Before we consider the question posed by the headline, let me ask another: when was the last time you saw a car commercial? Do you remember what car it was for? Did any of the commercial stay with you?
I honestly cannot recall any car commercials more recent than a few years ago, and what has stuck with me is how annoying and/or confusing they were. There was one with a way-too-stylish grandfather(?) who going to a wedding or something? In a Volvo, maybe? Oh, and those “real people” Chevy commercials. All I remember from those is the Zebra Corner parodies (If you haven’t seen these, please, stop what you’re doing and watch all of them immediately).
Now, back in the pre-streaming days of cable when there were only a handful of channels you cared about, or the pre-cable days where you had only three stations that came in clearly, car commercials were a big deal. They mattered. They had high concepts and even higher budgets, and man, they made an impression. And that brings us to the big Q: which car commercial is your all-time favorite? Or your favorite commercials, plural, go nuts. And if you want to tell us about the TV spots you love to hate, by all means, we’d love to hear you loathe.
As for me, my favorite car commercials – and favorite commercials in general – are the groundbreaking spots produced by Robert Able and Associates. Remember the surreal Levi’s Trademark ad? That’s Robert Able. In the 80s, Able and his team refined the high-tech, high-gloss look of the era with wonderful commercials for the Chrysler Laser, Pontiac Firebird, and C4 Corvette (among others). They’re corny now (or cornier, I should say), but they still hold up, especially when James Earl Jones is doing the voiceover. The embed below will take you to the Corvette spot (my fave), and if you want to keep watching, the entire Robert Able And Associates showreel from 1985 is there – lots of fun.
While those Able commercials are my favorite car ads, there are many, many more that I love. I’m a huge fan of Ford’s crazy “torture test” commercials from the 70s and 80s, remember those?
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I’m also a massive fan of any and all “music video style” car commercials, especially the long-form versions. Topping the list: Ride! Pontiac, Ride!
The “My Duster” commercial is another winner, which we’ve written about before – and mashed up with Robocop below:
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Your turn!
“I thought we agreed you’d buy a Subaru.”
“But dad, I did.”
https://youtu.be/FdRWlRR4jgk?si=f_ZGIOASN5k4ZbaH
Coming from a rural family that owned a couple of Subaru DLs, a GL, a Loyale, a Justy, a Legacy, and eventually an Outback, I was the ideal target audience for this late 80s XT commercial. I’m sure it had NOTHING to do with the WRX I bought a few decades later.
Wow
Without a doubt, my favorite commercials were the ones for Mercedes-Benz in the late 60s and early 70s. My parents and my mom’s parents had Oldsmobiles and it was a thrill to see the MBs do things (including going around a wall at about an 80 degree angle from horizontal) that would end badly in an Olds.
Like A Rock Chevy commercials…I love that song and they are unforgettable
Sure, if jetcar is the tow truck.
The craptastic Wraith.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=PM3woO0AbCw
Tony Scott’s SAAB ad where it starts off like it’s just an erotic tale of a man and his jet, but then it’s also an erotic tale of a man and his car.
Awesome ad. Ever since I test drove a 99 that I couldn’t afford to buy, I have liked Saabs. Eventually had an ’88 9000 Turbo for a couple of years. It treated me nicely.
Epic Jeep CJ Bison commercial bro!
https://youtu.be/FSo4SZKv6i8?si=IdWqxRaMGHrb_miA
Hey look! Its A Guy on a Buffalo!
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=iJ4T9CQA0UM
LOL! Now that’s pure 70’s!
My personal favorite is this 80s Corolla ad from Venezuela that went viral a few years ago: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/HwJcNCWrVD0 (It wasn’t originally a short and that pisses me off but oh well)
We had that very Corolla but with the 5MT. The most exciting thing about that car was its accordion gear shift boot.
Like a rock. It just sits there!
MAHK!! is that you?
Yes