Friday, March 14, 2008

Buick does it again.


There is a Buick ad on the front page of today's Wall Street Journal a beaming picture of Tiger Woods wearing a ridiculous green apron with a giant Buick logo on it. (Of course, Mr. Logo himself has in his contract that he can't be shown without wearing a Nike emblazoned hat, but the fact that Woods is merely a spokes-shill for any company willing to pay him millions hasn't deterred the "marketers" at either GM or Leo Burnett, Buick's agency.

Does anyone anywhere really believe that Tiger Woods, the Bill Gates of the links, drives a Buick? But that's besides the point I guess.

The headline says, "Win Tiger as your caddy." For some reason the word caddy is italicized, but I can't figure out why. Is it a reference to Cadillac? Or is the notion of Tiger Woods carrying your golf bag so stupendous that Burnett italicized the word to underscore the high-comedy of this concept.

About ten years ago, Buick sold almost one-million cars a year in the US. Today they sell way fewer than 300,000. Most people wouldn't be caught dead in a Buick showroom without their portable oxygen tanks. In other words the brand is wholly irrelevant.
Does anyone believe that linking the brand to Woods will invigorate Buick?

I hearby proclaim this ad campaign and its website www.teeoffwithtiger.com as the winner of Ad Aged's first DUMMY AWARD for meritorious efforts in insulting the intelligence of the public, wasting money and jerking off in public.

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