You know what’s sort of strange and inconsistent? I mean, other than my behavior at social gatherings? The way some cars are portrayed in commercials. Not all cars, of course, but some cars. And not ones that are the focus of the commercial itself, just the background cars, at best the supporting characters. But still, significant cars. Cars that are, let’s say, very recognizable.
Sometimes in commercials, these cars just exist, unmolested. And sometimes they get changed, often in strange ways that make us feel unsettled. Remember that CGI’d Mustang from some ad about a drug that gets injected into your eye from last year? That was a good example of this.
Here, just in case you forgot what I mean, you can see the tweaked Mustang:
These always make me feel funny in the kishkas. It’s just wrong, and in this age of AI horseshittery, the connotations of reality that isn’t quite right just feel more, well, loaded. Anyway, see if you can spot the similar (if more subtle) example in this commercial for the freshly-redesigned Volkswagen Tiguan:
First, it does seem like this ad is targeted at the dog community, which is an unusual choice for VW, considering that traditionally, dogs tend to be broke and/or have pretty poor credit scores. But, more importantly, did you catch the weirdly CG-modified car?
I mean, I’m pretty sure you did, since it’s in the picture at the top of this article. The car is clearly a Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow convertible, but the distinctive Rolls-Royce Pantheon grille has been modified:
The most obvious change is the vertical slats of the grille, designed to mimic the Pantheon in Rome, which is, of course, where the iconic Rolls-Royce Grille gets its name:
Oh yeah, I can see that. Of course, I think a lot of radiator grilles from the early 1900s ended up with a generally similar sort of look, but Rolls definitely leaned into this classical-inspired design with its roots from the year 126.
Of course, in the Rolls-Royce application, there’s no Corinthian capitals on the columns and there’s that iconic Spirit of Ecstasy at the apex there, but I think we get the idea.
That grille is an iconic symbol of Rolls-Royce, and as such it’s understandable why they protect its use. Jeep does the same with their seven-slot grille. Grilles are a big deal. But it seems like the portrayal of these iconic designs wasn’t always so… precious, or protected. For example, check out what is arguably the best-known of commercials that feature Rolls-Royces, the famous Grey Poupon mustard ad from 1981:
This commercial became a cultural touchstone, and made the carrying of condiments in your car pretty much a requirement of any vehicle with luxury pretensions. Who among us doesn’t keep a full array of mustards, mayos, ketchups, salsas, and ranches ready to go in our glove boxes now, all thanks to this ad?
You’ll note that the Rolls-Royces shown in the commercial – I think they were mid-’60s Silver Clouds – display their proportionally-taller Pantheon grilles unmolested and proud. No one was trying to change or hide them back then.
Same goes for this follow-up commercial, which shows the mustard-enjoyers in a less flattering light, more selfish and disinclined to share:
What a jackass. Share your mustard, asshole! That’s the code of the road!
Now, by 2013, when Grey Poupon decided to revisit this old ad campaign and have some fun with it, the world seems to have changed. Look at the grilles on the Rollers in this ad:
See what they did? Clumisly? Look at these grilles, with their horizontal slats and what looks like strips of flashing down their middles:
Wow. It’s not even just the grilles that have been changed, the quad headlamp setup had been reduced to just two headlamps, the turn indicator lenses have been changed, as have the taillights, as seen in other shots. Interestingly, all these changes seem to be real, physical changes to the cars, not CGI.
Is this just the result of the world growing more litigious? If there was a specific legal precedent that had been changed, I haven’t been able to find it, so I’m thinking it’s just excess caution. And yet in movies and television and other entertainment that are not strictly advertising, these sorts of disguising efforts are far less common; why is it okay to show a car as it is in an episode of, say, Law and Order: Elevator Inspectors Unit but not in a condiment commercial?
I should reach out to a real lawyer about this. I’m curious!
The post This VW Tiguan Ad Seemingly Targeted At The Dog Community Has A Weird Rolls-Royce Grille And Got Me Thinking About The Pantheon appeared first on The Autopian.
