surprises and delights viewers, generating smiles and amusement.
In contrast, the CX-9 took a more gentle – albeit just as powerful – approach to the emotions it leveraged. The ad elicits a sense of warmth, affection and happiness by depicting the story of a young father and his children, and the typical things kids get up to when preparing for school drop-offs in the morning. Combining this warmth with a sense of luxury, style, sophistication and versatility, proves to be a powerful combination for Mazda.
Hyundai Tucson’s spot, created by Innocean, took a unique approach to highlighting product features (the moon roof), building a narrative around four coin-operated binoculars who come off their stands at a scenic outlook and steal a car. The binoculars take viewers on an entertaining and sometimes hilarious journey as they explore the city. This was the most unique and distinctive ad out of all those tested, with the choice of soundtrack contributing perfectly to the upbeat and high-intensity tone.
The Skoda Octavia spot takes the typical stereotypes played out in automotive advertising and turns them on their head. It starts like so many others by featuring a stylish car driving around twisty picturesque roads, but just when viewer’s eyes are about to glaze over with boredom, the woman in the passenger seat turns to the camera and explains how her husband, her kids and the music are all fake. The ad finishes with the narrator urging viewers to ignore the common clichés found in automotive advertising and to instead focus on what you’re really buying – a car. This unexpected twist and refreshing transparency helps to maintain high levels of viewer engagement, interest and intrigue throughout the ad, leading to the strongest perception of the brand being different to other manufacturers.
The weaker performers were overly product and feature-focused.
Unlike the creative-led approach taken by the top performers, the weaker executions followed a more traditional formula for automotive advertising: cars driving around windy roads, displaying off-road capabilities, emphasising product features and highlighting price-points, sales and finance rates. Subsequently, the bottom six performers all struggled to strongly engage viewers, eliciting high levels of boredom, low levels of interest and low levels of difference versus other manufacturers.
Increasingly, advertising which doesn’t entertain, excite or emotionally resonate with viewers, is getting lost amongst the constant barrage of hard-sell, poor quality messages that consumers are faced with every day. Contrary to popular belief – and proven by this experiment – advertising does not necessarily require a rational message to motivate people to change their short-term purchase behaviour. In fact, while the top four performers overall had a creative-led focus, they were also the top-four ranking ads on Persuasion (a rational measure of purchase intent), proving the power of emotionally engaging content. The impact of functional benefits and call-to-actions will often be amplified or diminished depending on whether they are communicated in an emotionally engaging way.
So what’s the learning for auto advertisers? Quite simply, it’s time to drop the clichés and stereotypes, and make TV ads that people actually want to watch. Focus less on trying to deliver generic messages – which nobody seems to notice or remember – and focus more on developing interesting and engaging stories which move people.
Latest News

Sky News Australia Nabs Ross Greenwood As Business Weekend Anchor
Australian business and finance expert Ross Greenwood has signed exclusively with Sky News Australia as business editor and anchor of Business Weekend. With more than 40 years’ experience covering business news in Australia and around the world, Greenwood brings expertise to the role of Sky News business editor where he will lead the network’s business […]

Christian Wilkins Becomes Pantene’s First Australian Male Brand Ambassador
Christian Wilkins beats out Peter Garrett and Josh Frydenberg to become Pantene's first Australian brand ambassador.

Brands Deploy Mittens Memes After Bernie Sanders Goes Viral
Becoming slightly bored of Bernie Sanders memes clogging your social media? Let B&T add just a little more clog here.

Bumble Goes Public Despite Apple Privacy Change Concerns
The B&T editor's authoritative research confirms Bumble is ahead of Hinge when it comes to getting completely ignored.

Dan Andrews Cracks Top 20 In Hottest 100: “It’s Officially Time To Get On The Beers”
Victorian premier now referring to himself as DJ Dan Man & The Comrades after snaring Hottest 100 top 20.

The Rise And Rise Of The ‘As A Service’ Model
Here's a top piece on data as a service model. And as data's adland's "new gold", you could turn it into a new tooth.

Fitness First Unveils ‘Put Yourself First’ Campaign Via Thinkerbell
Reinvigorate your New Year goals with this new campaign. Unless those goals were to get more slovenly & take up smoking.

