The Corsa has just won What Car?'s Car of the year award, and the ad itself tops the old awareness-o-meter. It seems that I'm not alone in being a big fan of the spot. So, how did an ad such as this get to see the light of day? Maverick client combined with zany creatives at some gung-ho hotshop? I doubt it somehow. Having been accused a fair few times of substance abuse for work I've done, I can say for a fact that you don't get very far with the Cheech and Chong approach.
'You must have been off your face when you came up with that,' my mum would scowl upon seeing some new Tango ad of mine. 'No, mother, I think you'll find it was down to weeks of rigorous strategic thinking, a month of honing the creative through project teams, a dozen very discursive client meetings and a fair bit of qual and quant,' would be my snappy reply.
It is hard for ads to be joyous in our cynical media world. And the few that do manage to come across with a delightful abandon have more whirring grey cells behind them than damaged ones. I just wish there were more ads so non-cynical and carefree, that make you smile like a monkey.
After watching this, I haven't the faintest idea of what kind of person drives a Corsa. Which is, just maybe, where the marketing genius comes in: a car ad that doesn't try to label its driverstoo much, if at all. How many brands do you bar yourself from buying because you don't want to be labelled? Anyone can drive the Corsa; it just stands for fun.
And if you don't want to be associated with fun, then I guess I won't be seeing you for my birthday party at The Coffee House next Saturday.