VIDEO: New Dodge Charger Ad Inaugurates Fast and Furious Five Partnership

If you’re a car buff, chances are you’ve heard about the next chapter in the Fast and Furious franchise that’s scheduled for release in theaters towards the end of April. Being that the movie series is popular among car enthusiasts, the Chrysler Group decided to team up with Universal Pictures for a multi-tiered partnership. Aside from providing 2010 and 2011 model year Dodge Charger vehicles used in numerous chase scenes throughout the Fast Five movie, the Detroit automaker is also sponsoring a Dodge/Fast Five advertisement that will air for the first time on Saturday, April 2 during the Final Four basketball tournaments. However, you can get a sneak peak right after the jump.
“The Dodge brand is proud to partner with Universal Pictures on Fast Five. We enjoyed being a part of the production process and working with the cast and crew, and it clearly comes through in the film,” said Ralph Gilles, President and CEO, Dodge Brand, Chrysler Group LLC.
“The chase scenes in this installment of Fast Five are over-the-top and adrenaline-filled, and Dodge fans will be thrilled by the performance of the Dodge Charger.”
The new ad, which you can check out below, stars an Elizabethan-era mother in the 2011 Charger lecturing her daughter about ruining the family name by carrying on in a relationship with Cornelius, a son of a blacksmith’s apprentice, driving Vin Diesel’s 1970s classic Charger.

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VIDEO : 2011 Peugeot 308 Facelift Commercial is the Next Best Thing to a Wet T-Shirt Contest...

You can never get it wrong when casting attractive women in commercials, right? That's what the people from Peugeot must have thought when they commissioned this TV ad for the restyled Peugeot 308. The car plays a very marginal part in the commercial, with the 30-second long footage being dominated by the Peugeot's owner, an attractive young lady who walks with no umbrella in the pouring rain just to get to her beloved 308. Not the most creative of ads, but at least the people from the casting department did their job.
By Dan Mihalascu

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New Porsche Commercial Shows Sports Cars Doing Ordinary Activities in Style

Porsches are renowned for their every day usability, although it's hard to believe this is the main reason for which people buy them. However, in its most recent commercial, Porsche promotes the practical side of its 911, Cayman and Boxster sports cars.

The ad is made up of four short fragments called ‘Snowmobile’, ‘Pickup Truck’, ‘Getaway Car’ and ‘School Bus' that show a 911 Carrera 4S, a Cayman, a 911 Carrera GTS and a 911 Turbo involved in everyday activities like shopping or picking up the kids from school. As a bonus, Porsche released a fifth fragment that didn't make it to the 30-second ad, called ‘Pet Carrier’. Take a look at the videos after the jump.

By Dan Mihalascu

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Ferrari Shows us How it Made the FF Promotional Video

The impressive video of the Ferrari FF has garnered close to 750,000 views on YouTube in one month, thanks to its spicy ingredients such as a new Ferrari model, spectacular scenes shot in scenic parts of the world and a majestic soundtrack.
Now Ferrari released another video that gives us a behind the scenes look at how the promotional footage was made. So if you've ever wondered how did they did it, now’s the chance to find out. After watching the video, we believe some Hollywood movies might have been cheaper to make than the FF short film. Check out the ‘Making of’ video along with two more official clips of the FF right after the break.

By Dan Miahlascu

VIDEOS

VIDEO: Corvette ZR1 ALMS Ad Belittles BMW, Ferrari and Porsche, but Ends up Losing to M3s in Sebring…

Just before the season opener of the American Le Mans Series (ALMS) at the Sebring International Raceway in Florida this past weekend, GM aired an aggressive commercial touting its 638-horsepower-strong Corvette ZR1. The ad claims that the firm’s engineers had to reduce the stock ZR1’s LS9 engine output by 168HP in order to compete in the race and “just to be fair against Porsche, Ferrari and BMW”.
For one, the Corvette ALMS racers are actually powered by a V8 loosely based on the Z06’s LS7 engine (see the second video after the jump). Perhaps most importantly, the Corvettes finished third and fourth in the GT class in Sebring behind two BMW M3 GTs… Videos follow after the break.

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Mercedes wants us to think the C63 AMG Coupe is Faster than a Ducati 848 EVO

The freshly revealed Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG Coupe is featured in two promotional videos released by the company. The first footage shows the AMG coupe taking on a Ducati 848 EVO motorbike on some scenic twisty roads. The winner of the duel isn't hard to guess - after all, this is a promotional video for the C63 AMG - but one can't help but wondering if the Merc could stand a chance in front of the Italian superbike if the race hadn't been a friendly one (or at least if the two vehicles would have taken the same route).

However, the appearance of the 140HP Ducati motorbike in the video is the fruit of the marketing collaboration between AMG and the Italian brand announced last year. Scroll down to enjoy the sights and sounds of this beautiful duel, plus a short presentation of the C-Class Coupe in AMG guise in the second video.

By Dan Mihalascu

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Chrysler Group to Boost Ad Budget by 70% to $2.9 Billion in 2011

As the Chrysler Group continues its product renaissance with new or facelifted models, the Auburn Hills automaker is now looking to boost its marketing presence in the United States by increasing its advertising budget nearly 70 percent this year, from $1.72 billion in 2010 to around $2.9 billion in 2011.

The increase is even greater when compared to 2009, when Chrysler had just come out of bankruptcy and joined forces with the Fiat Group. According to the SEC filing, the Detroit firm spent just $677 million on advertising in the second half of 2009.

However, promoting the firm’s new models isn’t the only reason behind Chrysler’s decision to boost its advertising expenditure as the automaker also wants to convince investors that the company is on the right track ahead of an initial public stock offering expected later this year

"No matter how good or bad the new products are, it is all about perception now," analyst Ricardo de la Blanca, chief executive of DLB Group in Miami, told Detroit News. "It is safer to buy a competitor's vehicles, so the challenge is to engage consumers. If they do it right, they will be able to create hype," he added. "It is critical because they also need to satisfy investors and the government."

Source: Detroit News

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Audi R8 Commercial: It’s a Good Day for a Drive in the Snow

While the worst of winter may soon be over in the northern hemisphere, carmakers continue to roll out snow-theme advertisements, which proved to be rather popular this season as even Ferrari touted the capabilities of its newest offering, the FF GT, on the snow.

This advertisement comes from Audi, which is an automaker with a long tradition in all-wheel drive models. The German company questions the notion that supercars are only good for the track and for flat, dry roads and not for the “biggest snowstorm in recent memory” showcasing an R8 Coupe having some fun on the snow. Watch the video right after the jump.

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