It’s Friday. The weekend looms large. Might as well get my knickers in a twist over something trivial then wind down this evening.
I was driving along this morning, flicking through radio stations, when an ad came on, for Renault. There was the usual waffle that your hear in car ads, then some Ts & Cs (I think – I wasn’t paying full attention at this point), then this ridiculous endline;
Renault – inspired by love, designed for life.
What in heaven’s name does that mean??
Inspired by love? putting aside the fact that love is completely intangible, why would I want a car to be inspired by it?
Any time that I’ve been in love, I’ve gone loopy; making strange statements, buying expensive presents, focussing solely on one person.
I don’t want a car inspired by this.
Okay, so I’m being facetious, but seriously – try to work out what ‘inspired by love’ means, in relation to a Renault (or any car): I bet you can’t.
…and ‘designed for life’? Does this mean the car will last a lifetime? Does it mean the car can cope with new babies, a new home, or – sadly – an illness or divorce?
Or does it just mean that the car is designed to be part of your life? If so, name me a product which isn’t.
The line is just completely generic waffle, a platitudinous statement: it means absolutely nothing and could be attached to thousands of other brands.
What gets my goat is that this was allowed to go out, on ads, as the finished line. I can’t imagine that the creative team or agency were happy with it. If they were, why?
I can only assume that the client insisted on the line ‘inspired by love, designed for life’, and wouldn’t sign off the final ad until that line was used.
Did they, at no point, stop and think; ‘what on earth does that mean? How will that sell Renaults?’
I just don’t understand how stuff like this ends up being signed off and going out there to an audience of millions. Bizarre … and lazy.