San Francisco agency Duncan/Channon has a new campaign for client DriveTime, or “the number-one used car chain for the credit-strapped.” Building on last year’s “Rescued” campaign, the agency again called on the comedic directorial duo Adam & Dave from production company Arts & Sciences to entertain and inform you about the client’s services.
The first spot “Hold the Lemon” involves a bit of old-school freestyling and almost recalls Reno 911!:
Back in October, we brought you news of David&Goliath’s new campaign for Kia Optima starring L.A. Clippers power forward Blake Griffin and Jack McBrayer (an actor best known for his work on 30 Rock) as a superhero team saving people from non-Kia purchases. We were a bit disappointed with the initial spot, but hoped that the spot’s title “Trailer” indicated it was just a teaser for things to come. Now, David&Goliath have released two new spots for the campaign, “Zipline” (featured above) and “Apologize to You.” Unfortunately, both fail to live up to the potential of the premise.
“Zipline” features Blake Griffin and sidekick Jack McBrayer crashing in on a lame Internet shopping session. They present the Optima as a better option, to a man who is understandably freaked out by this series of events. Griffin and McBrayer have good chemistry together, but the spot fails to capitalize on it and ultimately falls flat. It might help if the two interacted more, instead of seemingly splitting screen time in separate shots.
That “Zipline” is actually the better of the two spots should tell you something about “Apologize to You.” The spot features Griffin and a fire extinguisher-wielding McBrayer demanding a passerby apologize for not selecting the Optima. It’s repetitive to say the least, lacking any real substance in exchange for a failed attempt at cheap laughs. Hopefully, the folks over at David&Goliath can rebound from these efforts, as we still think this campaign has the potential to be funny. Credits and “Apologize to You” after the jump. continued…
San Francisco agency Duncan/Channon have a new campaign for DriveTime that attempts to mine buddy comedies and old cop shows to make funny spots about buying a car with poor credit.
The two new spots, directed by Adam Brodie & Dave Derewlany, feature a team of two adorably dorky women (I’m intentionally avoiding the term “adorkable” here) driving around a homemade rescue vehicle. When the two see credit-crunched car shoppers they come to the rescue, bringing them to DriveTime where they can expect low-priced leases and loans despite poor credit. In one of the spots, the couple rescue a woman denied a car loan at a dealer; in the other it’s a man crammed into a packed bus who thinks he “can’t afford a car.” With DriveTime’s low-priced leases, he “can’t afford not to get a car” the two say at the same time.
Its brand of cutesy humor isn’t anything new, but it is kind of a fresh approach for selling this type of brand, usually populated by more downbeat messages about how you no longer have to let bad credit stand in your way. As such, the spots are welcome, even if one of them (“Keepin’ It Real”) falls flat on its face. “Next Stop Freedom” (featured above) is a little more successful thanks to an unexpected bit thrown in at the end. There’s potential for the approach to go places, and at the very least it moves away from the tired “Do you have bad credit?” opening spots we’ve all seen a million times. I’m interested to see where Duncan/Channon take this in the future. Credits and “Keepin’ It Real” after the jump. continued…
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