Chevy's "Our Country" Ad

I'm sure most of you have seen or at least heard of the Chevy "Our Country" ad aired during NFL and baseball games. Originally I had not seen it since I don't care much for those two sports. But I was frequently exposed to negative evaluations from friends, a New York Times article, and now one of the more recent Brandweeks (Like a Stone in My Crankshaft article), that I had to check it out myself. I went on Youtube and after watching it, I wholeheartedly agree with the criticisms. In case you haven't seen it, you can check it out on youtube here.

Basically there are two reasons for the overwhelming disappointment expressed by viewers. Firstly, and perhaps less importantly, is the fact that the commercial has been overplayed. The commercial has been aired since the World Series and now viewers simply cannot stand hearing the same song every time they watch a football or baseball game; take into considerations that one of the commercial’s version is a whole minute long!

But even more importantly is the approach taken by Chevy. By displaying images symbolizing the struggles faced by the US (Rosa Parks, Hurricane Katrina, and the beaming memorial lights for the Twin Towers to name a few), it seems as if they are taking advantage of the suffering endured by others to sell a product. A Chevy spokesperson states that the message of the ad can be summarized as “we've had some bruises and scars, yeah, but we've gotten up and gotten on with it.” But what exactly does a Chevy Silverado have anything to do with this suffering. The answer, quite frankly, is absolutely nothing. Chevy has tried to envelope patriotism as a key association in its meaning map in past commercials, but those went relatively smoothly. The main difference between prior approaches and the “Our Country” ad is that older commercials did not use sensitive material. “Our Country” has used images of recent tragic events, such as Hurricane Katrina and the World Trade Center, as well as national heroes that struggled with racism. These not only are sensitive areas, but Chevy made no attempt to at least somewhat tie-in the product to the ad. Viewers are left guessing as to what the commercial is for. And after enduring sensitive material for 55 seconds, it’s a huge disappointment to see a Chevy Silverado just standing there. Who are they kidding?

-John Lewis