Is GM intentionally marketing the Chevy Colorado to assholes?

"Textured Soy Protein" (texturedsoyprotein) 02/09/2015 at 11:48 • Filed to: None

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The new Chevy Colorado is, apparently, a pretty nice truck. I wouldn’t buy one, because GM saved full-time 4wd for the GMC Canyon. So if GM isn’t marketing the Colorado to me, who’s their target buyer? Judging from their commercials, I believe I know the answer:

GM’s target Colorado buyers are assholes.

GM has been buying tons of ad time for the Colorado. The most commonly-played (and annoying) ad starts with a mopey-looking guy drives to work in a 10 year-old Honda Civic while boring music plays. A confident-looking guy walks out of the same office building, and the music changes...to AC/DC played by a bluegrass band busking out in front of the office building. Cue the big reveal: this dude is so confident he changes background music to bluegrass covers of AC/DC because his Chevy Colorado makes him such a badass.

(Side note: does the Colorado actually make that totally fake chirp-chirp noise when unlocking it with the remote?)

This commercial is mostly nonsense, and mostly annoying because of its shitty music. The implication is HEY YOU DON’T WANT TO BE A SISSY WITH AN OLD CIVIC, GET THIS HERE TRUCK AND BE A MAN . That theme continues with a similar spot:

DON’T BE LIKE THIS PANSY ASS SCHLUBBILY-DRESSED VAGUELY HIPSTER NERD ON A VESPA, YOU NEED A MANLY CHEVY COLORADO.

After these couple spots, Chevy went full-bore into talking about the image you’ll have from driving a Colorado, in their new “Truck Guy” spots. These ads consist of focus groups looking at identical pictures of a guy standing in front of a car in an office park: one with a previous-generation Corolla, and the other has him in front of a new Chevy Colorado. These focus groups start out semi-innocuously enough, with a bunch of kids saying the Colorado guy has cooler pets than the Corolla guy:

But again, the underlying message is IF YOU DON’T WANT TO BE A WEENIE, YOU WANT A CHEVY COLORADO SO YOU CAN BE MANLY.

These Truck Guy spots get progressively more stupid. The next features a group of dudes with giant beards (WHAT’S MORE MANLY THAN BEARDS?) who are impressed with Truck Guy’s theoretical handshake.

HAVE THE FIRMNESS OF YOUR HANDSHAKE RESPECTED BY BEARDED DUDES. BUY A CHEVY COLORADO.

But wait, that’s not all!

BUY A CHEVY COLORADO AND YOU CAN STEAL THE WIVES AND GIRLFRIENDS OF BORING-ASS DUDES DRIVING COROLLAS. THE CHEVY COLORADO WILL LITERALLY GET YOU PUSSY.

So to sum up, you should buy a Chevy Colorado to make sure you avoid being some loser driving an econobox (or Vespa). Kids will think you have a badass pet like a cobra, bearded dudes will think you have a firm handshake, and women will want to fuck you. You are awesome. So awesome that bluegrass bands spontaneously play AC/DC when you walk buy.

Hmm maybe I should get a Colorado. Who needs full-time 4wd when I can have all that awesomeness ?

AJ Feldman (alecmets2011) > Textured Soy Protein 02/09/2015 at 11:49

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All GM products are marketed to assholes now

This is the new GM

Will with a W8 races an E30 > Textured Soy Protein 02/09/2015 at 11:51

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Don't lie to yourself. We know you want a truck. You know you want a truck. And GM knows you want a truck.

(Also, I want a truck)

TheHondaBro > Textured Soy Protein 02/09/2015 at 11:55

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That top commercial has nothing to do with the truck. Every car I've seen can change lanes and drive past cameras.

Logansteno: Bought a VW? > Textured Soy Protein 02/09/2015 at 11:56

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I think they're more along the lines of driving the Colorado makes you cooler than any old sedan would, not so much assholes and manliness.

Basically, YOU WANT A TRUCK BECAUSE TRUCKS ARE COOL AND BY ASSOCIATION YOU'RE COOL.

Or something like that.

I dunno, it's all marketing BS that reflects nothing on the truck. I don't know which videos you have linked as I'm at school and YouTube is blocked, but there's a new one that's basically just the Colorado and Silverados honing around in mud just like every old Chevy Truck commercial.

HammerheadFistpunch > Textured Soy Protein 02/09/2015 at 11:59

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They are unashamed of the whole "be a man, buy a truck" campaign and it works...There is obviously some humor in its boldness, kind of an implied "yeah but really...its just a truck...check it out." I guess its one of those things that isn't taking itself so seriously its just offensive (unlike their Cadillac ads ).

Smallbear wants a modern Syclone, local Maple Leafs spammer > Will with a W8 races an E30 02/09/2015 at 11:59

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I want a Canyon Syclone. TT3.6L from the ATS-V.

GhostZ > Textured Soy Protein 02/09/2015 at 12:03

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They're marketing it toward middle-aged men who are afraid they've lost their masculinity and become weak.

mazda616 > Textured Soy Protein 02/09/2015 at 12:04

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I just find it funny that rather than comparing their new truck to say, other trucks, GM compares it to a Vespa, a ten-year-old Civic, and a four or five-year-old base model rental-spec Corolla.

BunkyTheMelon > Textured Soy Protein 02/09/2015 at 12:09

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I've posted this around before, but it's especially pertinent here. This is what Chevy thinks we would like to become. Sweet Myrtle tank top alert!!

crowmolly > Textured Soy Protein 02/09/2015 at 12:09

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Hypermasculine ads are a thing, and will be for the foreseeable future.

