Every so often, a TV commercial really grabs me (no, I don’t always skip them, unlike most of my fellow Americans).  I am interested in these things because they are a window into branding strategy…good and bad…and the difficult challenge of executing strategy in a television spot.  I really enjoy it when the stars seem to align.  So the commercial that got my attention was the :60 spot for the new Cadillac ELR running in the Olympic broadcasts…you know, the hard working, in your face, successful American  (actor Neal McDonough) taking a fun shot at the French, their work habits, and taking August off.

The ad has created buzz, and of course many different opinions.  Bruce Turkel of Turkel Brands in Miami playfully questioned in his blog if the ad is simply “pontificating on the materialistic benefits of a consumer society,” or is it an “amalgam of righty American exceptionalism and lefty aesthetics and eco-sensitive electric automobiles.”  He asked his Facebook friends what they thought…most thought it was funny, some hated it, but everyone seemed to have a strong opinion.  I’ll bet they all remembered it.

So what is Cadillac up to?  As an American icon that has had its ups and downs, I looked for clues about a long term branding strategy.  Going back to their television commercial in 1958, the car was the hero for 60 seconds…no actors, just showroom shots and a voiceover promoting some pretty amazing features including an air suspension.  The messaging was purely functional, but the cars were packed with emotion.  I’d buy a 1958 El Dorado Biarritz in a heartbeat.

I was seven years old in 1958, and my dad’s best friend was a promising lawyer.  He bought a Cadillac.  I will never forget what I took away from that…he was making it (and he did, big time).  The Cadillac brand owned the American Dream.

Great brands tap into values that are meaningful to us in a positive way…these values are high order and don’t change over time.  But you can’t just say it and make it true.  People have to feel it, the product has to deliver, and there needs to be a logical connection between what the product does for you and the values it taps into.  Cadillac has come back to tapping into the American Dream, much as it did in the ‘50’s. Great brands needn’t (shouldn’t?) change strategy, no matter what your agency or some newly minted assistant product manager says, but they do need to keep delivering the goods.   Cadillac lost their way in the ‘70’s and they stopped delivering a great product…without that, they couldn’t “connect” to the American Dream, and their branding strategy lost relevance and believability.   Cadillac has clawed its way back to making great cars with world class technology and some adventurous (remember 1958) styling.  The car magazines put them toe to toe with the world’s best.

How does the brand strategy work?   I am guessing here, but the branding “linkage” may work like this…great American technology gives you a beautiful transportation tool that makes you efficient and effective, making you feel smart and successful, tapping into a belief that anything is possible…the American Dream.  “You work hard, you create your own luck, you gotta believe anything is possible.”  Cadillac owned this, nearly lost it, and has figured out that they can own it again…good for them.   Makes me proud.  I might even buy one.  A quick aside…the original Cadillac company was named after French explorer, Antoine Laumet de La Mothe, sieur de Cadillac, who founded Detroit in 1701…I’ll bet he didn’t take August off, n’est ce pas?