New TV ad - "Holdens go better"

[Marco]

Anyone else see this new ad on TV tonight? I don't usually comment on Holden's ads but I actually liked this one. Had a nice folksy feel and concentrated on selling the whole range, with the key message "Holdens go better". A nice change from the usual in your face advertising.

(Now all Holden needs to do is fix the Barina, and the Viva, and the Astra, and the Epica, and it might even have a shot at regaining market leadership...)

[Hamico]

Anyone else see this new ad on TV tonight? I don't usually comment on Holden's ads but I actually liked this one. Had a nice folksy feel and concentrated on selling the whole range, with the key message "Holdens go better". A nice change from the usual in your face advertising.

(Now all Holden needs to do is fix the Barina, and the Viva, and the Astra, and the Epica, and it might even have a shot at regaining market leadership...)


it'll take more than that, what about a full range of SUV's and commercial vehicles ?

I saw the AD over the weekend and thought it was different, it is asking people when they are next purchasing a vehicle to test drive a Holden and see how they go better, or something like that.
I thought at the time they're asking for trouble trying to get the public to drive the Korean made product and expect it to go better than a Honda or Toyota etc........

Holden really need to lift their game I'm afraid before most of the public will take this seriously.

.

[Marco]

I was only pondering this one this afternoon: is there any indication of when the Barina and Viva will be replaced? Holden keeps assuring us that the next ones will be much better (in the same way that the Captiva is miles ahead of any non-GM Daewoo product) but I don't know that the brand can take much more damage to its reputation in the meantime.

[korrupt]

Saw one of these ads tonight and it said something about having DOD on the V8. Is that official now??

[Hamico]

I was only pondering this one this afternoon: is there any indication of when the Barina and Viva will be replaced? Holden keeps assuring us that the next ones will be much better (in the same way that the Captiva is miles ahead of any non-GM Daewoo product) but I don't know that the brand can take much more damage to its reputation in the meantime.

Yeah, I don't know when they are due to be replaced, we kept hearing last year that it would be this year sometime, and it seems to have gone all quiet.

I too think the longer Holden persists with sub-par Korean small cars, the worse it is getting for them.

Each month their sales are shrinking to the point that Ford is almost catching Holden in sales, and Toyota is stomping on the both of them selling more than double their combined sales.

It's almost like Holden + Ford are handing the market to Toyota, it's just crazy stuff.

Here am I a long time Holden supporter questioning my loyalty to Holden too............

This should not be happening Holden, are you listening to your customers ?

.

[emg]

Are we all watching the same ad? I thought it was the biggest crock of shit I've ever seen and heard. I've never been lied to so much in 30 seconds in my life.

[Hamico]

Are we all watching the same ad? I thought it was the biggest crock of shit I've ever seen and heard. I've never been lied to so much in 30 seconds in my life.

Ouch........

Holden, you are asking us to listen to you......well, are you listening to us ?

[OUTAtheBloo]

I wasnt too impressed by it either. Maybe the mums and dads will like it. Or those that dont normally go for holdens. Maybe thats what holden is trying to do ?

Its soft, nothing to inspire me !

Dan

[emg]

What topped it for me was the lazy delivery of the female voice over... Nice try at sucking me in but you'll have to do better I'm sorry, and not just when you put your foot down.



God how tacky.

[C4B]

It's funny how a company like holden can go from being bullet proof (back in the VT-VY days) to where they are now.

I suspect in 20 years time, Uni students will be doing case studies into why a successful car manufacturer, in the face of skyrocketing fuel prices and environmental concerns, was upping their engine capacities to levels not seen since the early 70's.

It's all good for us enthusiasts, but in the big scheme of things, it's a big worry.....

[VESportswagon20]

I was only pondering this one this afternoon: is there any indication of when the Barina and Viva will be replaced? Holden keeps assuring us that the next ones will be much better (in the same way that the Captiva is miles ahead of any non-GM Daewoo product) but I don't know that the brand can take much more damage to its reputation in the meantime.

