Okay, I have to do this.
Will Ferrell Norway EV ad
First of all, there was the big Norway / Will Ferrell ad that appeared a few days ago. I absolutely love Will Ferrell. So, yeah, I do not see how you can watch the ad and not enjoy the wonderful, unique, heartwarming comic glasses of Will Ferrell. I smiled and loved that side of it, and so did my young daughters. You can not love Will Ferrell, and if you do not love him, take the heel off my lawn!
That said, the ad was stupid (as in, illogical), confusing (because it was illogical) and addressed more shame than praise (because it was illogical in deeper ways than one would think with the first watch). Let’s just list ten reasons why the ad was stupid:
- Yes, Norway is the world leader in electric vehicle adoption. It’s something to celebrate, not something to get angry about and try to crush. (I understand, the idea is to “crush Norway” by doing even better, but the ad itself actually focuses on hitting a globe and trying to travel to the country to “crush” someone / something / Norway. )
- There is no crushes Norway in EV adoption. Norway has basically already won. 81% of new car sales in Norway were sold from plug-in vehicles last month. 81%. The US is about 2% or 3%. The USA has much less chance of overtaking Norway than the Kansas City Chiefs would overtake the Tampa Bay Bucs after halftime. (Pampering alarm: Tampa Bay brought home another trophy from the Covid era.)
- GM talks to his motor vehicles and tries to smuggle Norway … is weird. Unlike several other companies (virtually every other car manufacturer), GM did the same just one electric vehicle on the market. It only sells the Chevy Bolt, as has been the case for years. If you want to hype some new niche EVs, great, but do not act like you come for Norway.
- If this was not already obvious, Norway is a country and GM is a carmaker. They are not just in the same league; they are not even in the same sport. Norway is about legislation, deep efforts by the state to improve the lives of its citizens and avoid wars. GM builds trucks, SUVs and some cars. The logical exposition on this fundamental issue is only grater. Countries do not compete with companies!
- Actually, if we do wants to talk legislation, however, GM has been trying for years to weaken fuel consumption standards, fight lawmakers who worked to “clean transport, “En delays EV adoption. In fact, GM has even sided with the Trump administration in its fight against California’s fuel consumption standards! GM has been working through lobbying and cultural messages for years do not allow An American EV market like Norway’s EV market to take shape.
- Let me repeat: GM lobbying and consumer communication are the main reasons why US EV adoption is very good compared to Norway’s EV adoption.
- Where did Keenan get his Hummer EV – it is not yet manufactured, and it is definitely not available in Europe, where he presumably rented it from UFODrive after flying there?
- As for the case, where did Will get his Cadillac Lyriq, which is also not for sale? (Side note: I like the Lyriq, by the way.)
- Even though these vehicles were on the market, they are so nis. This are not EVs for the mass market! We are talking about a luxury SUV that will buy a small number of people and an electric Hummer that will buy even fewer people. How does it make sense in anyone’s sense that these niche vehicles will somehow compete with mass adoption in Norway? (And, again, let’s just point to 4, because that’s such an annoying absurdity in the attempt at logic of this ad.)
- What message should an uninformed viewer get? That Norway is hard to find, cold and sells a lot … what does it sell? There are some new electric vehicles in GM that … well … did we learn anything about the vehicles? The ad provided almost no significant information.
- Will Ferrell rides in a shipping container while boarding a ship bound for Norway. Then he’s on the ship standing on the edge as he goes up from seasickness. How does it make sense? He locked himself in the shipping container and would not be able to get out with the trip back to the United States.
Edward / Edgar Scissorhands – Double Ugh
So we got a strange memory of an old movie classic, a movie that appeared more than 30 years ago. We then got several jokes about things you could not do well if you had a pair of scissors, things that Edgar Scissorhands certainly would not do unless he lacks a lot of brain cells. Eventually, he was able to do something easy – drive a car – because the Cadillac was driving for him. Little explanation was given as to why he was able to drive stress-free as a result of Cadillac SuperCruise. In fact, it was too short and too busy to make the basic point even better.
The idea that Edgar can finally do something (drive) because he does not have to do anything (the car drives itself), at least agrees with the other GM EV ad because it makes no logical sense. Edgar Scissorhands is happy because he can drive by doing nothing but pushing a button?
Did I like this ad? Well, for a brief moment, they show the Lyriq in the driveway, and it looks beautiful. It looks very good, especially with the cool lighting around the charging port, which indicates that it is electric. If they had spent a little longer on the recording, I think it would have helped a lot more viewers notice it and would have been a more effective ad.
The other good thing about the ad is that it’s memorable because it brings back a very memorable character – a Goth with big scissors for his hands. If someone decides they want to watch the ad again and find out what it’s about, it’s easy to remember and find again.
In general, if I did not know what the vehicles in the ads were about, I’m pretty sure I would not understand what’s specifically related to it, except that it’s expensive new GM vehicles.
Yep, Will Ferrell is hilarious. It’s about all the GM vehicles, in my humble opinion.
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