[Bacardi]

All we heard is they're going to focus their advertising efforts on the superior range and that fact you don't need to plug it in every day/night...

I have never been a fan of the "Real People, not actors" campaign, but my fingers are crossed this could be the first product commercial I like (I did like the lego/batman one but it's because they're basically making fun of themselves and not even advertising a Chevy product)...

My hope is they come up with a compelling commercial, I guess no matter how bad they made it, it would be actually impressive if they could make a worse commercial than the Honda Clarity...

I just hope the commercial is more compelling than the spokesperson: "Raise your hand if you think an EV has to be plugged it in every night?" <Entire focus group raises their hand> Spokesperson: "Well you're so wrong, the award winning Bolt EV has an EPA 238 miles of range which means most won't have to plug it in every night" Random <comic relief> focus group participant: "A plug? My Lamborghini doesn't have that"...

Anyways, what would you LIKE to see in a Bolt EV's "Real people, not actors" commercial?

 

[DonC]

Yeah, nothing is more time consuming and painful that plugging the car in every night!

I guess hope springs eternal. Just doesn't seem that you need to make every conceivable mistake before finding a right message.

 

[Steverino]

Actually, plugging in nightly is a plus. I discovered at the Chicago Auto Show that some were worried about how long it would take to fill a completely drained battery. Many think it's like a gas tank/gas station process where you refill when almost empty rather than topping off nightly, always having a "full tank" every morning. It's a bit of a paradigm shift to say, plug in and have it recharged while you have dinner and a movie.

 

[Bacardi]

Yeah, nothing is more time consuming and painful that plugging the car in every night!

I guess hope springs eternal. Just doesn't seem that you need to make every conceivable mistake before finding a right message.

Not to mention you could create "plug in anxiety" where you wonder to yourself, "did I plug in this evening or was it yesterday? Or was it the day before that?...Blah, let me check my phone..."

GM's own GMC has good commercials at least...

 

[Bacardi]

Actually, plugging in nightly is a plus. I discovered at the Chicago Auto Show that some were worried about how long it would take to fill a completely drained battery. Many think it's like a gas tank/gas station process where you refill when almost empty rather than topping off nightly, always having a "full tank" every morning. It's a bit of a paradigm shift to say, plug in and have it recharged while you have dinner and a movie.

Yup, make it a habit and eventually you won't ever think twice about it...

 

[somms]

Anyways, what would you LIKE to see in a Bolt EV's "Real people, not actors" commercial?

Best 'real people' ad done thus far IMHO!

 

[Steverino]

Best 'real people' ad done thus far IMHO!

I did laugh.

 

[GSP]

The Malibu ad was funney!

What is up with stupid ad copy like "you don't have to plug it in every night?" Have these people ever owned an EV or even lived with an EV company car? Obviously not! It is like asking someone from an isolated tribe on some pacific island, who has never even seen a car, to write an ad for a new car.

Not plugging in every night is not good advice. It is better to recharge to 80-90% SOC every night, so you have range if you need to make an unexpected longer trip. They should say "never have to visit a gas station again!"

GSP

 

[Raymondjram]

Yup, make it a habit and eventually you won't ever think twice about it...

Ask smartphone owners if they plug in every night. Most will say "yes"! Then ask them if their smartphone battery can last a week without plugging in, and many will say "no", not because it won't (actually many smartphone batteries can last over a week), but because they have "charge anxiety" or risking the need to make a call if the battery charge is empty.

This can be worked into the EV market, as many plug in their phones overnight as a habit, even when not needed.

 

[khalfyard]

Ask smartphone owners if they plug in every night. Most will say "yes"! Then ask them if their smartphone battery can last a week without plugging in, and many will say "no", not because it won't (actually many smartphone batteries can last over a week), but because they have "charge anxiety" or risking the need to make a call if the battery charge is empty.

This can be worked into the EV market, as many plug in their phones overnight as a habit, even when not needed.

Exactly. I wish this fallacy of an analogy (EV charge ~ Gasoline Fill) would just die. Look at what it is doing to Ontario, currently.

http://tvo.org/article/current-affa...ehicle-charging-corridor-are-down-to-the-wire

Now I'm not against charging stations (or public/private partnership), but the panic about infrastructure is vastly overrated, when for most people this kind of thing isn't critical to how they would use the vehicle. Instead, governments should be putting in street-parking ESVEs for urban people who own a home, but no driveway/garage and require street-permits -- or better still, subsidize every large Condo tower in the core for retrofitting ESVEs for their residents in the parking garages. Get the urban commuters to switch over, they are a better market (they driver smaller sedans, which is currently 90% of the EV choice) than the 'road-trip' folks who want a monster SUV to tow their boats or whathaveyou.

 

[Bacardi]

Ask smartphone owners if they plug in every night. Most will say "yes"! Then ask them if their smartphone battery can last a week without plugging in, and many will say "no", not because it won't (actually many smartphone batteries can last over a week), but because they have "charge anxiety" or risking the need to make a call if the battery charge is empty.

This can be worked into the EV market, as many plug in their phones overnight as a habit, even when not needed.

I agree with your premise, but for most, with regular use, very few would be able to make 2nd full day without charging their phone...Don't use the phone and I believe many would make a week but that is the extreme minority...Most younger people tend to buy the latest and greatest if you're going to spend the big bucks you're usually using it throughout the day...I work in the center of a low-rise building with other mid/high rises all around, my iphone 7 Plus will not make it a day solely from it constantly losing it's signal and switching between LTE and 4G on workdays...Also at my work, all major email sites and a bunch of websites are blocked, so if checking email is important to you, you have to use your phone...

