Leaf Commercial

Awww... that made both me and my Dear Hubby leak a little.

*sniff*

 

I'm inclined to agree with you, hill.

Although I disconnected the bear from GW once he started roaming through human infrastructure and the context changed to one of habitat loss. That is my job though so it is to be expected. lol

 

I think it might have been more entertaining if the bear had mauled the man, but that's me. Maybe have the guy driving a suv with a drill baby drill bumper sticker....

It seemed well done, not sure if it will sell many cars though.

 

It's a brilliant sixty seconds of video. And like any commercial, drilling down deeper into it isn't very rewarding.

 

Atleast one ;-)

Nissan LEAF Polar Bear Ad - ApteraForum.com - Unofficial Aptera Car Forum

 

I don't like it.
I'll tell you why.
I don't like it for many of the same reasons I didn't particularly like The Toyota campaign with Prius.
This seems very much to me like advertising born out of what research and polls and focus groups SAY the target audience for EV's will be, and aimed at an idea they think will be universally accepted and understood by that same market. To me, its unrealistic and preaching to the choir. I hate preaching to the choir.

To me? That commercial does not sell a single leaf to anyone who wasn't going to buy one before seeing that commercial.

I have a lot of dare I say? Conservative friends, and I know exactly what they will say after viewing that commercial. They will say it's stupid. They'll say that the electricity taken off the grid to operate The Leaf contributes to Global Warming. They'll say the purchasers are delluded, self righteous idiots that expect nature to send Polar Bears to give them "hugs" for driving an EV instead of a ICE.

Sure, they'll be debatably wrong on a lot points. BUT what can I say?

Why is it that when selling a Prius or now a LEAF somewhere the collective brain trust seems to think we need to club people over the head with the idea that owning and operating one is like being Grizzly Adams in the suburbs?

When I argue the merits of Prius, and soon hopefully the Leaf, usually the best I can do with my Neanderthal Crowd is get an admission that maybe someday Hybrids will be "ready" but they just aren't good enough yet....

And that's why I would hope for some advertising that isn't based on the idea that owning a machine...that does use resources, is somehow dry humping mother nature. I'd like some advertising that sells the car, on the merits of the car.

I know The Leaf won't be for everyone, I know it isn't. But it seems to me we won't reach mainstream acceptance until we stop preaching to the choir and start trying to reach the mainstream. Suburban Polar Bear Hugs and Singing and Swaying Felt Covered Nature Sprites....are NOT going to do it.

If you REALLY care about making a difference, it's not those that believe in Global Warming and want to buy an EV that you have to reach. It's those that currently think they would never buy a hybrid or an EV, and that those that do are marginalized misguided zealots. Commercials such as these simply reinforce the stereotypes I feel are wrongly applied.

The Prius is a hybrid. It's get's great gas mileage and has ultra low emmisions. But what I have a hard time convincing a lot of people of, is that besides all that, it's also a great vehicle. You can really choose The Prius as a functioning automotive choice.

Don't get me wrong. I have nothing against the message that chosing an EV is an ecologically wise choice. I just know that message will not reach those that don't currently embrace it already. Especially with something that to many is as alien and new as a Nissan Leaf...pure EV...don't tell me owning one will mean I get molested by a Polar Bear in my driveway...show me how the car can actually be used, how it actually works...and what makes it a viable choice.

 

well said. i hate the prius commercials.

 

The commercial is dumb.
There's no man made global warming.
Polar bears are not endangered.
Bears do not care one way or another what any human is doing never mind what car they drive.
Bears do not share empathy and affection with humans. They maul them.

I completely agree with one of the initial comments on advertising the Leaf as fighting terrorism.

I also agree with the sentiment that this commercial isn't going to sell a single car. It will alienate the EV movement from the rest of us by pandering to BS globalist taxation scheme that is abusing science of global warming.

