[TrackZ03]

I was thinking earlier tonight how great the Nissan ads were for the Z32's back in the 90's and was wondering why Nissan never really launched any commercial campaigns for the 350. If they did, they were very brief and hardly run.

Any reason to this? Just curious.

 

[smoothz]

Heck, I thought the Z32 ads were rare. I know The Run was aired in theaters, and I've seen maybe 1 or 2 ads of the Z. For the most part, I think Nissan relied on the history of the Z and the suspense of not saturating the market and letting people find out on their own about the Z. It lends itself to a certain mystique. Makes people more curious about an elusive car no one hardly sees on TV.

 

[TrackZ03]

It may depend on particular city markets also but I happen to remember seeing the 300Z ads all the time. Not that I had a problem with it - Used to turn up the tv real loud and imagine myself driving one. They were really creative commercials on Nissans part.

 

[smoothz]

The best Z32 ad was by Ridley Scott. It had the bad guys chasing the silver Z...that gave me goosebumps. Especially at the end when the narrator says, "...and the turbos kick in..." or something like that. :shiftdrive:

edit~ “So I’m having a dream,” the narrator says. “I’m in a Turbo 300 and these guys are after me — and they can’t catch me.”

 

[TrackZ03]

I think I know which one that is...

Starts off with, "So, I'm having this dream...I'm in a turbo Z...and these guys are after me..."

The Z is then chased down by 2 bikes, a formula 1 car and then a jet which are fail to catch up the Z. That was a bad ass commercial.

I actually have that one saved on my computer.

 

[smoothz]

[/quote]
Funny, but I just found it. Downloading that one right now. It's huuuuuge!

I had it on my old drive that crashed on me. I can't believe I'm being impatient about the file size, and I have cable internet. :lol:

 

[smoothz]

http://www.yadamnfool.com/Z_Commercials2.htm

 

[TrackZ03]

You know another great one was where the GI Joe guy was driving around in remote control Z32 and was picking up the Barbie look-a-like to the tune of Van Halen.

 

[smoothz]

[/quote]
That one was made by a superstar marketing guy that won all kinds of awards after it aired. Classic! The song was "You Really Got Me."

 

[TrackZ03]

[/quote]

Ah, I think that's where I grabbed mine from but I couldn't remember the link. Good find!

I think they added some new ones in there. Looks like I'll be downloading for awhile!

 

[zlegend]

Recently I've been seeing a few product commercials w/ Zs: Mobil One and a wax/paint care product, can't think of what it is though.

 

[hazade]

I think the Z pretty much sells itself and Nissan knows it. They figure everybody who would want a Z would already know about it so why waste money on advertising. I remember a brief run of commercials for the Z when it was first released.. it was a black and white commercial with the Z driving through a desert, but thats about it. I even noticed on Nissans commercials such as the Drive to a Million campaign they hardly even show the Z while they flip through the rest of the line of vehicles.

 

[shezzzhot]

Thanks for the find. We're one of the featured car sites!!

I loved that Barbie/GI Joe commercial!! And I vaguely recall a commercial with an Asian guy wearing a baseball cap holding a Jack Russell Terrier saying Datsun or Nissan! I have a Jack and a Z LOL...media makes a difference!

 

[z_man46]

[/quote]


Yeah, It's a Redline Z in a Black Magic commercial.

 

[DiRN]

[/quote]
I thought they were the same commercial

 

[Richard 350z]

Car mfgrs. don't advertise low volume niche vehicles that already have high demand. Nissan advertises Altimas and Frontiers because that's where they make their profits, on those high volume vehicles. It doesn't advertise 350Z. Didn't you already know you wanted a 350Z when you bought yours, without having to see a TV commercial?

Mitsubishi advertises Eclipses and Monteros, not EVOs.

Subaru advertises Legacy's and Foresters, not STi's

Honda advertises Camrys and Odysseys, not S2000s

BMW Advertises 325s and 525s, not M3 and M5

Audi advertises A4 and A6, not S4 and RS6

Etc. Etc. Etc.

 

[TrackZ03]

[/quote]

Well said and best answers my question. I guess I was more or less comparing it with the frequent advertising of the Z32 back in the day.

I knew I wanted this car more than anything when I saw it at the NY auto show in 2002.

 

[smoothz]

Speaking of which, I've noticed that Mazda sure has a lot of air time for the RX8... :rolf2: Then again, I've seen a few Porsche ads, too.

 

[cedusett]

First off, I think Richard is only partly correct. I rarely see any commercials for cars that aren't new... only commercials for sales that happen to be going on. The only exception I can definitely point out is the truck vs. truck commercials that seem to be on every 3 seconds.

I know that in 2003 I saw a lot of commercials for the new Z, and there were a few commercials for the roadsters when they first came out as well. I think we see altima's and frontiers in their ads because, as the fine print says, these deals do not apply to all models and the Z is one of those not-applicable cars. I don't recall seeing any commercials specifically saying how great the Altima was any time in the near past either.

This is also why you never see the corvette featured in the Chevy commercials: because "certain models do not apply" to Chevy-Fest 73 going on this weekend.

Perfect case in point: Remember how many times we had to see that lame frozen guy in teh new Mustang commercial during the super bowl? New car... new commercial. I think all the other car commercials are more based on sales.

 

[smoothz]

Remember the Vette ad with the kids in it? That was great, but it was for a new line.

I don't think Richard's theory applies to all cars, but I do think you see less ads on those nice cars because their reputation sells them.