Tone Deaf

With the country (and the world) undergoing a deep and painful recession, some advertisers seem clueless about the tone they need to strike in their advertising. Case in point is the dramatic contrast in TV ads for Lexus and Honda. Lexus continues to rely on the old (and incredible decadent) formula of a $50,000 car as a gift, wrapped in a bow in the driveway as snow falls outside a McMansion (that is probably upside down mortgage-wise nowadays). What are they thinking! The days of reaching for cheap financing to underwrite a life of conspicuous consumption are over. For many families this is not "a December to Remember" (their tag line in prior years). Contrast this with Honda's ad portraying two 30 somethings leaving the city to visit a friend in the country: "it will be good to see him again" she says, to which he answers "he will freak out". They arrive to his home, he comes out and hugs them. End of ad. Weird ad, not compelling, but respectful of the more sober tone in the country. Lexus: get a clue.