It’s easy to take things for granted, and that’s a mistake. The world we live in right now, with all of its problems and concerns, is also an astounding one in many ways. One of those ways is producing car commercials that would have required a team of professionals just a couple of years ago is now in the hands of individuals. I know this because this guy made an incredibly professional-looking commercial to sell his girlfriend’s 1996 Honda Accord.
The guy’s name is Max Lanman, and as you can guess, he’s a writer and director with some experience doing this sort of thing. He emailed me about this ad, and was remarkably blasé about it:
“I made a commercial to help sell my girlfriend’s used 1996 Honda Accord (a very Meh Car).”
That’s it. And then you see the ad:
It’s insane how much this looks and feels like so many other car ads you’ve seen in your life. This could have been on television at any time and you’d have ignored it like you do any professional car ad, unless you were really paying attention. That’s impressive.
The ad is already working, since the bidding for the fiercely mundane Accord is up to an absurd $20,600 at the moment, though I have a sneaky suspicion that some of those bids may be less than genuine. The Kelley Blue Book value on one of these is $1,517 in excellent condition, which is the top of the line:
I wonder if that slick trunk-mounted mirror is included? The small print at the end of the ad makes it clear that the cat and coffee pot are not included with the car, but that the rubber duck collection and cassette adapter are.
Too bad about the cat. That cat sure is comfortable in that car.
Also, the small print lets us know that the woman in the ad is not the actual girlfriend, but an actress, and that the actual girlfriend did do the driving, and is now an actual fiancé.
Mazel tov! Good luck on selling that car, you overkilling loon.