go team america

Anyone else as impressed as I am with Cadillac’s re-branding and advertising?

Cadillacs were for the cool and well-to-do dads, now grandpas. They were engineered with innovation, and luxurious styling to please. Cadillac was the first to introduce electronics in their cars (ignition, lighting), and who doesn’t recognize a late 1940’s, 50’s, or 60’s caddy? You may not be able to conjure a picture in your head right now, but if you saw one, you would slobber no doubt.

The 1970’s.

Funk. Cadillac had none of this, and while most cars started getting hit with the ugly stick in the following decade, Cadillac fell out of favor prematurely. Imports and the invention of “gas mileage” probably didn’t help the Caddy image either.

So, at some point Cadillac lost its connection with luxury and good looks (we’ll blame the 80’s), but this was something that a lot of gold chrome and white leather could fix, giving rise to its next suitor: the hustler. Kind of confused and muddled the image Cadillac was aiming for, but at least the used cars were selling (even if they were police auctions).

Brings us to today. We all love to hate the Escalade, but it was the Escalade that sparked something and reminded us of what a good luxury American car was all about: flash, class, and grass (I don’t know, it was a third word that rhymed). And in a way, Cadillac is still appealing to the same demographic that it always has, but this time it’s delivered products worthy of the demographic. You’ll see the ads, bumpin’ sound track, unassuming hip man with big frame glasses. Slow panning car porn shots across the dash, grill, and other bits. No mention of fuel economy or cost, because those things don’t matter to the man who just mad-dawged synergy in the face and won.

Hey and how about Lincoln, too? The cars are still a little ugly, but the advertising is much improved: