"I well recall a brutish Ford commercial from the 1980s in which a woman bikes up to a Ford, throws down her bike, and gets in the car. The voice over (paraphrased): ""When you grow up it's time to put away childish things.""
Last night I saw a commercial for the Volkswagen Passat that damn near rendered me teary.
Here's a cyclist riding at night on a curving road. His bike lights go out. A driver pulls behind him and remains behind him, using his car's headlights to illuminate the roadway for the cyclist.
The sales point for the car is its headlights bend with the road. But what a cyclist-loving commercial this is! Keep alert for it.
"
A car commercial any cyclist can love.
Thu, 09/22/2005 - 8:53am
Thu, 09/22/2005 - 8:57am
#1
Car Commercial
Saw it, loved it-
Lynn
Thu, 09/22/2005 - 10:56am
#2
YES!!!!
Yes. Saw it and my mouth hung open. Not only in favor of cycling, but of sharing the road and of good samaritan generosity. A breakthrough!!!
Thu, 09/22/2005 - 12:25pm
#3
Not to be self-referential, but THIS was a good Samaritan driver
In the mid-'80s I was sloughing up the shore of Lake Iseo, in N. Italy. Ahead of me I see a dog that covered my entire field of vision. And he saw me. He was a bit on the hungry side, having not eaten in, oh, let's just say the previous year or two. He puts on his bib, picks up and knife and fork, and...
...and the driver behind me quickly surmises exactly what I surmise: the immediate future starring me as dinner. The driver pulls up to me and inserts his car alongside of me, slows down and stays between me and the dog until I'm a safe distance away, which, as I recall, was in the next country.
That dog was one mighty pissed off puppy. Well, not a puppy. I think I saw him give the finger, well, a paw, to the driver.
And that is my story of a good Samaritan driver and one who shared the road in the best possible way.
Thu, 09/22/2005 - 1:25pm
#4
car commercial
"The best part of the commercial is in the end when the driver and cyclist give each other a nod of acknowledgement before parting ways, as if there is an unspoken understanding and respect. Perhaps this commercial is a utopian vision or even outright science fiction, becuase I'm more used to honking horns, the finger, or a look of utter bewilderment from a particularly jowley face, which if it could speak would say,"" Gosh darn, why would anyone ride a bike when you can drive to the mall""."
Thu, 09/22/2005 - 3:02pm
#5
car commercial
Maybe the driver was a cyclist who'd rather be on his bike? But I don't know what kind of car driver that would be. Or maybe the kind that the ad wants to attract.
Thu, 09/22/2005 - 4:25pm
#6
The bad with the good. Well, much, much more bad than good.
"Club member (and newish Colnago owner) David Shapiro wrote me:
""I believe the VW ad you mention in your post was done by Arnold Worldwide which VW just fired. So much for utopia.""
Not that I ever once felt bad for the many firings visited upon me in this industry, but, if true, this makes me even less so.
I'll check it out and, if this is true, perhaps a letter writing campaign to VW of America will let them know we're out here.
Not that he reads this message board, because he does not, but former club president, Ben Goldberg, wrote me this today when I sent him the original post:
Have you seen this one: A cyclist (perhaps a messenger) is sitting on a bench which appears to be by the East River with Manhattan behind him. His bike next to him. He is drinking a drink and when he looks under the bottle cap, he sees that he has won a new car. He picks up his bike and throws it into the river, soon followed by his helmet.
My memory might not be exactly right, but that’s the gist of the commercial (for the drink which is running the contest). A bit less cyclist-loving, wouldn’t you say?
To which I say: Ladies and gentlemen of the NYCC, warm up your typewriters!"
Thu, 09/22/2005 - 4:37pm
#7
On the other hand
"Ad for McD's has man with bike sitting at waterside. Hold's box with ""scratch-off"" coupon. Finds out he's won a Mustang. Throws bike & helmet into water. If I weren't so busy, I'd write a polite letter of protest."
Thu, 09/22/2005 - 5:29pm
#8
A car commercial. . . .
Give this one a break. . . .Who wouldn't swap a $100 clunker and its helmet for a $25,000 Ford Mustang.
If the messenger is a truce cycling affecinado he can always sell the Mustang and buy whatever bike strikes his fancy.
Thu, 09/22/2005 - 7:06pm
#9
I don't know
"It maybe funny, but I would have had the contest winner drive the Chevy (fill in the model here) into the water intead.
As such, the Ford Mustang is only good for competition against a 2 wheel clunker! I wonder if they realize the ""negative"" aspect of the ad.
"
Fri, 09/23/2005 - 8:21am
#10
Oh, I don't know... Take the Mustang and sell it, and you've got yourself enough cash for a Richard Sachs roadbike, a Vanilla fixed gear, a JP Weigle randonneuse, a Bruce Gordon tourer, and a Kent Eriksen mountain bike.
Darn, that makes bikes seem cheap.
- Christian
