Between a stint as editor of AutoWeek in the 1980s and his latest gig writing award-winning motorsports books, George Levy spent more years than he can actually remember as a creative director and marketing strategist at major advertising agencies and as a consultant to clients. His column provides an insider's view of some of today's most interesting commercials.

Every commercial begins life with a pitch by a creative team to a client about all the reasons this concept will do wonders for their company and make the product fly out of the showrooms.

I'd love to have been a fly on the wall when they were pitching this one.

You know how much we love the Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio. It's a C/D 10Best winner and Editors' Choice: "Seductive looks, a snarling exhaust note, and sharp handling are essential to any Italian sports car, and the racy Giulia Quadrifoglio has all three in spades."

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So imagine the reaction of the Alfa Romeo USA brass when the agency said, "We've got this great new campaign about all the people switching from German cars" (the usual suspects: BMW, Mercedes, and Audi) "to Alfa Romeos." The conversation probably went something like this:

CLIENT: So you're going to spend the entire 30 seconds letting people experience the seductive looks, snarling exhaust note, and sharp handling of the Giulia Quadrifoglio.

CREATIVE TEAM: Not exactly. That'd be too expected. We're going to take a fresh approach and show the German car owners before they've bought their Alfa.

CLIENT: Oh, great. So they're going to talk about all the reasons they think the Alfa is better than their BMW, Audi—whatever.

CREATIVE TEAM: Not . . . exactly. We're going to show them in the process of selling their car and talking to prospective buyers about how great their BMW, Mercedes, or Audi is. But get this: when they're praising their German cars, there will be a slightly ironic tone.

There must have been at least a moment of silence in the room.

So what do the spots consist of? As Britain's The Sun put it, "The 30-second clips feature cliché American businessmen trying to sell their [BMW, Audi, or Mercedes] to buy Alfa's Giulia, with the sporty Quadrifoglio model making an appearance at the end of each ad." The last five seconds, to be exact.

There are three spots: Doug Sells His BMW, Dan Sells His Audi, and Shawn (yes, there had to be a Shawn) Sells His Mercedes.

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Doug Sells His BMW starts out with our man next to his squeaky-clean BMW 320i in front of his demographically correct, leafy-neighborhood, two-story home. (All three protagonists are young white males living in demographically correct leafy neighborhoods.) "Hi," he begins. "I'm Doug, and I'm selling my BMW car. What features does it have? All of them. All of the luxuries."

Luxuries is the key word here. The premise for all three spots is that the German cars have outlived their reputations and devolved into bloodless luxury cars; their best features are, says Doug, "heated seats for your buttocks" and woofers that will "get the cul-de-sac bumpin'." Which is why, at about the 25-second mark, Doug explains why he's selling:

"I guess you could say I've got my mind on something else."

Cut to pulse-racing scenes of a blood red (assuming your blood runs to more of a metallic red) Giulia in action. Point made.

Another cute touch: a phone number in each spot to reach the seller about his German car. When you call "Doug," he says: "It's Doug. Thanks for calling. Listen, I know I told you a lot about that BMW, but it's not the car you want.

"I mean, maybe you do, but if you're looking for something that can really perform, please just go to AlfaRomeoUSA.com and check out the Alfa Romeo Giulia. It's fast, it's Italian, so forget about the BMW. Actually, there is no BMW."

The approach involves a number of risks. The spots spend 25 seconds featuring, let's face it, some pretty desirable German cars. At least some viewers could be forgiven for thinking, "Hey, my BMW actually looks like a pretty smart choice there." Think back to that pitch meeting and the client thinking, "I'm going to spend five-sixths of the ad and therefore five-sixths of my budget showcasing the competition?!"

Another is that the spots spoof the very people it hopes to attract. Which is why another clear subtext in each is that, even if you're a German-car owner, don't worry, you're not one of these losers.

And maybe the biggest risk of all: You learn nothing about who the ad is from until the last five seconds. What if you've already headed to the kitchen for a fresh cup of Jamaica Blue Mountain Reserve?

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So why did the client greenlight these ads? Most likely because Alfa in general and the Giulia in particular are in a fight for their lives in North America—and they're at a distinct disadvantage to their more established competition. Sure, they could have run still more ads showing the Giulia squirting from apex to apex. But guess what? Mercedes, BMW, and Audi run a fair number of those kinds of commercials themselves. What these ads do that those other Giulia ads don't is suggest that the other, much more successful sports sedans are frauds. Which is a message Alfa is clearly hoping will cause you to reconsider the go-to choices in the segment.

When you think about it, these spots are the kinder, gentler and slightly ironic equivalent of today's political advertising. Attack ads against the German frontrunners. And we're pretty sure that Alfa Romeo approves of this message.

But what do you think? Do Doug, Dan, and Shawn with his lobster roll, help convince you that the Alfa Romeo Giulia is the one true sports sedan? Post your comments below and let's talk.



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