For a long time, the three biggest buyers of TV commercial time were fast food, pharmaceuticals and cars. So for the advertising industry, the ripple effect of the automotive industry’s trouble has been more like a tidal wave.
For decades, car manufacturers specialized in slick, expensive commercials that all looked the same: the shiny sedan winding its way around a gorgeous landscape while a deep voice intoned its stylishness.
“They’re like mini Hollywood movies in which the car is the star,” says Warren Berger, author of the book Advertising Today. Car companies flooded TV screens with these expensive look-alike ads. And TV networks made a lot of money from them.
On the high end, a network hit like American Idol typically charges more than a half-million dollars for a 30-second spot. But since automakers’ fortunes have declined, they’ve pulled way back on their ad purchases.
At the local level, dealerships buying ads have been an important source of income for TV and radio stations, newspapers and billboard companies.
Now other auto companies are making similar offers in their advertising. They’re just spending a lot less to do it.
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