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Brand Strategy Super Bowl Marketing

Vroom Super Bowl ad gives online car buying the Hollywood treatment

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By Webb Wright, NY Reporter

January 20, 2022 | 4 min read

Vroom – an e-commerce platform and used car retailer – has just unveiled ‘Flake the Musical,’ a 30-second spot that will air during Super Bowl LVI. In the ad, Vroom positions itself as an alternative to ‘flaky’ sites like Craigslist.

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Vroom is making its second Super Bowl appearance with a new musical-themed ad

E-commerce platform Vroom has just unveiled its second-ever Super Bowl ad, titled ‘Flake the Musical.’ The 30-second spot laments the stress that can often accompany the car-selling process while simultaneously portraying Vroom as a convenient and easy alternative to peer-to-peer networks such as Craigslist.

The ad was a massive production: it was shot in downtown Los Angeles over a three-month period, with 47 actors who went through 56 hours of rehearsal. It was filmed in the style of a musical under the supervision of La La Land choreographer Mandy Moore. The musical component of the ad tells the story of a woman who learns that she’s finally going to be able to sell her car (“tenth time’s the charm!”), only to have her spirits dashed when the buyer backs out (an experience that many of us have had while trying to sell anything on Facebook or Craigslist).

The next shot is the same woman standing in front of a Vroom truck, which is in the process of loading her car on to its bed. The closing line: “They really came through.” With this, Vroom has positioned itself as a reliable alternative to the inveterate flakiness that one encounters when trying to sell valuable items via a site like Craigslist.

Getting consumers’ attention amid the noise of the Super Bowl is always a challenge. That’s why Vroom decided to go big with its song and dance number. “Musicals are all about storytelling,” said Moore in a statement. “What’s really interesting in this spot is we have to tell the story in 24 seconds.”

This is Vroom’s second commercial to air during the Super Bowl. Last year, the company made its big game debut with a satirical take on the hostage-like experience that one occasionally feels when trying to buy a car from a dealership, under the close watch of a salesperson. Here too, Vroom was branding itself as a breath of fresh air in an antiquated and often uncomfortable auto retail industry.

Since then, says the company, “supply chain issues, the microchip shortage and inflation have created a seller’s market in the auto industry, so this year’s ad encourages consumers to sell their cars to Vroom by answering a few questions and getting an instant appraisal value.”

Vroom worked with Anomaly, its agency of record, for the production of the ad, while Ocean Media oversaw media buying.

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