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I am pretty baffled. One, the high level of support for these creepy, Kia-hip-hop rats is strange to me. Two.....I guess no one can EXPLAIN how all of the screwy things in this commercial are supposed to make sense......hip-hop rats......WTH????/
I'm guessing the mystery it can inspire is more interesting than any actual answer.
My guess is it's just
Ad man 1: Hamsters are cute, let's do something with hamsters.
Ad man 2: But we need something ironic or edgy with it to keep it from being saccharine.
Ad man 1: Hm, you're right we're not selling greeting cards.
Boss: How about having them listen to hip hop.
Ad man 1: That's brilliant!
Ad man 2: No wonder you're the boss!
Boss: I'm still not letting either of you borrow my Jaguar (walks out)
Ad man 1: What a jerk, let's key his precious Jaguar.
Ad man 2: Nah. I say we just do the "Hip Hop hamsters" for awhile and sneak in a song with the F-word in one of them, then he'll totally be fired. (Then they high five or something, not realizing any flaws in this plan)
Beautiful post. I suspect it went over a few heads or there were too many darn words in it for some people to read.
And if it discouraging a certain demographic to buy the car, it's completed part of its mission. Sometimes, appealing to just one segment of the population gives it more cache, especially when the people that they are going after are the same ones that don't want to buy their parents or grandparents' car.
Quote:
Originally Posted by seque5tra
Ha. Well, I certainly understand about being annoyed by certain commercials that you see over and over and over again. But I, personally, like the ads for the Kia Soul.
First, they are hamsters and not rats.
The original ad featured hamsters on a hamster wheels on roads, highways and bridges, going nowhere. Then, cooler hamsters would roll by driving the Kia Soul.
So, the idea is that everyone else is stuck in a rut (like hamsters in a hamster wheel), driving the same crap. That is the explanation for how the hamster got featured in these ads in the first place. This was all part of Kia's "A New Way To Roll" marketing concept...i.e., don't be another hamster in a hamster wheel...don't be stuck in a rut...chose 'a new way to roll' with Kia. There were several different songs featured in this ad before the newer ad featuring Black Sheep's 'The Choice is Yours' song.
The Kia Soul, at under $14,000 starting, is marketed towards younger drivers of this iPod generation...music lovers and such. One of the Kia Soul's key selling points is its 6-speaker stereo system, CD player, USB port, Sirius Satellite radio, and with the option to upgrade to a premium audio package with additional speakers and steering wheel audio controls.
So yeah, the ads are going to feature catchy tunes as a major plot point.
Now, with the newer ad that you referenced in your OP...the one featuring Black Sheep's 'The Choice is Yours'...first, let me post it here for reference:
Because people fell in love with the whole hamster motif from the original ad, I guess they decided to just stick with it. The song choice is actually pretty relevant to their marketing campaign. 'You can get with this, or you can get with that. You can get with THIS, or you can get with THAT. The choice is YOURS.' Basically, you can stay on your lame old hamster wheel, or you can choose 'a new way to roll'. This specific ad also is making jabs at the Kia Soul's competitors...the Scion xB, Honda Element and Nissan Cube. That's what all that imagery with the toaster, dryer and cardboard box car is about...because these cars look like toasters, dryers and boxes.
And also let me post Black Sheep's original music video for this song:
I am posting this because I think it needs to be said that this is a song that is very ANTI-DRUG. The video contains anti-drug imagery all throughout. The song is about empowering yourself to make the right decisions in life. 'You can get with this, or you can get with that...', meaning you can do the right things in life, or you can do the wrong things, but ultimately, the choice is yours and you have the power. In fact, one of the verses has the lyrics "Never was a fool, so we finished school."
Just trying to say that not all hip-hop is about drug dealers and such. A lot of it is very positive.
And one final note about using catchy songs in advertisements...it's a genius ploy. The product basically gets advertised every time you hear that song (on the radio, on MTV or VH1, over the loudspeakers when you're at the store or in a waiting room, etc. etc.) and not just when you see the actual commercial.
I know every time I hear, or even just think about, the following songs:
"Who's That Lady" by the Isley Brothers
"Baby Come Back" by Player
"What About Love" by Heart
I just do not understand the connection between Rats, Korean Cars, Hip-hop-rap music and why they keep showing this stupid commercial every five minutes.
Is this car big in the Hip-Hop community??? Or maybe it is a big seller with people who breed rats (gerbils?)???? Maybe Rat loving drug dealers buy this car a lot????
So, if you are knowledgeable in the area of any of these points I touched on, please let me know what is the deal, I am being tortured by this commercial.
seque, ty for the very informative answer to the OP's question/comment. I loved the first KIA commercial, I love gerbils and hampsters/mice but I have to admit when they went hip-hop, I tuned out. Not my style. I went for a Hyundai instead. So the music does not trigger anything in my brain but other songs sure trigger Swiffer.
And if it discouraging a certain demographic to buy the car, it's completed part of its mission. Sometimes, appealing to just one segment of the population gives it more cache, especially when the people that they are going after are the same ones that don't want to buy their parents or grandparents' car.
Exactly!
The more they turn off some segments of the population, the more their target audience will embrace them. Basic marketing...
from what i understand, the original song is something like a guy in a nightclub telling a girl he's the best choice to take home, pointing a finger to himself as "this", while continuously pointing out "inferior men" as "that"
you can pick me, or pick a loser like that (finger points to another guy)
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