Gratuitous Creativity.
This is one of those projects I saw and really wanted to love and just ended up hating.
If you don’t know, I am a big fan of street art (my other blog is called City Tattoos) but really I could not find a strategic reason or a conceptual direction why this was ever produced. I did not see anything on that car that spoke to me youth, energy, excitement or trendy. I think that they should take a look at what KIA and SCION have done to their line of products to cater to that audience before deciding to target them.
I don’t know if this was part of a bigger effort, but if that is the case, there should be a better link to the actual concept behind the execution. Below is what I found on Youtube for you to judge.
“Watch as respected street artist Jeff Soto teams up with Chevrolet in an amazing world-first street-art collaboration. Check out what an artist and a paint-spraying robot car can create! For behind-the-scenes footage and more ridiculous Sonic stunts, visit www.LetsDoThis.com.”
And using their own language please follow the link so you can check out some more “ridiculous Sonic stunts” that will do nothing to make me buy a Sonic.
I think this was such a missed opportunity to really build engagement, be authentic and create a real connection with a target. It always seems that American car makers make the same mistake by trying to be cool and saying they are cool and we all know what that means.
The connection between the artist and the car could not feel more forced… in this execution and all the others I saw like the OK GO connection.
There is such a disconnection between the voice and persona of the product and the actual product… correct me if I am wrong but when I see a Chevy Sonic one of the last thoughts in my mind is hip or cool.
