Christmas Cars

Christmas is over but the Christmas car ads continue. I for one am grateful for this public service. It is obviously an attempt by the car companies to extend Christmas joy a few more days, to bring Christmas happiness to just a few more people, and to truly make Christmas, if not a year round attitude, at least a New Year’s week attitude. This is corporate responsibility at its finest.

Christmas car ads are not difficult to figure out. There is a formula. A car with a bow. Excitement and joy when the gift getter is surprised with the car. Perhaps a shot of the gift getter joyously driving the car. At least most of them. Not Lexus.

I am confused by the Lexus Christmas ads. To me, they are a bit off kilter. They don't quite fit the Christmas car ad formula. The ads build up to the grand surprise of Christmas, the presentation of a new car, red bow and all, and the woman getting the car is so excited, she smiles warmly and gives a sigh of…of…well, I suppose relief. Yep, that’s about all the reaction she gives. No excitement but a gentile smile, much like you would expect her to give a waiter delivering her meal, if it was not quite what she ordered but she didn’t want to hurt his feelings. Maybe she is relieved she didn't get a Ronco Makin' Bacon Master. Or is longing for one.

The guys getting a Lexus are a different story. They are much more expressive. One guy walks into his normal, everyday living room with a 20 foot long fireplace and floor to ceiling windows with a Lexus setting right on the white carpet and can hardly contain himself. He is so excited that he actually smiles broadly, yes, broadly, and walks up to the car, touching it gently. No unbecoming fist pump or other expression of joy for him. No sir. Just a good ol’ broad smile. Very moving.

Even the Lexus' ad family children act strangely sedate. The biggest gift of Christmas is so exciting to them that they gently hug their mom. No running to it, no dragging her to see it. No laughing or jumping. No crawling in and playing with buttons and cup holders. Just a hug and a smile. It's just not natural. I would be pushing buttons.

Maybe Lexus should have hired actors from other car commercials. Those guys and gals know how to show excitement. They don’t even wait for the garage door to open before they plow through it with joy. Or they fight to set in the drivers seat while it sits in their living room, probably because they have no idea how to get it out of their living room. There is no garage door to plow through.

My favorite reaction to a Christmas car was the son of a radio station employee. In one of those holiday spots where families talk about their favorite things about Christmas, this kid talked about how he loves his BMW. Hood. His favorite part of Christmas is when his dad hooks a BMW hood to their four-wheeler and pulls it though the snow like a sleigh.

I wonder if they take it off the car first.