Auto market forecast is hot for 2013, but VW’s advertising now officially sucks.

Here I go writing about automotive advertising again. Ad Age is reporting that 2013 will be a great year for the car business, thanks to a perfect storm of market conditions -good resale values, good access to credit and very low rates. And the carmakers want you to know this is a good time to buy a car.

Representatives from GM, Hyundai, VW and others were interviewed at the big New York Auto Show as it kicked off at the Jacob Javits Center. They spoke of increased ad spending. Yeah baby, great news. One interviewee that stood out in the Ad Age piece was Kevin Mayer, VP-marketing for Volkswagen of America. He says he’s looking toward a bigger ad budget to take advantage of the “pent-up demand” as newly confident consumers finally sell or trade in their old vehicles in favor of new ones.

The Ad Age story mentions that Mr. Mayer raved about the work of his ad agency, Deutsch L.A. Really, Mr. Mayer? Are you referring to the Jetta spot in which the dorkiest people on the planet go nuts over how “safe” the new Jetta is? Or maybe the spot where the new Passat owner, borrowing a Sarah Palin catch-phrase, tells an envious neighbor not to believe the “lamestream media.” Okay, I know you're not actually trying to insult our intelligence, and this stuff is probably intended to be tongue-in-cheek, but really, VW? Is there some new research indicating that right wing nut-jobs should be VW’s new target demo? I’m thinking not. I'm thinking this is the kind of garbage that sells Toyotas and Hondas to people who know nothing about cars. I'm also thinking - well, it's official: Volkswagen’s advertising, which once and consistently set the standard for creativity and uniqueness in the auto category, now officially sucks.

My conclusion - and it's a sad one - is that in their quest to increase U.S. market share, they've not only made the cars more like their plain vanilla competitors, they're creating advertising that's just as bad.

I swear I can feel the vibrations from Bill Bernbach whirling in his grave.

Second most damaged brand? The NRA.

I have no intention of making this a political blog, but I couldn't resist. America's second-most damaged brand has got to be the National Rifle Association.

Why? Let's begin with their response to the Newtown, CT tragedy. Simply put, their proposal was more guns. And they seemed completely unwilling to consider anything that did not involve - you guessed it - more guns.

Here's another question - why doesn't the NRA take up a position similar to that of the alcoholic beverage industries after groups like MADD were critical of them? The brewers and distillers have done a pretty good job of promoting responsibility - asking their consumers to enjoy responsibly and getting behind efforts to prevent or reduce the sale of alcoholic beverages to minors.

This leaves all but those who make a living selling guns without background checks wondering - why doesn't the NRA come out and say, "Yes, we hear you. The recent shootings in Connecticut, and in Colorado, etc.  were tragedies, and we want to do our part to be sure that people buying and owning guns are doing so legally and responsibly. We support background checks, always, whether you buy the gun at a big box retailer, a small gun shop or a gun show at the county fairgrounds, to protect our law-abiding citizens, our kids, our future." In other words, to be the adults in the room.

Why not? Perhaps because to do so would be to resist pandering to the radical right - those who believe we must have guns to protect ourselves against the government. No doubt this is the same crowd who believe President Obama wasn't born in the U.S., or call him lazy or an elitist.

It goes further. Last night, on the eve of the White House gun policy announcement, the NRA doubled down on its hard-right stand and released a new TV ad that calls President Obama an elitist and a hypocrite for being skeptical about placing armed guards in schools while his own children are protected by the (armed) Secret Service. Really? Did they really go there?

This brand is digging a very deep hole for itself.

Most damaged brand in the land - the G.O.P.

Considering their performance over the past 18 months or so, it seems to me the Republican party should be making some New years resolutions - like to reinvent itself. Not since the "New Coke" launch of 1985 has there been so much self-inflicted damage to a brand.

Just finished reading the Michael Shear/Jim Rutenberg NY Times piece, Republicans weigh where to give ground. From the hostage-taking during the last debt ceiling debate, to Mitt Romney's train wreck of a campaign, to the recent tax fight, and all the political theater they've created along the way, these guys have a lot of rebuilding to do.

What do they stand for? Who do they care about? When will it become clear to them their "draw a line in the sand" brand of politics is unsustainable, appealing only to the most cynical among our citizens. The Republicans have lost the popular vote in five of the last six presidential elections. Can you say "out of touch?"

Did they really think they wouldn't pay the ultimate price for allowing their party to be taken hostage by the radical right? For trading their loyalty to the people for a pledge to the likes of Grover Norquist? As the NY Times piece pointed out, it has often seemed like the established Republicans and the new Tea Party nut-job newcomers were speaking as if they were from two completely different parties.

Representative Peter King, a New York Republican, is perfectly justified in his outrage with the republican congress' failure to approve a timely relief budget for DSandy relief. He said he thinks anybody from the tri-state area devastated by Sandy who donates a dime to a republic should have his/her head examined. Under intense pressure from New York and New Jersey, Congress finally on Friday adopted legislation that would provide $9.7 billion to cover insurance claims filed by individuals whose homes were damaged or destroyed by Hurricane Sandy. But this comes more than 60 days after the storm. For those who've lost their homes. that's an eternity. And it's a crime that it's taken this long.

