Truth in Advertising: the 2011 Mediocrity
Wednesday, November 17, 2010 at 8:28PM Last month, Subaru unveiled a series of hilarious videos poking fun at mainstream family sedans. If you haven't seen them yet, you have to at least watch this one, which features earnest, hardworking designers articulating their vanilla-tinted vision of motoring ordinariness. The ads are funny, but they do sort of dance around the hard question of why it is that mediocrity is so pervasive in corporate design culture --even at Subaru. Sorry guys but the B9 ("benign" like a tumor that won't kill you?) Tribeca is nothing but warmed over Alfa 147 design cues stretched to grotesque proportions.
In reality, designers usually don't sit down and figure out how to make an intentionally bland car, but somehow at the end of the process a bland car is what results. If only it were a question of just setting out with the right goals from the start, but in truth mediocrity is a result of an insidious and self-destructive corporate culture that warps otherwise talented individuals into collectively ruining the fruits of their own labor -- a non-process that twists good notions into bad results. What I love about this campaign is to see the truth of it all so perfectly labelled: Mediocrity is the only way to describe it.
2011, Mediocrity, Subaru, advertising, video, viral in Advertising Review
Reader Comments (5)
Ironically, they're working closely with Toyota for the FT-86 platform/car and yet they're calling out bland cars?!
i think that, by virtue of creating a monstrosity like the tribeca (an example of design by committee?), there is a bit of pot-calling-the-kettle-black going on here with this ad campaign...
Yes, and yes. Plus the concept car they showed in LA sucked too...
but, but, but.....damn, you guys are right :(
Subaru has always had looks only a mother could love though, and unfortunately it looks like their traction control and hill start features on newer models isn't living up to their AWD superiority reputation either. And I'm sorry Subaru, the outback should be a WAGON, not a crossover SUV or whatever you want to call it.
although having said that, last weekend I inadvertently convinced my wife that a used Baja should be our next car. I'm still working on convincing myself.
http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2011/11/a-little-morning-schadenfreude-the-mediocrity-viral-campaign/