nothing more slimy than "image repair" advertising from people like Toyota

[Lerkfish]

millions (maybe billions, I don't know) of advertising dollars are being spent by Toyota to make us think they're really dependable and concerned about our safety, rewarding us for being loyal, etc.

if they had spent that money to FIX tHE PROBLEM, instead of paying off officials and denying there was a problem (and in fact they are still stonewalling), they wouldn't need to spend it now in a desperate attempt to "repair" their image.


same thing happened after the Exxon Valdez .... we got inundated with all the "we're really ok, america! advertising, even as sick as to pretend they were environmentally conscious.


argh. disgusting.

[Lerkfish]

1. surprised to have to kick my own thread but oh well.

[Uben]

2. Don't worry.......

...they convinced me to never buy a Toyota. I've only owned one foreign car, a MAzda RX7, back in 1979. It was a piece of junk! I haven't used Exxon since the Valdez incident. I don't trust any big corporations that lavish money on their CEOS and big shots. I refuse to foster that kind of business.
No one is worth millions of dollars a year in bonuses in a corporation.

[HopeHoops]

3. Yeah, and instead of fixing the Valdez, they reflagged it The Mediterranean.

It was in dry dock to get the hole patched. They could have put a second hull on it then, but that would have cost money. Solution? Change the name.

Speaking of which, remember Blackwater?

[ThomWV]

4. First off Toyota is not a person, so don't call it "people like Toyota"

And in the second place Toyota has spent years building some of the best made production cars in the world, in fact if it wasn't for companies like Toyota we would still be driving Detroit death traps with virtually no safety features what so ever. You may recall - or maybe you are too young to recall - that GM, Ford, Chrysler, and American Motors (remember them?) fought mandatory seat belts for all they were worth as an example.

[Romulox]

5. Didn't follow the Congressional hearings, did ya?

Ano...... :hi:

[Lerkfish]

7. how "young" do you think I am?

I'm 51.
and you misunderstand me. I am talking about ALL "image repair" advertising, not which company is worse than which other company.

[Romulox]

6. Here's the problem as I see it: Toyota customers USED to pride themselves on being smart...

and well informed.

But now, that demographic is the least open to a new Toyota at the moment.

So the marketing strategy has to change to target low information consumers. The new commercials are precisely sort of the emotionally manipulative drivel to which these low information consumers respond. However, this strategy feels somehow...insulting to Toyota's customer base. You'll therefore find many Toyota owners eager to defend a company that, by all accounts, does not deserve to be defended--this is ultimately an attempt to bolster the poster's own ego as a savvy consumer by bolstering the company the poster patronizes.