However, the truth of the matter is that it's a great choice if we want to eliminate the use of foreign oil by replacing it with domestically produced energy, begin to balance our trade imbalance, cut the petro dollars off to the loons in the middle east, Mexico, south America, Russia and Nigeria, negate the need to have a miltary presence in the middle east and elsewhere and begin to obliterate the traiterous Kissinger's world view that we should be interdependent on the middle east based on oil Kissinger as Economist - Secretary Employs Sophisticated Brief In Arguing for 'Interdependence' on Oil - Article - NYTimes.com

The pseudo-Enviros can still feel good about the car while the rest of us know we are strenghening our country.

Plug in and cut off the middle east.

Build 300 nukes to eliminate ALL fossil fuel burning in commercial power plants.

 

Buying an all electric car will not save polar bears. Polar bears would kill a human even if he buys an all electric car.

 

...and eating as a vegan saves much, much more petroleum, eases an incredible burden off fresh water supplies, removes a major source of pollution, and improves health.

However, this ad was not about truth - it is an advertisement. Try not to bring too much literal mindedness to the table, hmm?

 

That is dumb.

There is man made global warming.
Polar bears are endangered.

OTOH,

Buying Leaf will not stop terrorism
Buying Leaf will not offset oil usage increase in China
Buying Leaf will not offset oil depletion

 

The polar bear population has increased. Polar bears can live in climates as warm as the Franklin zoo in Boston. That's irrelevant as there is no man made global warming and if the globe is naturally warming it's beyond our control.

If everybody who's commute profile is compatible with a leaf bought one, we'd be a much stronger nation on our way to reducing our petro imports by 40%. If we then need more electricity, then we star building clean, safe nuclear plants. This would allow us to shut down the grotesque pollution factories called coal plants or CO2 belching gas or oil electrical stations. We'd then be on our way to 100% energy independece.


Building 300 nukes will eliminate the need to burn any fossil fuels in our power plants.
The unused nocturnal capacity could be used to charge the entire US fleet of electric commuter vehicles or crack hydrogen for fuel cell powered vehicles. The freed up supply of natural gas is 100% domestic and could be used as the balance of trasportation fuel.

We would not ever need to import a single drop of oil.

This would be the best way to fight terrorism as it would deprive the outside world of 500 billion dollars a year which does fund Saudi sponsored terrorism among others.

We would no longer be fighting in the middle east because of our "oil addiction" as the leftists haven't stopped harping on for decades. As we are told, because we are imperialists using our military to steal oil from the middle east, we are hated and the terrorism is merely the chickens coming home to roost. This reason would be eliminated.

China would not suck up the 26 mm bbl of oil a day we would no longer be consuming. Prices would tumble, and terrorist states like Saudi and Iran or imperialist states the Russia would have fewer dollars to wage war against us.

China is legislating EV usage to curb its oil demand.

There is no meaningful oil depletion. When the government or BP could not hide the actual productivity of an oil well because they were dumping it in the Gulf, we found that a single well was spilling 0.5% of the entire domestic consumption of oil. The Ruskies have long believed there is unlimited oil being generated deep inside the earth and you simple need to go down 30000 feet to get it. Deep Sea Horizons ultra deep well visibly demonstrated that the oil is there.

 

I think it's fantastic.

 

Unfortunately, I think it fails to sell more Leafs (Leaves, Levii, ?). If you are going to get a large market to buy Nissan's first generation electric car, you will need more information/motivation than getting a polar bear hug.

 

I agree that advertising is often not about the truth. I'd say despite my criticism, if I'm just evaluating the ad itself I could see where people would like it. It's entertaining, does get a message across in an unpredictable way...good and good.

Speaking only for myself I do not dislike the ad because I think it misrepresents the relationship between mankind and polar bears. I'm not viewing it as a nature documentary.

My biggest criticism, is while I find it well executed, well made, and even entertaining to watch, it's "cutesy" Eco message preaches to the choir.

I really do believe that you probably have advertising people looking at polls and feedback and concluding that the majority of "alternative" automobile purchasers are ecologically concious people who would like to make the world a better place. Thus you get ad's such as the one for the leaf, and the current campaign for Prius.

