[Paul Stolk]

The recent Ford TV commercials i find rather appealing,for whatever reason,could have something to do with the girl pictured.Like so many other commercials nowadays,the focus is on emotions,not so much on the technical aspects.


Here is the Dutch version for the fiesta ST,the girl driving Continental style,steeringwheel left.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f2xrhylnDj0


There is also a version with righthand steering:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r8w48GbSNdg


This is about the only current Ford commercial i know of.


Your opinions please.

 

[Paul Stolk]

The numberplates in both versions are identical,so one of the two clips was mirrored.

 

[jackkook]

I cannot imagine how ads like this sell cars, it does not say anything about the car, but makers are not stupid so they must be effective.

 

[Paul Stolk]

Advertising is all about emotions nowadays,the experience of the product.

Apart from Ford,only Skoda,Dacia,Kia and Volvo are broadcasting TV commercials in Holland at present.
Skoda are focussing on the volume of space,Dacia are focussing on price,and KIA (Picanto) are focussing on high tech aspects to do with audio etc.
Nothing about engines or performance.


Volvo have their new XC40,same thing,a rather vague video presentation,not saying anything about the specs of the car.

 

[Hadrian1]

The know a lot of customers are women, who often aren't worried about the specs on a car.
As long as they can connect a phone, and there is a mirror in the sun visor. (he says tongue in cheek)

 

[Paul Stolk]

Well,i look in the mirror at times,just to see if i am as goodlooking for women as i used to be!



Technical aspects mean nothing in a country where most of the time you find yourselves in a trafficjam and where the speedlimit for most part is 100 km/h.
As such,the only way to sell a Fiesta in a pricerange between Euro 16,500 and Euro 20,500 is to focus on non-technical aspects,the experience effects.

Holland is a densily populated country with little wildlife left,still car makers like to make us believe it is great fun driving out of the city to rural areas to spend our leasuretime there,absolute rubbish if you ask me.




The Fiesta commercial shows city life by night,before it turns to more rural areas in probably Austria or something.
Same thing for Dacia,the guy buys a paper in his pyamas,thence the whole family is seen driving steep hills in the mountains (not in Holland!).


I see my B-Max as a luxury city car,and that is fine with me.

 

[vdragoslav]

I respect the Dutch people for taking land from the sea! :>
You can "use" mountains somewhere else in Europe! ;

Do you know the theories that find similarities between the Dutch and... Dacia (pronounced "datchia")?

 

[Paul Stolk]

Thanks my friend!

I believe that all men are brothers,no matter where they live.


No,i have no idea about similarities between Dutch people and Dacia,please tell me.
Perhaps that we are still rather sober people,happy with simple things?


In fact,my wife and i live on reclaimed land about 4 mtrs below sealevel,so do one of my sisters and her husband,and many of our friends.

For us it is as normal as mountains in Switzerland.



Last time disaster struck was early February 1953,with over 2,000 people drowned,our goverenment decided this should never ever happen again and designed the socalled Delta plan,closing off the major sea inlets,a very costly project for all Dutch tax payers.


I cannot watch these pictures without crying:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XcX5wb1k9UM&t=75s


Edited by: Paul Stolk

 

[jackkook]

Hi Paul, the flooding was also in Eastern England at that time, many RAF/Army/Navy were sent to help, I had not joined yet July 1953 I joined up
, but I heard about it from some RAF men who were there.

 

[Paul Stolk]

Thanks Jack,

Yes,i know East England was caught in the same storm on 31st January 1953.


The flooding in the west of Holland was a national trauma in various aspects.
It took decades to overcome this trauma.
The cause was a north westerly storm combined with a spring tide,pushing the sea over the North Sea into the funnel of the Calais passage,combined with human neglect in maintaining proper defences against the sea.
Only 8 years after WW2 focus was on rebuilding housing destroyed in the war,not so much on maintaing waterworks.
Also,living close to the sea,one get used to its benefits,not so much to its danger.
The disaster caused a national wake up call,and this was adequately picked up by government,we are save now,even when water constantly has to be pumped out of about half of the country day and night.


Here is the grand final,the closing of the wide Oosterschelde gap with a half open dam,this to protect the local sealife:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sAWQ8TRYfao



Edited by: Paul Stolk

 

[Paul Stolk]

Total costs for the original 1953 Deltaplan were an estimated 900 million Euro in todays money,excluding maintenance.Another 20 billion Euro (20,000,000,000.-) has been budgetted as from 2014 for the next 30 years to keep the country dry,taking into account rising sealevels.