GM's 'Unbranded' ad for Chevy Malibu wins new Nielsen award

Chevrolet's "Unbranded" ad for the 2016 Malibu won the first-ever Automotive Tech Ad of the Year award from Nielsen during the 11th annual Automotive Advertising Awards at the New York auto show on Wednesday.

Automakers are constantly trying to think of creative ways to push their latest gadgets and reel in tech-minded consumers.

Chevrolet is no different. But Chevy put a fun spin on technology advertising in the Malibu spot, where the emblem was removed to see if consumers could figure out what vehicle it was.

While the confused group incorrectly guessed Acura, Lexus and BMW during the spot, Chevy worked in time to highlight redesigned sedan’s tech offerings such as Apple CarPlay.

The spot, part of Chevrolet’s ongoing “Real People, Not Actors” campaign, hit the right marks for consumers in memorability, branding and likeability, according to Nielsen.

Nielsen created the new award segment for the content because it noticed a growing trend of automakers using technology as the “creative hook” in advertising, according to Scott Adkins, vice president of Nielsen Automotive.

Paul Edwards, U.S. vice president of Chevrolet marketing, said technology at its worst can be complicated and cumbersome. At its best, however, technology can simplify consumer’s lives.

The challenge in technology advertising, Edwards says, is to “articulate the benefit in a way that people can appreciate it.”

“The beauty of our ‘Real People’ campaign is we’ve been able to leverage real people to really tell that benefit story through their own words, through their own experiences,” Edwards told Automotive News, adding: “You saw that in the Malibu ad with both the teen driver technology and Apple CarPlay technology. Consumers were reacting and really expressing how that could help them in their automotive experience.”

Ad effectiveness

The awards -- which honored TV ads that aired in 2016 -- are based on the findings of the Nielsen TV Brand Effect, which measures ad effectiveness.

Nielsen says the nationally representative online panel is made up of TV viewers who have watched programming within the last 24 hours. They answer survey questions about the programs they watched and the commercials they’re exposed to.

Their responses are based on programs they viewed in a natural environment, Nielsen says, so the results reflect “real life” reactions and memory of TV spots.

Nielsen’s Adkins said the Malibu ad had a strong creative hook.

“A creative hook is the thing that draws you into an ad,” Adkins said. “It’s that element that causes you to not turn away, not leave the TV, not just daydream -- but to pay attention.”

Toyota, Nissan win

Toyota won the Automotive Ad of the Year for its Prius Super Bowl spot, “The Longest Chase.”

Toyota challenged a few perceptions about the Prius with its adventurous spot that showcased the plug-in hybrid’s fun-to-drive factor and visual enhancements. The ad put viewers in the middle of a high-speed chase after bank robbers swiped the redesigned Prius to escape the police.

“The vehicle for three generations has always been, ‘Oh yeah, great gas mileage. Oh yeah, great environmental,’” Jack Hollis, group vice president and general manager for the Toyota Division, said shortly before the ad’s release last year. “The words, ‘Wow, that’s an awesome looking car,’ has never been used with a Prius.”

Nissan landed the Spanish Advertiser of the Year Award for its “First Impression” ad for the hot-selling Rogue crossover.