Chevrolet recently dropped a new Corvette ad on their YouTube page and we’re pretty sure that the spot will land in a time slot during the “Big Game” this weekend. The spot is called “machine” and as all Chevrolet ads are currently, it is voiced by John Cusack. The spot shows a new Stingray hauling serious ass around a road course while Cusack delivers lines on the theme of, “You need a machine”. In the background there is some kind of ominous sounding piano music playing. The whole thing has a cool and heavy feel to it that almost forced you to pay attention to see what’s coming next. You can hear the car wailing away at various points of the ad as well. The in car footage of a black suited and helmeted test driver rowing the gears and clipping the apexes is cool and it is all juxtaposed against Cusack’s methodical delivery of the voice over.

Something you don’t start…something you awaken, unleash…and then believe in. – That’s a good line, whether you hate Corvettes or love them. The whole ad is pushing toward the underlying idea that the Corvette is a living, breathing thing. We dig that because as gearheads lots of us think of our cars and trucks in that context. While more refined and complicated, these are ultimately lumps of metal, plastic, and rubber that we’re obsessed with. It at least makes a little more sense when you breathe life into said lump. It also begs the question about what we’re supposed to be believing in? The machine? The ethos of the machine? Our inner racer? We’re going with all of the above. The ad ends with Cusack delivering the line, “Meet your machine.” 

We all know the range of car ads these days. From rodents dressed up like hip-hop fans to a mom toting her kids around in the latest breadbox that delivers great mileage and a “five star safety rating”. The ads that speak directly to gearheads, especially to gearheads on a level that really only we’d understand are pretty rare. Dodge has a spot out for the Charger that shows the car blowing donuts as a dispassionate voice says, “No kid ever grew up with a poster of a Passat on his bedroom wall…” That’s a sentiment that speaks right to us but not on as deep a level as this Corvette spot.

This is an ad for us….or at leas an ad for the us-es that have the dough to buy a new Corvette. We’re not them but we can appreciate the message for what it is.

What do you think?

PRESS PLAY BELOW TO SEE THE AD SPOT (WHICH MAY RUN AT THE SUPER BOWL) FOR THE 2014 CORVETTE STINGRAY –