I'm in complete agreement with Rep. King. And I think he should consider switching party affiliation. He and Governor Christie should both jump off the sinking ship of the Republican Party and become Democrats.

What encourages me for 2013? The fact that in 2012, in spite of all the nonsense from the radical right...

We did not go back to the social policies of the 1950's.
We did not turn our backs on regular people - you know, the ones who don't have generational wealth or friends in high places.

We have a long way to go, and during the 113th congress, we'll probably see the GOP train wreck get even worse as these phonies, and the puppet masters who control them, are revealed.

I can't wait. It's gonna be a great year.

Ikea's use of computer-generated catalog images is worrisome.

According to a recent WSJ story, that couch catching your eye in the 2013 edition of IKEA's new catalog may not be a couch at all.

It is likely the entire living room was created by a graphic artist. In fact, much of the furniture and settings in the 324-page catalog are simply a collection of pixels and polygons arranged on a computer.

Privately held Ikea is swiftly moving toward replacing real-world production in its catalogs with 3-D computer-generated graphics to fill the pages of its catalogs, brochures and web site.

This year, 12% of IKEA's content will be “virtual.” Next year, they say that number will more than double.

The head of photography at Ikea says - "It's a clever way to save money.” Sure, but how will he feel when his job is eliminated because there is no photography?

What worries me is actually several aspects of what I hope is not too much of a trend. First, as a consumer, I’d like to know that I’m looking at a photograph of the product I’m considering purchasing. Using pixels, I would think marketers would be tempted to create images that put forth a false representation of the fit, finish, look and feel of their products. Photo-realism is something that certainly can be manipulated, but at least it starts with a photo of the real product!

Next is the economic impact. We all know that photographers like to get paid for their work. Most don't work cheap, but we also know there are a lot of photographers out there. To save money, Ikea could just modify their photography purchasing procedures. But under this plan, this whole category of work could be offshored to India or who knows where, again allowing Ikea to increase profits at the expense of how many domestic jobs.

The WSJ story states, “The company cut prices an average of 2% to 3% every year during the last decade while expanding aggressively, and still manages to squeeze more profits from the operation on a yearly basis.” Sound familiar? Sorry, Ikea. I don’t think I’ll be shopping for a flat-pack RTA room setting any time soon. Instead, I'll be doing business with companies that use technology to enhance the creative process, not replace it.

The 24/7 Agency – are we professionals, or is this Wal-Mart?

The latest new development in the increasingly disturbing “WTF” world of advertising – a new Chicago shop to be launched by Brian Mandelbaum – a 24/7 agency. According to Rupal Parekh’s Ad Age story, the concept is to hire social media content creators and account managers that will work throughout the day and night – always on, always accessible, always clicking.

Sounds kind of like the 3-shift concept of America’s industrial revolution? Or maybe this concept of “the agency that never sleeps” is the next thing in what I would describe as a long, sad, downward spiral for the agency business. Peter McGuinness, CEO of DDB Chicago, described it as “a great way to further commoditize our business.”  He said, and I completely agree, that the problem isn’t whether or not agencies get the job done, or what hours they work. Advertising professionals have never worked a 9-5 structure, and already work nights, weekends, etc. in service of their clients’ programs. He reasons that in an environment where the agency is expected to work at lightening speed, quality will certainly be compromised.

Whatever happened to the perception of advertising and marketing communications agencies as professional service firms? What is Mandelbaum thinking? Is he just pandering to some clients’ needs for instant gratification?

Wal-Mart is open 24/7, but you don’t get better merchandise or a higher quality shopping experience. All you get is low price. Commoditization, indeed. McGuinness is a smart guy. Perhaps that’s why he’s CEO of a major agency in a town that has produced a boatload of real advertising. As for Mandelbaum, good luck. How many graveyard shifts do you think he’ll be working? 

Mad Men doesn't disappoint

Don Draper, you have indeed saved us once again from crap TV. And for that I thank you. With only a week to go in Mad Men's fifth season, I just thought that was worth saying.

Teaser campaign? Make sure the product is worth all that hype.

Rance Crain’s Ad Age piece on this topic is a very smart look at how teaser campaigns, particularly one by Bright House, can backfire when consumer expectations are heightened, then completely underwhelmed.

Crain sites cable company Bright House, and their four-week teaser campaign titled "Hello Friend." After creating high expectations, the campaign resulted in some agitation when people in markets where Bright House does business found out their local cable company wanted to befriend them.

Crain points out that you don’t see very many big “teaser” campaigns these days. It could be just because of the cost. The upper-management types understandably want to see clear product feature-benefit and call-to-action so they can measure results. It could also be that the advertising consuming public has become just plain stupid. Crain offers the recent Honda teaser ad with Matthew Broderick as an example of how the whole thing could be misconstrued. In January, when Broderick showed up in a teaser campaign on the web reprising his role as Ferris Bueller, thousands of consumers thought the spot was for a sequel to the film. The video was just a teaser to a Super Bowl commercial for Honda, and many of the film's fans were disappointed. Classic example of people connecting dots that aren’t there.

Crain goes on to say, “What disappointed a lot of people is that they got their hopes up thinking somebody or something really cool wanted to be their friend, only to find out that it was their local cable company pledging not to charge them if they showed up late.”

Be my friend? No thanks, but a nice clear picture and a faster Internet feed would be nice.