Suspend Disbelief (Or These Spots Won’t Ring True)

Goodby Silverstein is rolling out a classic line from years gone by for its big automotive client.

The thing is the players shown above are not old enough to recall that line, and many of the people watching baseball on TV today are not old enough to make the connection either. Which leaves people wondering what these players are mumbling about.

To refresh our memories, here’s a Chevy spot from 1975:

Further research indicates that the line actually resurfaced in 2006 when Deutsch/LA was on the account.

In related news, Jeff Goodby, writing in Ad Age, defends the recent union of GS&P with McCann, a move made at the client’s request.

For three big, bottom line based companies (GM, Interpublic, and Omnicom), the fact that this is a good financial arrangement is actually a reason to believe it will all succeed. Yes, GM was able to realize big savings in the global realignment of its agencies and media. But believe me, we did okay as well.

In short, the money is actually a reason to make it work. Not a reason to have it fail.

One of the best copywriters in the business just said that money, not the work, is the motivating factor here. I’m sure it is, and I’m sure it’s great money, but somehow I don’t see amazing work in this brand’s near future.