Kia lanched their new Scion xB and Nissan Cube competitor with a cutesy TV spot -- complete with furry little creatures and a hip-hop dance track. While everyone else is rolling along in their hamster cages, Kia Soul drivers are bouncing along in their shiny metal box.
My apologies to Sting and The Police, but all I can think about watching the new Kia Soul commercial is a line from Synchronicity II:
Packed like lemmings into shiny metal boxes
Contestants in a suicidal race...
Catchy Sting lyrics aside, the Soul campaign -- "A New Way to Roll" -- is a nice lighthearted spot that appeals to people who love furry animals and cute babies in ads. The Kia TV ad doesn't go after the mod happy Scion xB consumers who are all about customizing their Scions.
The website takes a more direct shot at the Scion consumers. Included is a Design Your Own Artistic Soul" showroom that let's the user customize their Soul with aftermarket looking wheels, body kits, or steel pedals.
At the Detroit Auto Show in January, I saw how cheap looking this car is making it a tough sale for Kia. The Soul will ultimately be a bargain basement xB or Cube. Though neither the xB or Cube are pricey cars, so it makes you wonder how many shiny metal boxes the market can handle, especially a depressed market? For now, Kia is debuting the Soul with a whimsical, likable TV spot that people are enjoying, provided the comments left on YouTube are representative of the general population's impression of the commercial.
