Chevrolet Kills ‘Real People’ TV Ads Amid Controversy About Reliability Claims
‘They [Chevy] have agreed to take these false and misleading ads down, and we’d like to see that happen immediately,’ tweeted a Ford spokesperson.
The "Real People, Not Actors" line of commercials from Chevrolet have been around for quite some time now. Some of them were original, such as the one with a real-life bear in it. Others were funny, like the Lego Batman one. But most recently, they've just been plagued with cringe-worthy lines and now even controversy.
The latest ad makes reliability claims that shock the real people in the commercials. The reliability claims have also shocked several manufacturers like Ford, Toyota, and Honda, who have challenged the claims and the validity of the spot.
According to Jalopnik, Chevrolet employed a market research company called Ipsos to conduct the reliability survey. With a fairly small sample size and the potential conflict of the brand hiring a firm to conduct a survey that makes its employer look good, it's understandable why claims would be challenged.
According to The Detroit News, Chevrolet has decided to pull the ad from the rotation nationwide. Chevrolet said in a statement that it "stands by the reliability claim and the ad remains in the brand’s toolbox but we have decided to take it out of the regular rotation at this time to launch new Silverado creative."
The commercial is currently "Unlisted" on YouTube, and the brand said it'll eventually pull the commercial there, too.
Ford's Mike Levine, Product Communications Manager for North America, tweeted earlier;
While this doesn't mean that the Real People commercials are going away anytime soon, it looks like people behind the commercials will be paying more attention to the claims in the future.
