KIA Cuts Comedy
By tsufit on Jul 7, 2008 in Marketing
My kids LOVE the Kia commercial, you know the one where the guy does the Flashdance thing. Then again, my kids don’t buy cars…
“We don’t want to spend a good chunk of our time in a 30-second spot trying to entertain people. We have a lot to communicate in terms of our products, and we don’t want to obscure it with entertainment.” says Tim Chaney, Marketing Director, Kia Motors America. So they’re pulling the plug on Flashdancer.
You know my stand, “all business is show business”. I’ve always been a vocal proponent of using humor to sell stuff. If you’ve got 30 seconds, devote 25 seconds to attracting/entertaining and 5 seconds to informing. The trick is to make sure sure there’s a strong connection between the humor and whatever you’re going to say in the remaining 5 seconds.
If KIA is trying to sell “fun”, ie positioning itself as a fun car, the commercial might make sense. On the other hand, if KIA feels it has to prove itself as a quality car first, the commercials may not be having their intended effect. I must admit, I had seen the commercial several times but never really noticed what it was selling. You gotta make sure there’s a strong connection.
One thing’s for sure. It was a smart move publicity wise. Getting a lot of ink and cyber ink.
What do you think? Is KIA making a mistake giving the commercial the hook or is car selling serious business?
Tsufit
Tsufit,
My concern comes from six words from the Marketing Director – “We have a lot to communicate.” I hope this communication will not follow the predictable path of the monologue but will truly be an open and engaging dialogue. I guess time will tell.
Bill Gammell | Jul 7, 2008 | Reply
Bill,
Great to hear from you.
I have to laugh at the expression “obscure it with entertainment”. I think many corporate types have the same fear– which is why most corporate communications don’t actually communicate much, except that communication is not their field.
I wonder what Seinfeld would say on this issue.
Tsufit
tsufit | Jul 7, 2008 | Reply
Maybe something like this:
GEORGE: You see, this is what I do with women. I start out too strong, now I
have to become real, that’s when it all falls apart. What good is real? They
don’t want real, they want funny. Ya gotta put on a show, ya always gotta give them a big show. You always have to be ‘on’ otherwise why would they like me? They’d just go for a better looking guy with more money.
Elaine nods her head in approval.
GEORGE: You mean that’s true, I’m right?!
Bill Gammell | Jul 8, 2008 | Reply
Wow. Bill,you’re pretty good at this!
Tsufit
tsufit | Jul 8, 2008 | Reply