by Wallace Wyss –

I was a little surprised to see a Ferrari TV commercial. Not just on YouTube but on a regular cable channel.

The commercial is not only unusual for Ferrari, but so is the car–it’s very sedate looking coupe, more Jaguar in styling than Ferrari-ish. No waste gate grilles on the side. Though it does have the prancing horse shield on the front fender about 6″ tall… Only a modest rear deck spoiler, no one of those Look At Me I’m a Race Car one on stilts.

There’s an egg crate grille, sort of–a body colored panel with elongated holes punched into it, not a wire structure. And it’s a two plus two though the second two might have to be under 5.

The commercial sells the car as an object to be admired–wherever you drive it (is it Rome?) people are looking at it. The guy who arrived in it is wearing sunglasses at night like he’s a movie star with Oscar buzz trying to hide in the crowd of rich swells. In the opening scene the owner, a guy about 35–bespectacled, suit, buys an antique book, so right there it says “Yes Ferrari people are literate, not savages.” Then he drives off through the mountains, only now they’re switching between the man and a woman he saw at the party, she in her own Roma. Hey, two can play this game!
They drive around together on wet cobblestone streets in separate cars, in the early evening.

He gives her the book he bought. It’s entitled La Dolce Vita. He changes the title on the title page probably to say something like OUR Dolce Vita. Those Hedonists! The final scene. Morning has come and they’re still driving round in separate cars like they ain’t got enough money for a Motel 6 for Chrissake! I don’t recall music. It’s all very romantic.

I didn’t see any allusions to the firm’s fabulous racing history. I didn’t see words saying “We’re the company that won LeMans five times in a row.” I did see some interior dash shots showing “Yes, we have modern interiors.” And having a woman driving one shows, no this is not a noisy pesky race car that is difficult for a woman to drive. It’s like a thoroughbred race horse that’s been trained.” (I’ve sold thoroughbred horses to non-racing owners with the same pitch…)

I think the commercial does a good job of saying “If you thought Ferrari made nothing but racing type cars, you thought wrong. We make cars you would want to drive to the cocktail party at the country club.” There’s no attempt to tie it into Ferrari, the company that races (I would have had them stop and look through a dealer window to see an old P3/4, but that’s just me).

So in sum, I’m saying they are about 70% of the way there–letting the public know Ferraris aren’t such fearsome beasts. There are tame ones, which have the DNA of a champion competitor but won’t act up, and if you buy one, you just might, just might be mistaken for a celebrity.

Watch the video below for yourself if you like.

Let us know what you think in the Comments.

THE AUTHOR: Wallace Wyss, while a young man in Detroit, wrote ads for Chevrolet.

 
 
 
 

Summary

Article Name

Media: A Ferrari Roma TV Commercial

Description

I think the Ferrari commercial does a good job of saying "If you thought Ferrari made nothing but racing type cars, you thought wrong. We make cars you would want to drive to the cocktail party at the country club."

Author

Wallace Wyss