Going by what Chev have done with their version of the Viva in Thailand I can only see a face lift for the Viva as when I was in Thailand they had a identically looking Viva to what we got a year later, I have now noticed looking a Chev Thailand website the sedan and wagon have the Hatch front end on it. Not a step forward I believe and the Barina Hatch has a facelift due anytime as I have seen images of the update on Chev website months ago. I am hoping that these will see more GM Mechanicals in them because as far as I am concered in the looks department the Viva is a backward step and I have never really liked the look of the Barina hatch as its no different looks wise to the Daewoo it replaced apart from clear side indicators and a Holden badge. They need a radical departure in the looks department. We need to see the concept Viva shown last year sooner rather than later. I also would like to see Torana and Corsa run alongside Barina and Epica to offer more choice to cater for those on a budget the Korean sourced products and for those who want style and true Opal and Holden quality the Torana and Corsa just as Holden has done with Astra and Viva being the same class in size. Funny that as I was writing this the new Holden ad came on. I first saw it though on the last weekend.

[Roddy]

Oh it's cheesy alright, but Holden are trying to differentiate with a folksy brand building exercise to build "emotional attachment" amongst the general unwashed.

[SS V8]

We've had some memorable and great ads in the past from all manufacturers, that really stir the driver in us to want to get out and drive.

Who remembers: "Hey Charger" the "Lion will Roar in 84" to the VL V8 ad pulling an Americas Cup yacht past the yank in his Ford "tank" to name only three. Myself I like the green VY SS style of ad promoting the 'drivers car' making driving a Holden exciting. Great ads with a catchy tune or two.

This ad although a change is bland and follows Toyota's "cardigan driver range of car" ads. Sure advertise your range but do it in such a way as to promote each vehicles assets, don't try and cover an entire range in 30 seconds it's not long enough. It's like cordial, a bit of color and flavour but not strong enough to make you want another taste.

Holden can and do build performance cars for people who enjoy driving, so bring back those ads. And since Ford can very effectively portray the Territory as "not like driving a truck" in comparison to Nissan Toyota and Mitsubushi equivalents (a really great ad) why oh why doesn't Holden do the same, building on it's success, in sales (Commodore Australia's No1 family car), motor sport old and current, through to future concept cars that turned into actual vehicles (GTR-X, GTR XU-1, HK to VZ Monaro) and put Toyota and Ford with the Mitsubishi 380, to building cars for cardigan wearers.

And my appologies to anybody on LS1 that wears a "cardy" or two !!

[LTH-00L]

I havent seen the ad, can someone post a link to where i might find it online?

[teamkiwi]

I was only pondering this one this afternoon: is there any indication of when the Barina and Viva will be replaced? Holden keeps assuring us that the next ones will be much better (in the same way that the Captiva is miles ahead of any non-GM Daewoo product) but I don't know that the brand can take much more damage to its reputation in the meantime.

The Barina is meant to get a minor facelift very soon, same old barina of the current platform just a new Face, Bum and Interior. They are probably hanging off on the release untill after all the hype surrounding the Ford FG passes by. Totally new Barina isnt due till 09/10?

Holden Viva aka Daewoo/Chev Nubira is due 4th Q, 2008. though Holden probably wont release it till 09. Its is the 2nd product from the GM-Dat relationship after the Captiva, so based on that note and on the spyshots floating around, it should be a huge improvement on the current model.

[HazzaHSV]

It reeks of those tacky Honda (and to a lesser extent Toyota) feel good earth ads, like "wait till you see whats coming tomorrow" crap with peaceful music and dreamy footage. Having said that, I can see it appealing to the 80% of non-enthusiast, non-forum older folk, unlike ourselves. They aren't targetted for us, but if Honda and Toyota are anything to go by, they seem to work for those whom they target!

[TUFFVESSV]

Your all missing the point it's got nothing to do with the Holden product, it's about marketing the product and getting people to walk in the door, once in the door your 50% assured to make a sale, by saying Holden is better and people hearing it many, many times it will make the consumer sub consionsly think I might consider buying a Holden.It's like the radio station playing a song you don't realy like but two weeks down the line your singing along with it..........It's called cleaver marketing................

