Car Insurance Commercials & Wrecking Vehicles

[AP9]

Over the past several years I've noticed that it has become a popular trend for auto insurance companies to feature wrecks in their ads. Bizarre, and certainly doesn't appeal to ME, but whatever.

Please excuse my ignorance, but are these real, functioning cars that are being wrecked only for the purpose of advertisement? Is THIS how they're using their profits from our premiums? Or are all of these vehicles write-offs anyway (which in my opinion is still a waste of usable parts)? Computerized special effects?

 

[SwampSurvivor]

Very likely flood cars.

 

[SatinSilver]

I think they hire an outside firm to do the commercials and they just sign off/pay for it.

 

[daves87rs]

Originally Posted By: satinsilver
I think they hire an outside firm to do the commercials and they just sign off/pay for it.


This.

And quite often they are flood cars....

 

[Quattro Pete]

Originally Posted By: AP9
Please excuse my ignorance, but are these real, functioning cars that are being wrecked only for the purpose of advertisement? Is THIS how they're using their profits from our premiums?

They're real cars typically. Shooting an ad is no different than shooting a hollywood movie. An ad agency comes up with an idea and a price to make it. The client (insurance company) signs on the dotted line and writes a check. Creating flashy adds isn't cheap. Still, the real cost is the cost of purchasing air time on TV channels to actually air it.

 

[quint]

I saw one a few weeks ago, I forget what company it was, but from the angle of the shot it was pretty easy to see it had no engine or transmission in it, you can see the front underside and right into the engine compartment

 

[eljefino]

How much do they have to pay for a running daewoozuki?

They could even tow/push a flood car from off camera. Figure out how the Blues Brothers wrecked 100+ cars and hire that guy.

 

[morepwr]

Used high mileage cars are cheap when you consider the cost of making the whole commercial and paying for airtime.

 

[jimbrewer]

I always get a kick out of it when the characters in TV shows and low-budget movies who are always seen driving brand new cars inexplicably step into a 2005 Chevy Tahoe right before it crashes and burns. Or how the bad guys in low-budget action movies seem to drive older BMW 7 series. Distinctly "luxury" vehicles to the casual viewer, yet old, and cheap to crash.

 

[y_p_w]

A lot of dramatizations cost money to produce. You realize how many Chargers were trashed for the Dukes of Hazzard, DeLoreans for Back to the Future 1/2/3, etc?

I remember reading about a commercial for a Jeep Cherokee. It was a 30 second spot with only about 20 seconds of the vehicle actually in motion. The requirement from marketing was that in order to display a dynamic and tough vehicle, that "at least one wheel must be off the ground in every frame". They had several identically spec'ed vehicles and drove it hard through rough roads to achieve that effect. They had about a dozen and each one had to be towed away because fluid lines broke, suspension parts broke off, and none were terribly drivable after multiple takes.

Of course they try to project this image of macho toughness, but the first time anyone gets their vehicle airborne and the underside bottoms out upon landing, it should become apparent that they're not really tough enough to survive it for long.

 

[Kestas]

Originally Posted By: eljefino
Figure out how the Blues Brothers wrecked 100+ cars and hire that guy.

I started work at Chrysler when that movie came out. If you remember, that's when Chrysler was really in the dumps. Half the workforce was laid off and got loan guarantees from the government to keep from going bankrupt. I heard stories where new cars were sitting on lots unsold for 18 months or more, and were starting to rust! I'll bet the moviemaker got a sweet deal.

 

[SwampSurvivor]

Originally Posted By: y_p_w
A lot of dramatizations cost money to produce. You realize how many Chargers were trashed for the Dukes of Hazzard, DeLoreans for Back to the Future 1/2/3, etc?

I remember reading about a commercial for a Jeep Cherokee. It was a 30 second spot with only about 20 seconds of the vehicle actually in motion. The requirement from marketing was that in order to display a dynamic and tough vehicle, that "at least one wheel must be off the ground in every frame". They had several identically spec'ed vehicles and drove it hard through rough roads to achieve that effect. They had about a dozen and each one had to be towed away because fluid lines broke, suspension parts broke off, and none were terribly drivable after multiple takes.

Of course they try to project this image of macho toughness, but the first time anyone gets their vehicle airborne and the underside bottoms out upon landing, it should become apparent that they're not really tough enough to survive it for long.


I've seen 15+ year old Cherokees do some pretty insane things and be able to drive home under their own power.

Jumping usually chops off the transmission cooler lines though.

 

[hsd]

University of Nebraska runs crash tests for Highway safety groups, Insurance Co and even NASCAR (safer barrier). They use brand new vehicles purchased from local dealers with complete drive trains. Salvage yards stand in line to buy their wrecks.
UNL Crash Tests