Last year, while doing his day job, GloNo’s sab questioned, in an uncharacteristic wry, mocking manner, the meaning of “American Luxury,” which was, at the time, the tagline that the Lincoln brand was using to describe its vehicles, which it hoped would roll out of showrooms at an active rate (“Hot damn! American luxury. Gotta get me one of them!”). Alas, the phrase is now passed. Officially today, the new line will break: “There are those who travel. And those who travel well.” Which sort of sounds like something that could be used to describe anything from a cruise line to a website offering five-star hotel rooms at a pittance. Even Dramamine could use it. (“There are those who travel vomiting. And those who travel well.”)
What is pertinent to note here is the fact that in announcing the new advertising campaign, music is cited as being an integral part of the message. That is, Ann Kalass, Lincoln Mercury marketing communication manager, says, “This is an opportune time to communicate the excitement at Lincoln, and demonstrate how the luxury cues in our vehicles set our brand apart from the competition. Our signature music, Lincoln Beat, sets an energetic and engaging tone for the Lincoln brand, and in all our creative, the product is the hero.” I wonder where you learn to make up lines like that. “The product is the hero”?
Without going in to some of the patent silliness of the spots (e.g., Dennis Hopper climbing out of a Town Car at a movie premiere: Yes, while Hopper may be in the Town Car demographic (he’ll be 66 next month), only a SoCal creative would imagine that the star of Super Mario Brothers and Waterworld—oh, yeah, I’m sure I’m supposed to cite True Romance and Blue Velvet to assure his credentials—is the sort of person whom AARP members would closely associate with), it is worth noting, still once again, that music is something that those who are trying to appeal to our disposable income recognize as being vital. The Siren’s Song, as it were. Sure, powered running boards on an SUV may be clever, but the use of what’s called “powerful music” is meant to drive it home. Or, that is, to help persuade you to drive it home.
For me, it’s all about Truckville.
Corporate America will stop at nothing to sell us a bill of goods, and they are becoming increasingly invasive and arrogant about it. Just this morning on NPR I heard a big oil representative explain their reason for seasonal price-gouging at the pumps: government air quality regulations are slowing their production down, it seems, and gosh-darn it! Right when summer demand begins to rise! I guess as long as our coporate-branded music packages remind us about our luxury cues, we won’t care.
I think we should change the tagline for GLONO to “Glorious Noise – The product is the hero.”