Chevrolet’s Real People, Not Actors ad campaign isn’t particularly well liked and it has been relentless mocked on YouTube.
The campaign is receiving fresh criticism as Automotive News reports a consumer group has called the company’s latest commercial misleading. In the video, Chevrolet gathered Ford, Honda and Toyota owners to talk about reliability. The clip follows its usual format and reveals “based on a recent, nationwide survey, Chevy is more reliable than Toyota, Honda and Ford.”
While the ad seems pretty straight forward, there’s more than meets the eye. As Mouse Print noticed, the study involved 2015 model year vehicles. This normally wouldn’t be too much of an issue, but the video shows the Chevrolet Equinox, Malibu, Traverse and Silverado. All four of these vehicles have been redesigned since the 2015 model year, so they’re not necessarily the most reliable anymore.
Also Read: Toyota Leads Latest Reliability Study, But Mazda Models Are The Most Affordable To Fix
Despite being somewhat misleading, a Chevrolet spokesperson told Automotive News that it stands by the ad and will continue running it. This is understandable as the purpose of the ad is to highlight Chevrolet’s reliability and not necessarily the reliability of the vehicles shown, even though some people might take it that way.
It’s also worth noting that reliability studies don’t always focus on the newest models. The Ipsos study examined 2015 model year vehicles that had parts repaired or replaced in the past 12 months. This isn’t too surprising as most studies focus on long-term reliability, but there are others such as J.D. Power’s Initial Quality Study which examine problems experienced in the first 100 days of ownership.
Given the number of studies and different things they look at, it’s no wonder why some vehicles or brands might be ranked high on one list and low on another.
https://youtu.be/o2xrEGkIdWs