 

[16513]

Don't look for Bolt ads until full national rollout. Nothing more frustrating than trying to buy an advertised, but unavailable car. There is a very good radio ad running on L.A. news radio now (CBS), no doubt targeting the zillions of commuters stuck in traffic on ever-worsening freeways. HOV access is essential for good commuter mental health.(I work 3 mi. from home and I like to think Im still sane.....)

 

[wainair]

Exactly. I wish this fallacy of an analogy (EV charge ~ Gasoline Fill) would just die. Look at what it is doing to Ontario, currently.

http://tvo.org/article/current-affa...ehicle-charging-corridor-are-down-to-the-wire

Now I'm not against charging stations (or public/private partnership), but the panic about infrastructure is vastly overrated, when for most people this kind of thing isn't critical to how they would use the vehicle. Instead, governments should be putting in street-parking ESVEs for urban people who own a home, but no driveway/garage and require street-permits -- or better still, subsidize every large Condo tower in the core for retrofitting ESVEs for their residents in the parking garages. Get the urban commuters to switch over, they are a better market (they driver smaller sedans, which is currently 90% of the EV choice) than the 'road-trip' folks who want a monster SUV to tow their boats or whathaveyou.

They had a survey last fall on the Ontario Government sight where they were asking for opinions on how they could better promote EV's. I did it and mentioned something like what you were saying above about condo retrofitting and some other things. I hope you found it too.

I like the fact that they are going forward with the DCFC network but I am not surprised that they are well behind. This is a government program after all. Being late is the norm! I thought The end of March was optimistic at best. I just hope this delay doesn't make them second guess the program and scale it back!

 

[canehdian]

"I never have to check the gas price and game the system to save a couple bucks"
"I never have to line up to fill up my car"
"I never spend more than 10s outside when it's -20 (or heatwave, raining, snowing, hail, whatever) and my car is on empty"
"I can fill up my car anywhere there is an electrical outlet, while I go about my day/night."

"My car just works, no warmup necessary"
"My car just goes when I press the pedal. No delay, no shifting necessary. Just instant torque."
"My car only needs tires, wipers, and coolant. Every 5 years."

But of course it will be about something stupid, like the leaf elevator ad.

 

[Loiter]

I'm pretty sure they spend 0 time talking to actual EV owners about their favorite parts about the car before making these commercials.

"My car is incredibly quiet, no matter how fast I drive, I never have to turn up my radio to drown out the sound of the engine."

 

[Sean Nelson]

"I can remotely pre-warm the car in my garage without worrying about noxious fumes".

 

[hellsop]

"My neighbor Ian has been bragging about his low Tesla Model 3 number for like a year. I got my car before he did."

 

[ItsNotAboutTheMoney]

Actually, plugging in nightly is a plus. I discovered at the Chicago Auto Show that some were worried about how long it would take to fill a completely drained battery. Many think it's like a gas tank/gas station process where you refill when almost empty rather than topping off nightly, always having a "full tank" every morning. It's a bit of a paradigm shift to say, plug in and have it recharged while you have dinner and a movie.

Yes! When you don't plug in all the time, you're more likely to forget.

Because our Volt is my wife's commuter I sometimes forget to plug it in.
But because our Volt is also our shared and local errand car I sometimes plug it in and then can't remember whether I plugged it in.

But, people do express concern that they'll forget to plug in, so Chevrolet wants to reassure people that it has so much range that it doesn't matter if they forget the odd time (plus without saying explicitly they have an outage).

In expressing concern at forgetting to plug in, people sometimes compare to cellphones. But a cellphone is something you have with you and may be to hand even at home so even when you're not using it, you're still using it. But a car is something that spends most of its time parked. Park at home and plug in.

It becomes automatic. Certainly has for my wife. She's more likely to forget _not_ to plug in.

 

[ItsNotAboutTheMoney]

I'm pretty sure they spend 0 time talking to actual EV owners about their favorite parts about the car before making these commercials.

"My car is incredibly quiet, no matter how fast I drive, I never have to turn up my radio to drown out the sound of the engine."

I think they pick people who'll look appealing to the targeted demographics, and will say something positive just to be kind. (I once someone showing how easy it is to get a member of the public to say something positive for a commercial.)

 

[Bacardi]

"I never have to check the gas price and game the system to save a couple bucks"
"I never have to line up to fill up my car"
"I never spend more than 10s outside when it's -20 (or heatwave, raining, snowing, hail, whatever) and my car is on empty"
"I can fill up my car anywhere there is an electrical outlet, while I go about my day/night."

"My car just works, no warmup necessary"
"My car just goes when I press the pedal. No delay, no shifting necessary. Just instant torque."
"My car only needs tires, wipers, and coolant. Every 5 years."

But of course it will be about something stupid, like the leaf elevator ad.

I'm not sure any of those are worth pointing out...If you distance travel, the lines/price shopping/waiting in the cold with EVs could possibly be worse...In the age of cell phones, I see everyone start the gas pump and go back inside their vehicle and play with their phone while refueling...Sure it's a fire risk (fire odds are brought to near zero if you touch a ground before re-exiting) but I see this happen almost every time I've gotten gas...

I have not heard an updated stat but the last I heard that 55% of all PHEVs/EVs are leased, the bonus of leasing is no maintenance so highlighting a topic for the minority doesn't make sense...

Totally agree with leaf elevator ad, in fact all the attack ads were not only awful but so out of touch...