[Wonky]

Saw one of these ads tonight and it said something about having DOD on the V8. Is that official now??

Yep, I noticed that too! Fits in with what someone said recently on here re DOD and 60th Anniversary Holden.

[EddieVE06]

I've seen the ad about 5 times now and yeah i dont mind the ad on face value but before Holden market themselves as better than others maybe they should build cars that are better than other cars rather than put out cars with different coloured bumpers and niggly issues that can create frustration to the owner and service dept. Its taken me almost 3 years to convert my missus into a full blown holden but with the nigglies we have been having with our VE and Vectra she is fast getting turned off again.

At the end of the day I love Holdens always have and really cant see myself driving anything else but maybe we should all tape the commercial and every time we have to take cars back to the dealer 3,4,5 times for the same problem we should play them the add.

I have to say that at least its not as bad as the Aurion commercial outbraking a VR or VS.

[GODSMACK]

Anyone else see this new ad on TV tonight? I don't usually comment on Holden's ads but I actually liked this one. Had a nice folksy feel and concentrated on selling the whole range, with the key message "Holdens go better". A nice change from the usual in your face advertising.

(Now all Holden needs to do is fix the Barina, and the Viva, and the Astra, and the Epica, and it might even have a shot at regaining market leadership...)
Marco, im with you, i didn't mind it.. I didn't realise we had so many marketing executives on LS1..

[Danv8]

I hate adverts full stop and I never take any notice of them.
Each time I see that Big Brother ad I want to kick the TV in. :confused:

[iloveholden]

I hate adverts full stop and I never take any notice of them.
Each time I see that Big Brother ad I want to kick the TV in. :confused:

Same with the BB comment. :flipoff:

I really like the new Holden add itwas walking past the T.V last night and it made me stop and watch as it had a good feel to it. Some interesting things are said the in the commerical like the DOD for V8s and how they are focusing on the smaller car market as well.

The commercial also looked the goods as well. :)

[MRLXSS]

I am from an Advertising/Design Background. This ad is not designed to Inspire you to go buy the top of the range SS. It is not really trying to sell a specific product. Not all ads are out there to sell products. They are out there to sell an image, a lifestyle, a feeling.

That is what this ad is doing, Its targetted at the people who currently buy Toyota's and the like. Its set up to make people think twice before automatically going to Toyota or Mitsubishi and buying the first car they see cos they believe that its as good as they can get. They are not trying to make the Loyal holden customer more loyal, they are looking for new customers!

I believe the ad is great, it got my attention. And im sure it will probably help them sell a few more cars (Even if they are not Commodores)

[Ghia351]

It's like the radio station playing a song you don't realy like but two weeks down the line your singing along with it..........It's called cleaver marketing................ lol, and then you down load a pirate copy and no-one makes any money...btw, cleaver marketing, sounds a little heavy handed :stick:

[GMH-TWR]

Holden GO better (When your battery isn't flat)

[Grommz]

oh well i predict record trade in numbers as people want the DOD option on there V8's..

[Big_Valven]

Not to signal doom and gloom for Holden but I believe what is letting them down at the moment is GM global providing them with an utterly sh*tful range of small and medium cars to complement an otherwise very good VE large car, unfortunately brought into its own shrinking market. The focus is rapidly shifting to medium and small cars, and right now Holden doesn't sell anything I'd look for in a medium/small car. That's why I'd buy a mazda3 instead.

[NewVLT]

Going on the message that ad is sending and, say, you were family off the street to whom cars were no better than white goods on wheels (ie most of the dopes that buy Hyundai's and Toyota's)....

Bloke walks into a Holden dealership with his wife and daughter. They're in the market for a couple of new cars, a small car for the daughter and a mid-size second family car for the missus. They test drive a Barina and an Epica.

Based on those two would the family come back and buy a Commodore when it came time to upgrade the main family car. Probably not. I don't know if it's the right move by Holden to lump the Korean built gear in with the local product.

[milkojnr]

I know for a fact this ad was not done by the normal company that does the Holden ads like the ute ad we all love. You can tell that from a mile away. It is no where near the other companies standards.

