What is a Car Company?

Recently I have seen the new Firestone Tires commercial on television and rather than tuning out or changing the channel, as I often do when another boring and redundant (and sometimes misleading) car commercial comes on, this one made me listen. The opening line just grabbed my attention:  "There's only one car company in America that's never made a single car." It left me thinking and wanting to know how that is possible and I asked myself, "What is a car company?'

Now, although I drive a steel grey (that is fading) 1986 Volkwagon Quantum with 13-inch wheels that could be used as training wheels, I am very interested in cars. Also, throughout my time in college studying marketing and advertising, I have been reduced to having little faith in the automobile marketing world, or scheme if you prefer that I'm honest. Car commercials are all about saying what is flashy and attention-grabbing while disguising all of the downfalls. This Firestone commercial, however, just struck my as being boldly honest and confident, and that was kind of refreshing for me and maintained my attention.

 

 

The message in this ad is crystal clear:  if you drive cars for their performance and "value your car because of what you do with it," make sure that you are getting all of the performance that you can possibly get by putting Firestone tires on your car.

The problem that Firestone could be facing is that the majority of people use their car strictly as a means of transportation to get from point A to point B. And because of this, those people do not value or take the time to search for the best tires, they simple go with what is the cheapest. Cutting back on expenses is the new trend and necessary action in this country with the state of the economy and Firestone wants to make sure that people don't "cut back" on the love for their cars and their driving experiences along with it.

What Firestone is trying to do with this ad is to reinstill the attitude that driving is fun and that you should enjoy, take care of, and experience your car for all that it is worth and that you should not hold it back. With their expert knowledge and passion for cars, even though they don't manufacture the cars that you drive themselves, they are still a "car company."

I have known that Firestone makes tires but this is really the first advertisement that I remember seeing for Firestone, and in my opinion, it is very powerful and will resonate with the consumers. So as the "new car smell" and the paint start to fade from your cars, make sure that the performance and the thrill of driving doesn't fade with it.