Musing of the month: May 2024

For the first musing of the month, I wanted to highlight this Hyundai Santa Fe ad. I first saw this ad on YouTube and skipped it when I could. The next time an ad came I had no choice but to watch it. I'm glad YouTube forced me to. Most SUV commercials feature visuals of people scaling mountains and being in the great outdoors. This imagery always made me laugh because every SUV owner I've known has only bought it because of their family. Seeing this advertisement finally made sense for an SUV. This Viking family is taking a trip through nature, and suddenly a cellphone rings and they are a present-day family. The father answers a work call. When he hangs up, they become Vikings again. This clever commercial indicates that this car is for families and can handle all the outdoor drives you want to take. This changed the formula and added more relevant images. I hope there is a shift from showing big cars going through mud and driving on hillsides.