The ad is infact a direct rip off of overseas Ford Ad. I have a copy of the Ford ad to provide it!!!

I can't post it on here as it is about 5 mb.

No I don't work in Advertising or for the company that makes the Holden ads or Holden.

As a strong Holden customer onto my 4th one now, I would go back to the other guys Holden.

[teamkiwi]

Not to signal doom and gloom for Holden but I believe what is letting them down at the moment is GM global providing them with an utterly sh*tful range of small and medium cars to complement an otherwise very good VE large car, unfortunately brought into its own shrinking market. The focus is rapidly shifting to medium and small cars, and right now Holden doesn't sell anything I'd look for in a medium/small car. That's why I'd buy a mazda3 instead.

Totally agree!!! The Barina/Viva dated and out done when compared to their competitors. To a lesser extent the Astra is on the same boat. The take up for the trio are appalling and if it wasnt for the commodore, captiva and rodeo sales, Holden ould be around the middle - bottom of the sales charts. The Replacements cant come soon enough.

I havent seen the AD yet but you would have guessed that they would have released the AD when they received the new models so that they actually had something good to show off rather than a very dated Barina and Viva.



The ad is infact a direct rip off of overseas Ford Ad. I have a copy of the Ford ad to provide it!!!

I can't post it on here as it is about 5 mb.

.
wanna chuck it up on youtube??

[Big_Valven]

From memory, the video shows VE commodores and Astras (personally both of which are the flagship of the current Holden range, followed by Rodeo and Captiva, the rest don't deserve a mention,) but kinda obscures them to give an overall image of "buy any Holden, it's better than anything else." Unfortunately that's just not true for the cars other than what I've mentioned here.

[emg]

where the add crashes and burns is NO MENTION of after sales service.

No shots of the kind sales manager dealing with customers, no shots of the young mechanics doing what they love doing.

[iloveholden]

where the add crashes and burns is NO MENTION of after sales service.

No shots of the kind sales manager dealing with customers, no shots of the young mechanics doing what they love doing.

never thought of that but yeah thats true they probably should of included that as part of their "product"

[MRLXSS]

Thats it ^^ Tug at the heart of the Patriotism too!

Wheres the shots of the Aussies working on the production floor, the aussies designing the cars as well!

[Dacious]

Facelifted Barina has revised shell, is getting VVT engine and improved suspension and steering - not redically better but detail improvements. Last month it was back up to 1300 sales, so while it is no Yaris killer it is one of Holden's strongest selling models. Scuttlebutt is high owner satisfaction levels/low warranty claims - nothing in that class is very nice to drive. Holden actually has trouble getting stock, the factory is maxed out which is why they moved Captivas to Thailand.

New Opel/Daewoo gamma cars have been photo'd testing in Europe. So the next Corsa will be the Barina/Aveo/Kalos.

I though the ad was good - as mentioned, it isn't aimed at enthusiasts. It shows nice-looking ordinary people driving nice-looking shiny cars - very Mc Donalds but it works. It says the cars 'go better' which as a general term just might mean they perform well on a cost/benefits basis. When you consider that in several classes Holden now sells the least-expensive model or the best equipped@price that is fair comment.

BTW, a relative drives a CDXi Epica which she leased after test driving numerous cars, Astra (hated), Focus (hated, noisy), 380 (too big), Corolla (hated), Camry (too rough,too big). She chose the Epica because she got the top spec for the price of a midrange Focus/Astra.

She's done 5,000km, couldn't be happier with the ride, smoothness and fuel economy at ~ 8l/100km average, Zero warranty claims. One trip back for 1,000km service. Plus it's a 4-star ANCAP-tested car. In the next gen it gets Captiva diesel plus stability control and extra doo-dads. It could very well turn out to be the dark horse of the Holden range.

[Road Warrior]

I like it, it appeals to a broader audience instead of the one they've been hammering for the past 18 months with the bogan music playing in the background.

[Marco]

Exactly, that's what I was getting at. It's a change from the usual ads, is softer, targets non-car people.

