I often tell my students that a good way to think about brand character is to just think about character. The traits we admire in brands are the same traits we admire in people--honesty, integrity, quality, dependability, usually some humility. This is, apparently, a difficult concept for many marketers who think that smug arrogance is somehow appealing.
Now I don't know Howie Long personally, and I'm willing to give him a pass as just reading scripts. But if this commercial is how I get to know Chevy, then Chevy is that asshole jock from high school who made fun of anyone who wasn't on the team. Not someone I particularly care for.
And this next spot is me walking into the local burger joint ten years later to find Chevy working behind the counter. What, Chevy? No more Friday night lights? No more glory days? Same big swingin' dick attitude (pardon the language), but now you're talking about...what? Fuel efficiency instead of big ol' trucks? And comparing yourself to lawnmowers. And sounding like an idiot.
It doesn't necessarily make me happy to see Chevy working behind the counter in a burger joint still sounding like a jackass, but I can't say I'm surprised.
