[advert] Wheels Within Wheels — brief commentary on the Mercedes car advert …
!['I'm just lucky.'](https://i0.wp.com/www.timemachinego.com/linkmachinego/images/luckystar.jpg?resize=384%2C216)
‘…the Mercedes branding of Lucky Star is subtle, verging on imperceptible. Those who watch the trailer and are eager to find out more will unearth not a high-octane thriller, but an invitation to their nearest Mercedes showroom. Whether Mann’s glacé camerawork will then be enough to sustain that interest once they notice the car’s £92,000 price tag is moot. For Mercedes, it is evidently a risk worth taking. The prize, after all, is precious indeed: the neutering of our scepticism when confronted with advertising.’
!['I'm just lucky.'](https://i0.wp.com/www.timemachinego.com/linkmachinego/images/luckystar.jpg?resize=384%2C216)
‘…the Mercedes branding of Lucky Star is subtle, verging on imperceptible. Those who watch the trailer and are eager to find out more will unearth not a high-octane thriller, but an invitation to their nearest Mercedes showroom. Whether Mann’s glacé camerawork will then be enough to sustain that interest once they notice the car’s £92,000 price tag is moot. For Mercedes, it is evidently a risk worth taking. The prize, after all, is precious indeed: the neutering of our scepticism when confronted with advertising.’
Wheels within Wheels — Lucky Lucky Star…
This entry was posted on Thursday, July 11th, 2002 at 9:11 am and is filed under Adverts, Michael Mann, Movies.
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hmm.. does this kind of thing neuter or promote scepticism? judging by the reactions online, i’d say the latter, actually.
I think the point that the piece is making is that our scepticism is circumvented in the short-term. We don’t expect it to be advertising so we’re taken unawares. This is pretty much what I’ve been arguing on barbelith. The only possible reaction to it in the long-term however seems to be that one of the few remaining bastions of straight-down-the-line only-semi-cynical advertising – the trailer – becomes immediately suspicious and uncomfortable viewing…
As a trailer it excited me enough to want to watch the film and go and find out more. Unfortunately the more I found out was that there was no film, gutting as while there’s no way I’d buy a mercedes, I would have quite liked to watch the film.
I think with this you’ll either become endured to the advert through trailer style, or have all your critical faculties turned to 11. Neither of which is a very good reaction for advertisers.
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