Carat Unveils Its Annual 2021 Trends Report
Looking for flying cars & self-styling hair helmets in Carat's 2021 Trends Report? Alas, no news, B&T's sad to report.

“We Don’t Respond To Threats”: Frydenberg Hits Back At Google
The mudslinging continues between the government & the tech giants. Expect Google's return sludge some time tomorrow.

Cristiano Ronaldo Turns Down $10M A Year To Be Face Of Saudi Tourism Over Human Rights Abuses
B&T's sure Saudi Arabia would be the perfect getaway for NRL end-of-season tours, bucks parties & even schoolies week.

Girls React To Kamala Harris Inauguration In Inspiring Spot Via Girl Up
All your colleagues bludged off on a four-day weekend while you're stuck in the office? Find some motivation here.

Cricket Australia Stands Firm On Decision To Remove ‘Australia Day’ From Marketing Campaign Despite PM’s Criticism
According to Wiki, other reasons to celebrate 26th of January include 1918's Finnish civil war and Ellen's birthday.

The Year Of Trust: Why 2021 Will Be Ruled By The Consumer
Columnist says 2021 will be ruled by the consumer. Probably not the consumer who wants an overseas holiday, however.

Joe Biden Fronts TIME Cover Depicting Mess Left By Trump Administration
One minute you're "person of the year", the next you're excrement on the sole of a shoe. As Trump's discovered here.

Cooks Urged To Help ‘Killjoy’ Vegans By Embracing Plant-Based, Via Mush-Boom
New campaign urges us all to embrace mushrooms. Presumably the button-type, not the magic variety.

Kayo Launches New Free Content Offering
Kayo launches new free content offering. Sadly, still no love for fans of elephant polo, frog racing or cheese rolling.

Seven Snares Former Nine Exec Clare Gill To Head Government Affairs
Undoubtedly the first rule of any government affairs role is having to lie about pretending to enjoy Canberra.

Bus Shelters Filled With Golf Balls In New Holey Moley Promo, Via Seven + QMS Media
You'd have to admit, if Holey Moley proves a fizzer it definitely won't be from marketing the absolute crap out of it.

Google Has “No Real Choice” But To Disable Search In Australia If Media Code Legislation Is Passed
If Google turns off search in Australia, B&T can no longer guarantee outright plagiarism of other media sites.

Cannes Lions Jury Has Highest Representation Of Women In Festival’s History
In arguably bad news for ladder, chainsaw and ute ads, Cannes now boasts it's biggest number of female judges.

Bush Heritage Honours Heroes Of Bush Conservation In Latest Campaign
Here's one of those nice stories B&T likes to run. Makes a refreshing change from our usual evil & gutter journalism.

Australian Open Controversy No Cause For Concern For Sponsors
Could Nick finally do the nation proud at this year's Oz Open? Or will he bow out early in a huffy tantrum as usual?

Get On The Beers: BrewDog To Gift Brewery To Mashd N Kutcher If They Chart In Triple J’s Hottest 100
As a warning, if you're unaware of the Mashd N Kutcher song then this story will make little to no sense.

TV Host Jimmy Kimmel Farewells Trump With Glorious Spoof Send-Off Video
Admit it, much like the Sizzler restaurant chain, Gangnam Style & chlamydia you're going to miss the Donald, aren't you?

Can’t Cook Pasta Al Dente? Barilla Now Has Spotify Playlists That’ll Help
With all due respect, surely the perfect tune to cook pasta al dente would have to be Joe Dolce's 'Shaddap Your Face'.

Outdoor Industry Launches First $3M Pro Bono Health Campaign For Department Of Health
B&T's always happy to report on the industry doing good. Except if it requires a financial donation on our part.

Facebook Launches Mardi Gras Parade Viewing Events Grants Program
It's mid-January & that means two things: abandoning all New Year resolutions & the start of Mardi Gras stories on B&T.

Zenith Appointed To SBS’ Performance Media Account
Surely this SBS news would be more appropriate in Flemish or Hungarian, yet, sadly, it's all in English, we're afraid.

IMG Wins Asian Television Award For NBL20 Grand Final Series
Admittedly, we're not huge basketball fans here at B&T. Although we always enjoyed OJ Simpson's movies.

Wunderman Thompson Launches Annual Future 100 Report
New report says immunity wellness, cloud gaming & micropreneurs are in & storming the Capital dressed as a viking's out.