I've been giving a lot of thought lately to car commercials. I've noticed the ads that stick out the most lately in my mind are the Mitsubishi ads. Perhaps it's just my demographic (age 25-29, which could probably be spread out to encompass 18-35), but these commercials have a real allure to them.

Although it's not new for commercials to emphasize "an experience" instead of focusing on tangible attributes and benefits, these commercials really hit hard with the experience. It all has to do with the music. The music the commercials are set to ARE the commercials. The music is what gives you the experience. It became readily apparent to me when I noticed that the songs from the Mitsubishi commercials are being featured on radio stations, evoking the same experience (you'll think to yourself "Isn't that the song from the commercial? Yeah, it is!"). Now this is just really brilliant marketing. People are becoming so enamored with the songs that they call in and request them! And most of these songs aren't new songs. Perhaps what gets me even more is the fact that I can make the correlation back from the music to the brand. Usually when something stands out so much in a commercial it has a negative effect in that people remember the thing that stands out, but can't tie the name brand of the company back to it (case in point: Which company is advertised in the "Cat Herders" commercial?).

Of course, Mitsubishi didn't invent this concept. Credit goes to Volkswagen for that (and Arnold Communications). We all remember the new Beetles and Jettas and Passats coming out in 1998 set to bands like Master Cylinder, Nick Drake, Spiritualized, Fluke, The Orb, Styx and (God help us) Trio. These commercials set out a new phase in the automotive industry, something done in the past by other industries (think Gap) that transitioned so well. Actually, now that I'm thinking about it, Nissan started the trend before VW did. Hopefully most of you will remember Van Halen's "You Really Got Me" for the 300ZX as well as the likes of The Breeders, Blur and Lenny Kravitz. These Chiat/Day pieces started coming out in 1996 and 1997. Unfortunately, however, they weren't deemed successful (when it came to bottom line sales figures).

That's where VW changed things. Their ads drove purchases (though it's argued that the new Beetle would have sold without the ads). Either way, their effectiveness can't be refuted. And by effectiveness I mean bottom line sales, not just awareness. It took a few years for another company to come back with something so evasive, but Mitsubishi really has done it I believe. I'll be very interested to see if it helps the company's bottom line.