We were rightfully skeptical towards Chevrolet ditching the meaningless “Chevy Runs Deep” tagline for the sounds-like-it-came-from-Saab “Find New Roads.” What exactly does "Find New Roads" mean for such a mainstream icon like the bow tie? It took me a while it come to terms with it, but I actually think it’s one of the best whole lineup ads in a while – except for that damn robot dog.
Chevy means everything from cheap transportation to muscle-car performance, but it’s clearly an everyman’s brand. It was effective 50 years ago and it’s trying to get that relevance today. The problem has been the job GM has done to give it to give it the resources to be everything for every pocket. The Corvette has had speed, but not the refinement of something with equivalent status. The top-rung Impalas have been nothing more than pleather-lined fake wood-paneled living rooms.
There are signs that’s changing. I think both the 2014 Impala and the 2014 Corvette Stingray look damn good, Travis recently found out the Chevy Sonic RS is a good value and not the cringe-inducing subcompact the company used to force upon the small car customer.
I don’t know what the ad had to do with finding new roads, but it does sell Chevrolet as more than a brand of car seen in government fleets and Avis rental lots. It also reinforces Chevy is a brand with multiple personalities, something for almost everyone and something that's out to please most buyers – from the fashion conscious to the speed crazy and everything in between.
It's hard to do a broad, lineup-wide commercial and I think it's pretty good ... except for that robot dog. The 90-second spot opens and ends with a robodog roaming around and travelling with a family in a Chevy Volt, and it's there to show the future and high-tech blah blah. That's fine, but the dog is so cheesy and so eyeroll-inducing. It gets really bad at the end when the dog and a deer look like they're about to get it on. Cringeworthy. I also miss the Tim Allen voiceover, it just sounded more car guy-ish, and less like a health insurance ad.
Watch it for yourself and see if you agree that there's a good marketing campaign somewhere in here, so long as they keep the hokey robodog out of future spots.