Missing from this rollout, however, is the blitz of muscle-car advertising one might expect. GM has relegated most of its advertising to the internet, at its Camaro site, and in the new “Transformers” movie. Dodge doesn’t have a dedicated television ad for the Challenger, which only appears with other cars from Dodge’s lineup in ads for its Employee Pricing Plus Plus sale.
There’s still a chance Ford will break the trend with the Mustang launch, but no one at Ford is talking TV yet. So far, the biggest push has come from an online contest called “Mustang Stories.” The new Mustang has yet to go on sale, like the other two have.
With car sales down so significantly, it’s likely that automakers view putting a lot of money behind cars that target car geeks and enthusiasts as a fool’s errand (although all three vehicles have gotten high marks for improved fuel efficiency and practicality). Another possibility is that, with ad budgets tight, the Big Three sees the internet as a more cost-effective way to get the message out.
Either way, J.D. Power and Associates estimates that the sporty midsize coupe segment will be lucky to break 200,000 sales this year.
How to Get Consumers to Pony Up for Pony Cars? With Little Advertising (AdvertisingAge)
2009|Dodge|Challenger
2010|Chevrolet|Camaro