Dr. Pepper 10 is somewhat of a case study in male consumer psychology.

Textured Soy Protein > crowmolly 02/09/2015 at 12:14

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Those Dr. Pepper 10 ads come of as intentionally ridiculous to me. These Colorado ads lack that sense of irony.

CPT Speedbump > Textured Soy Protein 02/09/2015 at 12:19

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None of these are in anyway marketing that assholes should buy the Colorado, the Colorado owner acknowledges all the other guys in friendly ways, and he's not choosing or putting on that music, Chevy is. If anything, Chevy itself is just being a asshole, but not showing that anyone who owns or buys the truck is one. Also, full time awd

Textured Soy Protein > HammerheadFistpunch 02/09/2015 at 12:21

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These ads might not be taking themselves seriously, but they also lack the "wink wink yes we know we're being ridiculous" sense of more successful attempts at hyper-masculine ads. Old Spice, for example, goes so far over the top that there's no way to take the ads seriously. The Colorado spots are a little too sincere in their "BE A MAN BUY A TRUCK" messaging, with not enough irony or self-awareness.

HammerheadFistpunch > Textured Soy Protein 02/09/2015 at 12:23

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not enough, but its there...just subtle. I suspect they want the people who want to take it seriously to take it seriously...and those who don't to be able to just dismiss it as an unfunny joke and move on.

Textured Soy Protein > CPT Speedbump 02/09/2015 at 12:29

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As for full-time 4wd, I mean a truck with a proper locking 2-speed transfer case, that can also be driven in awd mode where the center differential is acting as an LSD.

Full-time/awd mode is much more useful for driving on roads in bad weather, and you can still lock it up just the same as a part-time system.

Case in point, the Canyon has all of the same 4wd features as the Colorado, but adds full-time/awd mode to the existing part-time setup on the Colorado. Either one can be locked up just the same.

Anyway, just because the Chevy guy is being courteous doesn't mean that's their real personification of who they think will respond to these ads.

yamahog > Textured Soy Protein 02/09/2015 at 12:31

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I'm not a fan either.

"Hey look at these shallow people judging dudes by what they drive! Better cave in to others' expectations of your masculinity and BUY A TRUCK!"

No thanks.

Charlie Hobo > Textured Soy Protein 02/09/2015 at 12:31

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Well they do know better than anyone what type person would buy a Chevy.

crowmolly > Textured Soy Protein 02/09/2015 at 12:39

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The Dr Pepper 10 ads were designed that way so they could combat the stereotype of "diet drinks are for broads". That's why it's a 10 calorie soda not labeled as "diet". They wanted to tap into the male dollar for that type of product.

It seems to me that the Colorado ads are going for the "I don't feel enough like a manly man in charge of my own life" dollar, which is similar in some ways. They want a particular part of the segment that would normally buy a family grocery getter to think about buying a Colorado instead.

bryan40oop > Textured Soy Protein 02/09/2015 at 12:48

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"So if GM isn't marketing the Colorado to me, who's their target buyer?"

Judging from the sales numbers for last year, anyone that will buy one.

JKER > mazda616 02/09/2015 at 12:52

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The Colorado is a small entry-level truck. They're just trying to appeal to people who haven't owned a truck before and probably won't use it for heavy duty truck things.

Longroof > Textured Soy Protein 02/09/2015 at 12:53

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I'll be putting 10' trim and a 32'' door in my wagon with this guy beside me loading up some peel and stick backsplash and a flat of pansies

mazda616 > JKER 02/09/2015 at 12:59

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I can see that. But a first-time truck buyer that currently drives a decade-old econobox probably can't afford a loaded up Z71 Colorado for $40k. I mean, I drive a seven-year-old econobox and I sure as hell can't afford a Colorado. Haha

JKER > mazda616 02/09/2015 at 12:59

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They advertise it as starting at low $20k for a reason.

mazda616 > JKER 02/09/2015 at 13:01

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But wouldn't the absolute base model Colorado look almost as dorky as a Civic or Corolla?

JKER > mazda616 02/09/2015 at 13:12

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The base model for under $21k is the extended cab long bed. Hardly dorky. The only visual difference really would be if you got the crew cab.

ranwhenparked > Textured Soy Protein 02/09/2015 at 15:47

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Why not? It worked for BMW (rimshot).

In reality, GM is probably afraid that after years of convincing people that only a full-size Silverado/Sierra is appropriately "macho" for "manly men", the smaller Colorado/Canyon is going to risk being perceived by their existing customer base as a lesser truck for people that can't handle something bigger, so they're trying to get out in front of that by toughening up the midsizers' image right out of the gate. Of course, that doesn't mean the whole thing isn't stupid and insulting from start to finish.

Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies > Textured Soy Protein 02/09/2015 at 15:49

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But according to the front page, GM hasn't been advertising the Colorado. #technologyandstuff

mazda616 > JKER 02/09/2015 at 16:10

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Either way, I still find it funny that they advertise it as the ultimate cool machine and place it next to old used cars. I do like the Colorado/Canyon, even though they are too big for my personal taste.

Santiago of Escuderia Boricua > Textured Soy Protein 02/09/2015 at 18:05

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The truck looks nice, but I hate these ads. It's like "HEY BRO, YOU DON'T HAVE A TRUCK? YOU GOT A SMALL DICK BRO. YOU NEED TO BUY A TRUCK RIGHT NOW BRO. BRO!"