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This Christmas Weekend repost was first published Thursday.
A new Chevy ad with a holiday theme and millions of YouTube viewings features a model that last rolled of a Detroit-Hamtramck assembly line 22 months ago. The only thing being promoted is a feel-good brand image.
The storytelling setup (Photo: Chevrolet)
With stylish acting, directing, cinematography, script and music, the carmaker tells a poignant four-minute story (below) about a 1966 Impala that's far more than a classic car for two generations of a rural family. There's even a dog named Urkel, along for the ride.
Among the emotion-tugging lines:
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"It's what Mom would’ve wanted. You know that."
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"It's the best Christmas gift I could ever have."
"This one tugs right at the heartstrings," WDIV digital managing editor Dave Bartkowiak Jr. posts. "Try watching without welling up, shedding a tear or downright bawling your eyes out."
Ta-da, behold a lovingly restored Detroit classic
The mini-movie went on YouTube at the start of last week and amasses 5.5 million views by Sunday morning. A shorter version is on broadcast TV and social platforms.
The spot was created with Detroit-based ad agency Commonwealth/McCann and directed by Tom Hooper, a British filmmaker who directed "The King's Speech" in 2010 and "Cats" in 2019. The cinematographer, Claudio Miranda of Chile, also has big-screen credits that include "Life of Pi" from 2012.
Fortune magazine commentator Jeffrey Sonnenfeld predicts "it could become a patriotic Christmas classic." In a Wednesday column, the Yale University management professor writes:
GM's new ad soars, with its emotional and patriotic impact. ...
Perhaps the celebration of an American automobile can remind us of our common values—not just in freedom and mobility, but also in compassion and collective action. GM's 1950 anthem, "See the USA in Your Chevrolet," became Dinah Shore's signature song, in part thanks to its fourth verse, which proclaims: "America's the greatest land of all." Let's see the USA as does Chevrolet this holiday season."
GM, which made the Chevy Impala for over 60 years, built the last ones in February 2020. It still knows how to tighten an iconic model's traction.
Have a tissue handy:
