Why Push? (a/k/a "Never Say Never")

It turns out that the GMC Yukon Hybrid ad is going by the title "Never Say Never" informally, and by the title "Why Push?" formally.

Here is a comment from Autoblog Green:

The ad for the hybrid Chevy Malibu did not make it to air but GMC's Yukon hybrid ad did. Like we said Thursday, the Yukon hybrid ad features the 1976 animated short Sisyphus by Marcell Jankovics. The voice over to the animation says the following:

Why push? Why change? Why grow? Why dream? Questions you don't have to ask yourself when you never say "it's good enough." When you never say "it can't be done." When you never say "never."

Then the text "Introducing the Yukon Hybrid from GMC. Limited Availability" and "50% Better Mileage in a full size SUV is now a reality" appears.

From commercial-archive.com:

For GMC - :60
Agency: Leo Burnett, Detriot
The spot features an animated short by Hungarian animator Marcell Jankovics that was nominated for an Academy Award back in the '70s. The ad--"Why Push?"--focuses on GMC's new hybrid gas/electric version of the Yukon full-sized SUV. The spot also bows a new theme line that will be introduced in a new brand effort next month: "Never Say Never."

The commercial starts with a black-and-white, constantly morphing drawing of a man, alternately muscular, sometimes merely a representation in lines, rolling a boulder up a hill. During his struggles, a voiceover says: "Why push? Why change? Why grow? Why dream? Questions you don't have to ask yourself. When you never say it's good enough. When you never say it can't be done. When you never... say never." The short shifts into images of a white Yukon hybrid and text, noting that the vehicle gets 50% better mileage.

BrandWeek's Steve Miller gives a sober appraisal:

The GMC Yukon Hybrid SUV’s Super Bowl ad will take a sober look at the vehicle and its capabilities. Unlike the comic hijinks of the many other Super Bowl spots (in a Pepsi ad Justin Timberlake hits his groin on a mailbox post not once, but twice), the 60-second spot will trumpet innovation.

The ad aims to show consumers that they don’t have to compromise the advantages of a large vehicle, including towing capacity and space, to get improved gas mileage per the hybrid technology....

Airing the second quarter, the spot, via Leo Burnett, Los Angeles, is called “Why push?” It uses footage from an Oscar-nominated animated film by Hungarian animator Marcell Jankovics.

It opens with a black and white, Picasso-esque figure struggling to push a globe up an incline. “Why push? Why change? Why grow?” narration asks over a steady beat of piano notes. The shot cuts to a white Yukon.

“We did not set out to create a Super Bowl spot,” said Kubitskey. “It’s not a funny spot, there are no talking animals. It’s serious, quiet and emotional. We’re here because it’s upwards of 80 million people. And we feel this vehicle is a poster child for innovation, and we wanted everyone to see it.”

The tagline “Never Say Never,” will carry over to a campaign that launches next month for the GMC Acadia, Yukon and Sierra. There will be different executions for each product.

The Yukon Hybrid, like the Yukon, is a large SUV with an average price of around $52,000—about a $10,000 price premium from the regular Yukon. Marrying the hybrid technology to such a large frame has been called frivolous by some critics because the mile per gallon rating is not vastly improved. But GMC notes in the spot that the hybrid gives the vehicle a 50% improvement in city fuel economy in its 2-wheel drive model, to about 21 mpg average....

The Super Bowl spot will also be seen during the Academy Awards Feb. 24.

And because I haven't posted this video on the blog in the last several hours, I guess I'd better get on the ball.

GMC Yukon Hybrid Super Bowl Commercial

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P.S. Why do the advertising types ignore Ulrich Schnauss?

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