Putting a celebrity in your ad will make your car sell better, right? Jalopnik readers know ten ads that question that maxim.
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The goal of a car ad, we suppose, is to get you to remember the car. By that measure, all of these ads are unqualified successes. If the ad is good, you see a famous face, you smile, and you think of that car when it's time to go for a trade-in.
If the ad is awful (and there are a few really awful examples here), then you definitely do not forget that ad anytime soon. Look at Gary Busey up there putting his name in front of a local Kia dealership, flailing around like a maniac. Not something that goes out of your head.
Are there any amazingly terrible/amazing car ads with celebrities that we forgot about? Let us know in Kinja below.
Photo Credit: PrimeTimeAdvertising (the story on why Busey is doing Kia dealership ads is right here)
10.) Leo DiCaprio For Honda
You may think of a Leo DiCaprio as a person who is good at standing near the front of boats or saying the n-word a lot, but he's surprisingly adept at selling out for Civic in Japanese-market ads.
Suggested By: MrToppo
9.) Wilt Chamberlain For VW
This ad falls on the 'best' side of the 'best/worse' scale, showing off everything that's great about the classic self deprecating era of Volkswagen ads.
Suggested By: phenotyp
8.) J-Lo For Fiat
Contrariwise, this ad falls very far on the 'worst' side. It really couldn't have gone worse for Fiat with this one. Jenny from the block didn't actually go to the block for the shooting, the car broke down, and it got the company riled up in anti-Iranian sentiments.
Suggested By: The Scrambler
7.) Brad Pitt For Toyota
Right in the middle is Brad Pitt, shaking his bon bon for a JDM Corolla. Not bad, not good, just put this one in the WTF files.
Suggested By: For Sweden
6.) Nigel Tufnel For VW
When we heard Spinal Tap was going to shill for VW, our hopes were not high. We failed to remember that everything Spinal Tap touches turns to gold.
Suggested By: phaze1todd
5.) Stalker George Clooney For Daihatsu
A surprisingly creepy George Clooney worked for Daihatsu back in his younger days. He got much better when he worked for Fiat...oh wait, no, still stalkerish.
Suggested By: Johann Amadeus Metesky and For Sweden
4.) Jackie Chan For Mitsubishi
Jackie has been a representative for Mitsubishi for years, which is why his movie "Who Am I?" had one of the coolest clips of car control in video history, done with a Mitsubishi Evo. In any case, he can turn an otherwise nonsensical bland ad into something genuinely enjoyable.
Suggested By: DIRTEE30
3.) Robert DeNiro For AMC
No, it's not an outtake for one of Scorceses' college films, it's an ad for American Motors.
Suggested By: Moffman911
2.) Jean Reno As Doraemon For Toyota
Jean Reno, the coolest man in the known universe, is currently working for Toyota to try and get Japanese kids to drive again, particularly sports cars. Noble effort. Also, he's Doraemon.
Suggested By: Patrick George
1.) Ricardo Montalban For Chrysler
Nothing scores as highly on the 'best/worst' scale as Latino rights promoter and famous overacter Ricardo Montalban playing along with Chrysler's not-from-Corinth Corinthian leather. If you think this is just some funny random old car ad, it had a serious, lasting effect on people as reader HammerheadFistpunch tells.
I have a story about that ad. My mom told me about how Ricardo Montalban use to sell a car call the Cordoba and she though it was the sexiest thing she had ever heard. So, for 35 years every time he wanted to sound sexy and seducing he would whisper "Cordoba" in his best Ricardo in her ear. It was their "secret code word". He passed away recently and we gave he a locket with a picture of him in it and the word "Cordoba" on the back.
Talk about impact.
Suggested By: The Scrambler