Mitsubishi is J. Cool!!

[Samurai_Jerk]

I was surprised when I saw the new commercial for the Eclipse that's playing in the US now. It looks like Mitsubishi is trying to cash in on the Japan craze.

Mitsubishi marketers hope to ride a new-age wave called Japanese Cool or J. Cool.

Above from WardsAuto

The introductory :60/:30 television spots for the new Eclipse (called "Kodo") intercuts shots of the standout styling and performance of the all-new 2006 Eclipse sport coupe with the rhythmic sounds of Kodo drums, whipping viewers into a frenzy before coming to a stop on the new theme line, "Driven to Thrill." Print, outdoor and point-of-sale materials reinforce the excitement of owning and driving a Mitsubishi, and are inspired by Japanese pop art culture.

Above from Yahoo! News

See the CM here.

[Kuang_Grade]

[JT191]

I like the "Drummer/Eclipse" add a lot, but it is out of context. The last time I checked, the Eclipse was designed, engineered, and built in the US. Mitsubishi does not sell the car in Japan, though I have seen a couple imported, US market, left hand drive first generation Eclipses around Aichi.

The problem with the Eclipse after the third generation, is that they went down market with the design and build. No more turbo four cylinder, all wheel drive, or independent rear suspension. The four and six cylinder front wheel drive with solid beam rear axle have poor performance prospects in the areas of power and handling, as compared to the previous generations of the same model. The only thing the car had going for it was that Mitsubishi bought it the number two hero car role in the FF2 movie.
And the "fifth" generation that they are introducing now, looks to be a reskin of the same poor design.

Now Mitsubishi has a marketting problem for the Eclipse (if their financial problem weren't enough). It's market competition is something more along the lines of the Accord Coupe or whatever mild, two door, V6, FWD's remain in a world of four door lift backs. They have positioned the Lancer Evo as their performance oriented car. And now they want to push the Eclipse on its performance (which it lost a generation ago).

And it is just plain strange to market an American designed, engineered, and built car depending on its "Japanese heritage".

[Scott]

The ad is a poor attempt by ad monkeys in the USA to make something "cool":
- The lighting is too dark,
- The glimpses of the girls too fast,
- The ethnicity of the entire scene (taken as a whole) seems like White People were aiming for "Japan&China&Other" - but only found taicho-esque drums and some 2nd-generation dancers to doll up.

Having said that, expect more generic 'asian' crap like this to keep popping up.