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New horrible Cadillac commercial.

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I think this is really obnoxious. And sad.

I know this is supposed to be “selling” the brand. The Cadillac name. (That has been tarnished for so many years by so many bad cars)
But it doesn’t work. That name isn’t worth that much anymore. Just show some cars!

The brand name isn’t there yet. No matter what they think, they are not in the same level as Mercedes and BMW in people’s mind. Not even Audi. (Which are now more and more just fancier VWs)

This is a horrible ad that feels desperate and out of touch.

(Cadillac has already said there will be more ads actually showing cars coming soon. What a genius adea!)

The problem is, their current designs are quite boring. They don’t stand out. And when they try to, they end up looking a bit vulgar. Like they are trying too hard.

They do have really nice driving cars. They just need designs that make more of a statement.
And from what I’ve seen of the upcoming CT6 top of the line sedan, we might have to wait quite a while for that great Cadillac design.
To be honest, I do think the ELR looks great. But at over $75 000, it IS a joke.


This is a commercial from the late 50’s.
Back when Cadillac wasn’t afraid to actually show their cars.

Conversation 21 comments

  3. So they mined Theodore Roosevelt for a tagline? Classy. And original. And shameless. And… so totally about what I would've expected from them.

    I can't wait for the new Camaro's unveiling–a day, according to GM, that will live in infamy.

    Ich bin ein Berliner!

  4. who, Who, WHO in that ad agency thought this ad would sell even one Caddy?
    To the contrary it will probably sell a lot of Lincolns.

  6. Caddy needs more classic and original designs like the new Buick concept sedan. You're right Vince, they are trying too hard. Like an ugly girl with too much makeup. Real beauty doesn't need to try too hard!

  7. Totally agree with you on this one Vince! A waste of time for us and a waste of money for Cadillac. Show the damn car!

  8. I hate all these history/come back from the ashes ads. Lincoln has done them too.

    What these automakers seem to forget is that the market they are targeting probably has NO Idea what these ads are talking about. They don't remember the Cimmaron, the Catera, the V8-6-4, or any of the other crappy cars Cadillac put out. They just don't have Cadillac on the radar at all.

    So if Cadillac came out with ads that were confident, and showed their cars as luxurious, bold, aggressive, sexy, etc, maybe customers would come.

    Why have some sort of weak history ad that reminds people that the brand sucked for 20 years?? Makes no sense.

  9. Its trying hard to emulate a Chrysler ad. And your right–it fails. Lacks the emotion of the Chrysler Ads. As to Cadillac's styling, I love the exteriors, but the interiors are no better than BMW or Audi–not quite up to the level of the latest from Mercedes. Where the A4,A6,S8 are too bland; the Cadillacs are all too busy. Only Mercedes hits the sweet spot (which is nothing short of phenominal considering how disgustingly vulgar MB interiores were from the 1990's all the way back to the first Merc's)

  10. I'm an Audi A5 owner now and previously had BMW's. As a kid, my grandparents and dad had Cadillac's and I always liked them. I really really want to like Cadillac's. So much so that I test drove the ATS before buying an A5. The dash is horrible and I can't get over the "Cadillac" nameplate and what it became the past 30 years. I want them to succeed. I want to one day actually see a Cadillac that is worth buying. I want to see their prestige come back. I do agree the ELR is a beautiful car but the price is ridiculous (although you can pick a 2014 up now for about 50K). Come on Cadillac, bring us back to your glory days!

  11. And don't even get me started on the Gage cluster in the ATS. And the CTS has the ugliest rear-end I've ever seen.

  12. Once again, you've proven that you know nothing about cars. Oh – and you can't spell or type either.

  13. I thought it was a tourism ad for NYC. But the ad was way too rambling… I just passively listened and was more interested in the (awesome, but seemingly unrelated) imagery. Remember Infiniti's water/rocks ads that didn't show the car? It is regarded as one of the worst campaigns of all time. Unless Cadillac pulls this campaign together with some amazing follow up spots that illustrates the virtues of the cars, this branding effort is going to hit with a thud.

    To you Cadillac may not mean much. But people gladly pay six figures for an escalade. So Cadillac has the brand equity to justify playing with the Germans, however latent it may be.

    Cadillac is making an honest attempt to be an avantgarde brand. I disagree with you Vince, about the designs. I find the CTS V to be one of the smartest looking and most unique designs to launch in years. The ATS is terrible looking in pictures. But I was shocked at the curb appeal in person. A car that appeals to everyone is sure to be mediocre. If Cadillac designs cars with the juvenile fake aggression of Lexus, or the hyper conservative designs of the Germans, no one will give them any consideration.

    And Vince, you really need to stop saying that Audis are just tarted up VWs. That's so inaccurate. It makes you sound like a common punk that doesn't know what he's talking about. Also, Audi has the largest market share of households with an HHI of over 300k. So you would be wise to take note of what they are doing.

  15. Vince, I totally agree with you about the abominable quality of this Ad.

    For a car brand on the ropes, this Ad does more to reinforce just how horrible Cadillac cars are. It is not just a visual and audio atrocity, it is depressingly morbid and it feels like a funeral procession for Cadillac.

    If this is what the new head of Cadillac, Johan de Nysschen believes will get their target market to "reconsider" the brand, someone needs to take away his meth pipe! What a disaster!

  16. Seriously Vince, I thought you were being very harsh on Caddie's new commercial, so I clicked it …

    … and wasted 90 seconds of my life. I apologize profusely for having doubted you. That was absolutely one of the stupidest, most boring and 100% unappealing and irrelevant car commercials ever made.

  17. Have you looked at a Mercedes lately, February 20, 2015 at 4:58 PM? I would hardly call the bulk of their portfolio conservative these days.

    And would you all stop bashing Vince's grammar? As far as I know he's from Eastern Europe, and he is not a native English speaker.

  18. Apologizing for the mediocre crap you sold people in the past doesn't help you TODAY. Cadillac needs to show their products in a creative and strong way.
    The odd thing is they are now (finally) selling very decent products. The CTS, to my eye, is almost perfect. The rear styling doesn't match the aggressive front style, though. The ATS is the most attractive car they sell. This might be a good thing to help bring in the affluent young people to buy now and again in the future.
    Maybe this commercial is what they think they need to get people back in the dealerships again.
    I bought a Volvo S60 2 years ago. For the same money I could have bought a Cadillac, BMW, Lexus, Infiniti or Acura. I was leaning towards Acura because I've owned one and I know their reliability. But, Acura's styling at the time (and arguably still) was a little too "beaky" and in your face. Then there is perception: Cadillac; unreliable, "old man" car. BMW & Lexus; great cars but somewhat expensive to maintain and a little too flashy. Infiniti; nothing attracted me at the time.
    This Cadillac commercial didn't just come out of thin air. This advertising agency did some kind of public perception analysis. Probably asking people what they thought about all certain brands of vehicles. Bet Cadillac had a lot of "unreliable" and "old people drive them" comments.

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