Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Hyundai asks, "How gullible are our potential customers?"
"We wanted to find out what people really thought of the new Hyundai, so we installed cameras in our cars. Some may call this eavesdropping. We call it Hyundai Uncensored."
Some may call it a stunningly tone-deaf invasion of privacy and a great way to alienate customers- I can tell you that if I were told, after taking a test drive, that a camera had been fixed on my face and every word I uttered picked up by hidden audio equipment, I might call an attorney, but I certainly wouldn't be buying a car from these voyeuristic creeps.
Except, of course, that just a few seconds into the ad, we know that this has to be a come on. Check out the "unsolicited," "uncensored" over-the-top gushing from the drivers, who if they are sincere have clearly never driven anything more advanced and comfortable than a 1973 Pacer. Come on, Hyundai- you can't tell me that these idiots didn't know damn well that they were being filmed, and that if they read their lines with sufficient enthusiasm, they'd find their sorry, grinning faces on the TV.
I mean, let's be reasonable here. If this wasn't a set-up, we'd see at least one person saying SOMETHING that didn't sound like he was having an orgasm over one of your cars. We'd hear a curse word now and then, or something, ANYTHING negative about the car being driven. This is supposed to be "uncensored," right? Oh, but maybe that's different from "unedited," as in "here at Hyundai we think it's perfectly honest to show you five seconds of conversation from a 20-minute test drive and call that 'uncensored.'"
So, "hidden" cameras catching "unsuspecting" drivers in ecstasy over the prospect of purchasing a Hyundai- yeah, right. But then, what can we expect from a car company that encourages us to seek out "second opinions" concerning Hyundai from the Official Hyundai Website? I'm sure that's at least as "uncensored" as the clips from this commercial.
"Here at Hyundai, we just assume that our customers are easily-deceived morons who can be bought off with the promise of a few seconds of tv face time, OR have no respect for their own right to privacy. Either way, we think we should be your car company." Pass.
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These clearly aren't even real test drives. No car company in the world is going to let you behind the wheel of one of their cars -- nevermind let you drive off the lot -- without a salesman, yet not once in these commercials do we see one.
ReplyDeleteExcellent point. I have taken a lot of test drives, and it's never been "hey, you and your friend take it for a spin, let us know how you like it when you get back." Just more BS from Hyundai.
ReplyDeleteWhere I live, unchaperoned test drives happen, but it's still clearly not as it's described, because in the last segment, the one where the guy is talking about how he's embarrassed to have spent the money on the Mercedes, I've seen the blonde woman in some other commercial before.
ReplyDeleteWayne, like I said- these commercials are stunningly dishonest. Hyundai is actively trying to sell us on the idea that these videos are "uncensored," when only a complete idiot would buy in. Why would anyone buy a car from a company which treats it's potential customers like this?
ReplyDeleteDoes anyone recognize the black girl that's driving in the commercial? Her face looks so familiar but I can't place it for the life of me. At the 0:35 second mark she's in the lower left quadrant of the screen. There are two "Hyundai Uncensored" commercials...in the second one, she's singing some mad up "rap" song. Anyone recognize her?
ReplyDeleteFord did something similar, when they filmed "NOT ACTORS!" test driving their cars. Can these people legally get away with making a false claim like that?
ReplyDelete"Can these people legally get away with making a false claim like that?"
ReplyDeleteWell in another comment some noted that Hyundai probably is using their own tortured version of words like unsuspecting and uncensored and ... . And I'm sure there are disclaimers printed on the screen fora few seconds . Probably hard to notice since font size is pica 8 and the text color is the same as the background :-) So "caveat emptor" !
If you look closely at the commercial, there's a split second shot at an angle where you can clearly see a black "hidden" camera in the top right corner of the cabin. So if these people are not paid, they definitely know they are on camera. Shady marketing tactics if you ask me.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I can't stand their Christmas commercials..the one with the lady and guy. They are sooo annoying.