In of itself those ads are fine. But I would like to at least move towards a time where we stop presenting The Leaf, The Prius as the "Quirky" choice within automobiles. The choice not made because the vehicle is a great vehicle but the choice made because somebody grew up watching Captain Planet Cartoons.

I move between two worlds. I spend a lot of time in a "College Like" enviroment where Prius and alternative automobiles are embraced, understood and generally championed.

I also spend time among those that think that Prius is a joke.

In the second enviroment, it's hard for me to advance past the stereotypes attached to Prius when the advertising continues to singularly embrace those stereotypes itself.

So in both cases I'd like a little more "truth" in advertising. Truth is nature is not singing, dancing and happy to see a Prius...despite it's numerous advantages as a hybrid, it's still a machine.

Truth is The Leaf, in of itself will not save the disappearing Ice Shelf and/or motivate Polar Bears to make long migratory journeys into urban centers to give "hugs" to humans that have been foresighted and compassionate enough to purchase a Leaf.

I'm not asking for a total abandoment of these ideas, I'd just like to see a coinciding attempt to mainstream the idea of alternative automobiles by showing the masses how "normal" they can actually be, not how "Quirky" or Ecologically responsible.

Plus it will sound totally sexist of me, but I'll admit as a man? I kind of wish the ads for Prius and Leaf were not always so "Cute". Again, I'm not asking for huge fireball explosions, squealing tires, and breathtaking supermodels...but does every ad for an Electric or Hybrid have to subliminally advance the idea that my testicles have been removed? Just a little masculinity? How could it hurt?

Other vehicles are sold on the real or imagined, projected merits and capabilities of the vehicle. For some reason advertisers seem afraid to sell Hybrids or Electrics on those same merits...they seem to want to attach or distract us from the vehicle by making the choice the equivalent of asking for paper instead of plastic...and there is nothing wrong with this...but why ONLY this?

 

I think that both Nissan and Toyota would be totally on to something if they took these points into consideration.

Frankly, for 10 years, while I never really paid any attention the the Prius other that lodging in the back of my head that the price differential really wasn't worth it, I would have never considered buying one. I certainly wasn't one of those who despised the Prius, but I didn't have any love for it or the self righteous ecofreaks who'd burn down a Hummer dealership as quickly as they'd drive a Prius. (There ARE a few of those types here.)

I'd considered briefly a Hybrid Escape the year they were introduced back in '04 or whatever, but again, the cost differential and the lack of a 3rd row seat and having a young family had me go in the direction of a minivan.

My Acura TL got totaled and this time I was determined to buy the most fuel efficient car I could get without a cost premium that negated the fuel savings. A used Prius was the way to go as they were dirt cheap right when all the crap about the unintended acceleration was there. And frankly, it's not enough of a market crossover vehicle that there is ANY market for used Priuses. The only people who would buy a used Prius are buying the Gen 3 Priuses.

What's my finding? Toyota should make the thing a bit more masculine looking. Some of the smaller Mazdas and VWs have enough of a masculine look to them. Toyota should market this vehicle as one of the best thought out and best engineered automobiles ever created. The technology across the board is marvelous, intense and elegant. If you are a geek, this car is for you. If you want he finest engineering money can buy, get a Prius.

As a bonus, I can put my wife in the car and she gets almost 50 MPG driving it like a "normal" car. This has huge potential for national security and balancing the trade deficit. Plus, while it's not quite up the the same level of luxury as the TL, it certainly isn't Shaker like in sparseness and the demand for self denial. It's a comfortable car with all the creature comforts you'd want.

That's what they should be marketing. They should NOT be marketing this eco-friendly nonsense as that is self defeating. The Nissan leaf commercial actually makes me want to puke in its mindlessly fictional ideology. You don't want the manstream having that reaction if it is mainstreaming EVs that you seek.

 

Am I the only one who watched that commercial and though of something that Frank Zappa might write, like "gag me with a spoon'???