Driven by advertising

It's time to shop for a new car. For the next few weeks I'm chronicling my search, reviewing the process, the products, the marketing, the sales experience and the transaction.

Day 14: No drives, but a lot of deep (okay not so deep) thinking...

As I've been going through this process I've wondered what role advertising has played, if any, in the decisions I've made.

Conventional wisdom is that advertising will help gain consideration for a brand, but the many other influences – word of mouth, automotive press, dealer experience, etc. – actually sell the car.

I may not be a typical consumer having worked in advertising for almost 30 years after spending three years as a gofer at Car and Driver Magazine while in college. But I'm not immune to advertising. I've seen the BMW spots on Mad Men reminding me of the brand's authentic performance heritage. I've responded to GM's challenge of "May the best car win" and driven the Regal, Malibu and CTS.

Would I have driven these cars anyway? Perhaps. But, I honestly can't recall seeing an Audi spot since the Super Bowl or any communications for the Jetta TDI SportWagen, yet both were on my initial 'must drive' list.

Advertising only works for brands that have a point of view. It works when it communicates that your brand and your product stand for something. Most car advertising lacks that. It sells features or rational reasons for purchase like fuel economy, resale value, incentives and safety. None of those messages are truly differentiating. None of those messages validate the self concept of a potential buyer.

And that's really what car buying is all about. A car always has been and still is one of our greatest forms of self expression.

Prius buyers don't buy them because they get great gas mileage. They buy them because it's an outward expression of their inner tree hugger.

People don't own Jeeps because they go off-roading every weekend. They're expressing a deep-seeded sense of freedom and independence.

The cars that seem to be rising to the top of my list get this. They come from a point of view that's beyond the features. They stand for something.

That's what separates great cars from all the good ones.