Chevy Focuses On Family And Friends In New Ads

GM's Chevy brand is sporting a very different look in ads that just launched during the Winter Olympics: Vignettes featuring families and friends in Chevy cars.

The latest television commercials for Chevy's Equinox, Malibu, and Traverse models drop spokesperson Howie Long in favor of "very human, intimate, family moments – those that often happen in the enclosed environment of the family car – to capture the spirit of Chevy," says Bob Moore, chief creative officer of the agency that created the ads. The previous tagline, "The American revolution," is also gone.

One ad, typical of the series, depicts a dad-daughter moment inside a Chevy Traverse. Another shows a young woman "rescuing" her friend from a boring date by picking her up in a Malibu.

Clearly, Chevy is keying in to a recent trend in automobile advertising that connects cars with people's experiences. Pioneered by the Volkswagen brand more than a decade ago, it appears that slice of life ads are returning to carmakers' creative portfolios. A number of brands, including Subaru, Volvo, and now Chevy, use this approach in current advertising. Which should remind us that cars don't sell cars – people sell cars.