Sunday, August 09, 2009

Hyundai: Deal or Duel?

I just saw a Hyundai commercial on TV. In it, a car was being followed around by a gas tanker truck, for their new promotion of a full year's gas at $1.49 a gallon -- co-promoted with PriceLock. I don't think Hyundai will like what my first feelings were : Fear!

When I saw the truck, it took me back to a 1970s TV movie, Duel. In it, Dennis Weaver was being chased through the desert by an evil gasoline tanker. It was in the thick of the '70s gas crisis, so we were all getting a little of that feeling in real life. And, it was Steven Spielberg, at the top of his game. All in all, a TV terror classic, complete with Weaver's facial expressions each time the truck renewed its attack -- by themselves, worth it.

I wonder if the ad men for this ad are old enough to remember that one.... and how many others got that same creepy feeling. (A far cry from Volvo's "Safe and Sound" ads, to be sure!)