Although South African car companies do poke fun at each other from time to time, certain golden oldies like BMW’s ‘beat the bends’ and Opel’s ‘more fun than Golf’ springing to mind here, our country is not really big on so-called competitive advertising.
In the USA, of course, it’s a whole different ball game where competitors are often blatantly mentioned as being inferior to Product XYZ.
However, this new advert from Jeep takes things to an all new level of mockery.
On the face of it, the Jeep ad shows two people dressed as hamsters trying to modify a Kia Sorento in order to get to a Halloween party at a presumably remote location called “Hells Revenge”.
They eventually give up and grab the keys to a Jeep Grand Cherokee Trailhawk.
undefinedBut some context is in order here.
As the
points out, the Jeep video is making fun of a Kia advert which showed that the Sorento was capable of tackling the famous Moab trail as well as that rocky and treacherous stretch called ‘Hells Gate’ - which is something one would only expect from a hard-core off-roader.
And the hamsters? That apparently refers to the 'Hamstars' used in some of Kia's advertising abroad.
undefinedThe Sorento is not a hardcore off-roader, and although it has a permanent all-wheel-drive system, it lacks low-range gearing and other systems geared for treacherous roads. It's built more for comfortable road tripping, which is what the average consumer wants these days.
That said, the Kia did manage to tackle “hells gate” according to the video, albeit with modifications such as off-road tyres and underguard protection, while the anti-roll bars had to be disconnected.
Not things you have to worry about in a Grand Cherokee, Jeep taunts.
Now it's your turn Kia.