I saw a new car commercial

[JohnnyRingo]

A young mother is talking about her baby...
She says "He was born 13 days late, I thought I'd be pregnant forever"

Then, she looks to the camera and says:
"There comes a time in your life when you have to put yourself 2nd ...That's why I bought a Saturn".

Now I imagine some here have Saturns and love them, but doesn't this seem like a lame excuse to buy a car?
It sounds like: "Forget about the Mustangs, Lexus, and 'Vettes....You have a kid now, settle for the Saturn."

A "different kind of car company" indeed.

[unblock]

1. volvo's done quite well with that approach

then again, some of the volvos (850 turbo, e.g.) rock!

nothing wrong with the image of a sensible family car.

[Orangepeel]

2. "You have a kid now, settle for the Saturn."

I think that's exactly what they are trying to say, although maybe they'd express it as "Saturn is a responsible car for people who want to make a responsible choice."

It may not work on you personally, but what's wrong with Saturn using that as a selling point?

[JohnnyRingo]

3. Apparently the commercial can be interpreted from multiple perspectives

I've never seen an ad for a car imploring one to "Put yourself second" in our car.
Sounds like:
"Stop treating yourself good, buy a Saturn."

I imagine you'll see the commercial eventually, see what you think then. I've never seen Detroit take this angle before, but then they may not be marketing the car to me.

[Orangepeel]

4. I have seen the commercial

it didn't strike me as odd. :shrug:

Now, if you want to talk about that old Quizno's commercial with the puppets singing about pepper bars....

[Phillycat]

5. "Put yourself second" does not mean "stop treating yourself good".

You are misinterpreting the commercial. "Put yourself second" means put the safety of your chid first.

[mcscajun]

6. It's self-serving for GM/Saturn, to be sure, but still...

...what's wrong with promoting a little scaling down of conspicuous consumption?

A Saturn will get you from point A to point B as surely as a car costing twice as much will, that you buy for the "status" of ownership. Of course, Volvos DO cost more because they're better engineered overall and for safety's sake, but not everyone can afford them.

Disclaimer: I'm no parent. I am the owner of a ten-year-old Saturn coupe, though. :)