Cyclists = Obstacles?!

This topic has 15 replies, 13 voices, and was last updated 12 years ago by Tim Kelley.

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July 12, 2013 at 4:26 pm #913742

bobco85
Participant

It’s starting to make the rounds, but has anyone else seen the new Scion commercial? I found it to be irresponsible as it portrays cyclists as “obstacles” that must be overcome by drivers. Nothing about sharing the road or safely passing cyclists, shown as the car revs its engine and blows past the cyclists when there are clearly 2 usable lanes. This commercial easily fits into the false “war on cars” meme, and it surprised me because I usually don’t see this type of portrayal of cyclists in the media.

Here’s the commercial:
[video=youtube_share;w-neWq3TWzE]http://youtu.be/w-neWq3TWzE[/video]
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Viewing 15 replies - 1 through 15 (of 15 total)

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July 12, 2013 at 5:11 pm #975278

TwoWheelsDC
Participant

Sorry Scion, you’re not stuck in traffic, you ARE traffic.

July 12, 2013 at 5:38 pm #975281

txgoonie
Participant

There’s a lot wrong with the messaging there.

July 12, 2013 at 5:40 pm #975282

hozn
Participant

You’d think they’d be a little more thoughtful given http://www.scioncycling.com/

July 12, 2013 at 5:52 pm #975283

Brent
Participant

Funny, I almost got plowed over by a Scion yesterday.

July 12, 2013 at 6:01 pm #975285

americancyclo
Participant

there’s a bit of a continuity gap as the cyclists turn in, the street is two way, and in the next shot, it’s one way, otherwise the scion would be pulling in to oncoming traffic.

plus, shot in LA, so not a surprise

and also, since when is automatic macho?

July 12, 2013 at 6:24 pm #975287

jrenaut
Participant

@americancyclo 57718 wrote:

and also, since when is automatic macho?

Never has been, never will be.

I’ve had an idea for a car commercial for a while. I wish I could make it happen.

Intro: Camera pans over one of those dry lake beds or whatever they are in 90% of “performance” car commercials.
Voiceover: You don’t need a fancy car to have fun being reckless and irresponsible in a dry lake bed.
[Pause]
Voiceover: You don’t even need a car at all.
Enter stage left: Slow motion 10-year-old on a cheap BMX bike, helmet, knee pads, expression of sheer joy, back wheel locked and sliding sideways through a giant cloud of dust.

Scene cuts to 16-year-old in a car, in the pouring rain, doing a 3-point-turn at the DMV with a license test operator in the passenger seat.
Voiceover: The new Scion Random Letter and Number Combination is a joy to drive, even in the worst conditions.

July 12, 2013 at 6:47 pm #975290

TwoWheelsDC
Participant

Copenhagenize is on top of it…

[video=vimeo;62600551]http://vimeo.com/62600551[/video]

July 12, 2013 at 7:26 pm #975292

americancyclo
Participant

@jrenaut 57720 wrote:

I’ve had an idea for a car commercial for a while. I wish I could make it happen.

Intro: Camera pans over one of those dry lake beds or whatever they are in 90% of “performance” car commercials.
Voiceover: You don’t need a fancy car to have fun being reckless and irresponsible in a dry lake bed.
[Pause]
Voiceover: You don’t even need a car at all.
Enter stage left: Slow motion 10-year-old on a cheap BMX bike, helmet, knee pads, expression of sheer joy, back wheel locked and sliding sideways through a giant cloud of dust.

Scene cuts to 16-year-old in a car, in the pouring rain, doing a 3-point-turn at the DMV with a license test operator in the passenger seat.
Voiceover: The new Scion Random Letter and Number Combination is a joy to drive, even in the worst conditions.

Kickstarter and burning man could make this happen

July 12, 2013 at 7:49 pm #975294

DaveK
Participant

I am very intimidated by a butched-up Corolla with an automatic driven mostly by high school girls.

July 12, 2013 at 7:59 pm #975295

ShawnoftheDread
Participant

@DaveK 57730 wrote:

I am very intimidated by a butched-up Corolla with an automatic driven mostly by high school girls.

But it has dark windows like The Car.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y35bsVZeXYE

July 12, 2013 at 8:06 pm #975297

jrenaut
Participant

@americancyclo 57726 wrote:

Kickstarter and burning man could make this happen

You misunderstand. I want someone to make the commercial and give me money. I’ve done all the work on it that I plan to do.

July 13, 2013 at 12:05 am #975304

Amalitza
Guest

The car apparently needs its superior handling ability to avoid the yippy dog that never leaves the sidewalk. In that context, yeah, cyclists legally riding on the road are probably serious obstacles. ::eyeroll::

July 13, 2013 at 9:18 pm #975319

lordofthemark
Participant

it no longer seems to be available on youtube. hmmm.

July 13, 2013 at 9:37 pm #975321

Riley Casey
Participant

Break This Meme

Macho is not macho, it’s not 1963, the average car buyer does not fantasize about being James Bond or Ahhh’nold, the Saudis are not on earth to server our every desire, the petro-chemical industrial economy is not the highest form of human achievement, the Arctic is not impressed with Manifest Destiny, the choking grey haze over every population center on earth is not a sign of our success, its a sign of our frailty. Internal combustion was an inherently good idea turned grotesquely bad by Madison Ave.

Just had to exorcise my inner aging hippie.

@americancyclo 57718 wrote:

… since when is automatic macho?

July 15, 2013 at 5:23 pm #975406

Tim Kelley
Participant

Pulled.

VIA BSNYC: http://www.scion.com/blog/2013/07/02/the-2014-scion-tc-commercial/
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