Harry Waltz knew that, as the lowest guy on the totem poll, he would get stuck having to write the 1982 Cadillac Cimarron ads. He tried every trick in the book to avoid the inevitable, but in the end it was all for naught.
So here he was, staring at a blank computer screen at 8:26 pm — the night before deadline.
His brain was stuck. How could one possibly sell a Cadillac as a BMW 320i competitor — particularly when it was a thinly disguised Chevrolet Cavalier at double the price? It just didn’t make any sense. In desperation, Harry decided to try a “straight talk” approach.
At least that approach allowed Harry to show his boss something. He knew it would get thrown back, but at least he would be given some direction as to what other stupid argument to make. Which indeed his boss did. And Harry went on to write what still stands as the single most embarrassing ad of his career.
But whatever else you could say about the second draft, the client liked it. And while the 1982 Cimarron sold poorly, its design was so obviously flawed that the ad campaign didn’t take the usual blame.
Harry did his job, took one for the team, and a few years later was rewarded with an assignment to take the lead on advertising for the redesigned 1986 Cadillac Eldorado. Now his career was really on a roll.
NOTES:
This post is a parody. For further discussion about what is real, go here.
ADVERTISING & BROCHURES:
- oldcaradvertising.com: Cadillac Cimarron (1982)
“We took a sow’s ear, and turned it into a sow’s ear with Cadillac options!”
Thank you again, Roger B. Smith ! I had a radio station general manager who bought a 1984 Cimarron, and thought he was a “big man on campus” by owning a “sporty” Cadillac. Behind his back, many mocked my boss’ purchase, especially those who owned Cavaliers !
For all the money that GM plowed into the creation of the Saturn division and its products, that in the end we’re left to rot in the name of focusing attention on their existing divisions, GM could have built vehicles that were truly competitive with the likes of BMW, Honda, and others.
I guess that’s what happens when management is so out of touch with the market, and believe their own propaganda. I remember reading the Cimmarron article in Car and Driver, and thinkng, “Surely they can’t be serious!” How could anyone think a dumbed-down front-drive small Opel (which, though designed as a cheap European car, didn’t even make a decent Chevy) was comparable with BMWs and Audis? For a credible Cadillac, they needed a better starting point.
Maybe they though “Build it and they will come”?
Detroit Groupthink Ready for the world!