On the poster who said he'd buy a Mazda 3 ahead of an Astra, I can only agree with you. I had an Astra for five and a half years and loved it, but the current model is behind its main rivals. For example, you can only get all the safety gear if you go to the $30k CDTI when you can option them on a $20k Focus or 3 (or $19k Hyundai i30), or get it all as standard on a Lancer.

[BigFella]

i must admit thats the worst ad ive seen holden do in a long time, theres not much truth to it.

[The-V8-Power]

Its very different to the usual ones that are kinda in your face. It caught my attention which is what it is meant to do as an ad. If they want this ad to work a bit better though they are going to have to bring back the Opels ans show quality inside and out.
Wouldnt mind it if it had the new Corsa,Astra,Vectra,Commodore,Captiva,Rodeo or Colarado as it will be.

The ad that will show how Holden have gone with ads will be the one when the Sportswagon is released.

[NewVLT]

Saw another two versions of it over the last couple of nights, both had the Sportwagon in it. The one about never being happy with their quality made me feel all warm and tingly actually.

[mnasteski01]

Found the AD's on YouTube if anyone is interested....


YouTube - Holden's 60th Anniversary (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=13YEq5Y9P6Y)

YouTube - Holden Challenge (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=75X9HJ7GUvI)

Video's were posted username::: HoldenAustralia (http://www.youtube.com/HoldenAustralia)

[Excellent]

i must admit thats the worst ad ive seen holden do in a long time, theres not much truth to it.

I agree. What's with the green Holden logo?

[Goggles]

Found the AD's on YouTube if anyone is interested....
Holden's 60th Anniversary (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=13YEq5Y9P6Y)

this one definitely mentions a DOD V8........wonder if that means that there will be an update to VE later this year, or it will be a running change like the LS3 in the E Series HSV cars?

[mnasteski01]

this one definitely mentions a DOD V8........wonder if that means that there will be an update to VE later this year, or it will be a running change like the LS3 in the E Series HSV cars?

I hope they do update the VE SS with DOD, but I believe the ad is referring to the VE sportwagon which has DOD (well at least the prototype does??)

[teamkiwi]

this one definitely mentions a DOD V8........wonder if that means that there will be an update to VE later this year, or it will be a running change like the LS3 in the E Series HSV cars?

The ad definately says that DOD is "coming" to the V8s. So can we expect an update soon?

[NODDY347]

Have to agree the add in question is not one of their best but i think they must of seen this thread. Just watched a newie on the commodore alone and it was pretty good.

[vlcalais8]

Not the best ad out there, by no means should anyone say thier product is better than anything out there when in fact there are many cars you can buy that are just as good or better than what they're advertising (not saying Holden is bad, its just not the best out there). If they were the best breed of car then go ahead go on about it all day long

[CS1234]

I think they should just stick to the SS going sideways and doing donuts on the farm and ACDC playing out loud.....

They are going have to lift their service levels as going by some of the threads here, they are lacking in it.

[Shrick]

Going by what Chev have done with their version of the Viva in Thailand I can only see a face lift for the Viva as when I was in Thailand they had a identically looking Viva to what we got a year later, I have now noticed looking a Chev Thailand website the sedan and wagon have the Hatch front end on it. Not a step forward I believe and the Barina Hatch has a facelift due anytime as I have seen images of the update on Chev website months ago. I am hoping that these will see more GM Mechanicals in them because as far as I am concered in the looks department the Viva is a backward step and I have never really liked the look of the Barina hatch as its no different looks wise to the Daewoo it replaced apart from clear side indicators and a Holden badge. They need a radical departure in the looks department. We need to see the concept Viva shown last year sooner rather than later. I also would like to see Torana and Corsa run alongside Barina and Epica to offer more choice to cater for those on a budget the Korean sourced products and for those who want style and true Opal and Holden quality the Torana and Corsa just as Holden has done with Astra and Viva being the same class in size. Funny that as I was writing this the new Holden ad came on. I first saw it though on the last weekend.


The Viva is all but finished and is about to be replaced by The Cruze. Not sure where it comes from but that's th late mail