In an unexpected twist that’s both spooky and amusing, CarMax teamed up with Warner Bros. Pictures and The Martin Agency for an advertising tie-in campaign featuring the iconic character Beetlejuice.
Playing on CarMax’s slogan, “The way car buying should be,” the centerpiece of this collaboration is a series of ads that compare the chaotic experience of buying through other auto sellers represented by a new BeetleMax character, to CarMax. The juxtaposition highlights why the brand should be the preferred choice for consumers seeking simplicity and transparency.
Here’s what iSpot’s Creative Assessment platform revealed on actual viewer response to the campaign.
The Details:
- Whether in the :15, :30, or :60 format, American gen pop viewers loved the new CarMax campaign concept, with the characters, visuals, and music all making a standout impression vs other automotive service ads over the past year:
- These creative components ensured excellent breakthrough (Attention and Likeability) across the campaign, with the :60 crushing category norms across every performance metric we track, while the :15 “Coming Soon Soon Soon” also outpaced norms in Change/new direction, Watchability, and Relevance.
- The long form :60 was most successful in connecting with viewers 21-35.
- The :30 “Coming Soon Soon Soon” was the least effective of the Beetlejuice/CarMax ad series.
- These creative components ensured excellent breakthrough (Attention and Likeability) across the campaign, with the :60 crushing category norms across every performance metric we track, while the :15 “Coming Soon Soon Soon” also outpaced norms in Change/new direction, Watchability, and Relevance.
- As intended during campaign development, the Beetlejuice tie-in proved its ability to entertain and deliver well for CarMax regardless of political affiliation, allowing for broad media placements independent of potential adjacent political content:
- The use of wholesome humor was a good choice for the brand.
- The campaign found excellent resonance across all levels of auto intention (other than the :30 “Coming Soon Soon Soon”), with the :60 spurring an impressive 56% of all viewers to be more/much more likely to purchase/visit with CarMax (+12 pts vs norm):
- 62% of sentiment expressed on the :60 spot was positive, with the unexpectedly creative, funny, nostalgic, and memorable approach being a very big win with the audience. 25% of positive sentiment also specifically mentioned the CarMax brand favorably.
- Brand confusion was very limited despite the tie-in, with 80% or more of each ad’s audience successfully recalling CarMax on an unaided basis:
- Top 2 Box intent for the :60 rose to 74% among one-year auto intenders, while the :15 “Coming Soon Soon Soon” spurred a very strong 69% to the same (vs a norm of 61%):
- These results suggest that the :60 is the hardest working creative for gen pop audiences but in reaching the brand’s core target, the :30 “The Way It Shouldn’t Be” and even the :15 “Coming Soon Soon Soon” were also highly effective.
- Comments from intenders reflect how well the :60 hit on all of CarMax’s key objectives, from grabbing attention and making consumers take notice, to centering the brand in current culture, standing out in a new and memorable way, and also delivering the benefits of the brand.
- These results suggest that the :60 is the hardest working creative for gen pop audiences but in reaching the brand’s core target, the :30 “The Way It Shouldn’t Be” and even the :15 “Coming Soon Soon Soon” were also highly effective.
One-year auto intenders on “The Way It Shouldn’t Be” :60
“I love Beetlejuice, this ad is fresh and relevant with the new movie coming out and Halloween so close.”
Female 21-35
“I’m a sucker for anything related to Beetlejuice. It’s a win in my circle of friends from the get go.”
Male 36-49
“I like ads that are like mini movies and they always capture my attention and they make watching the commercial bearable and they also make memorable little moments. I would say this addresses all of the above.”
Male 21-35
“I think it’s a great ad to get attention for CarMax. I think I’m gonna check out your website as well. I love Beetlejuice and I love this song. Bravo for a really cute commercial.”
Female 50+
“I am old enough to have watched the original “Beetlejuice” movie and I thoroughly enjoyed this advertisement because of all of the references from the movie.”
Male 21-35
“CarMax, the way car buying should be. Beetlejuice cross-promotion is a win.”
Male 50+
“It’s really cute how you show the ad and how they were looking for CarMax and because they wanted to take the cheaper route they ended up with the wrong type all the way around.”
Female 36-49
“I like how they incorporated Beetlejuice to gain nostalgia with the target audience. I am in that age range to appreciate it.”
Male 36-49
“I loved everything about this ad, especially the Beetlejuice theme as it was my favorite movie growing up.”
Female 36-49
“It was highly entertaining. Definitely grabs your attention and you want to watch the whole thing.”
Female 50+
“This brand is becoming more innovative and easy to shop with.”
Female 50+
“It was funny and made you want to go buy a car from CarMax.”
Male 36-49
- iSpot media measurement reports a favoring of the :15 “Coming Soon Soon Soon” on linear, followed by the :30 cut of “The Way It Shouldn’t Be” over the two weeks ending 9/3/24:
- However, consumer response across the full gen pop audience would suggest the brand adjust in-market plans to favor the :60 or :30 “The Way It Shouldn’t Be,” with these two ads also being excellent choices for targeting one-year auto intenders. For intenders, the :15 “Coming Soon Soon Soon” also delivered above-norm intent.
- On streaming, the campaign had its highest (and above industry benchmark) presence on YouTube, the Roku Channel, Max, and PlutoTV. All other streaming channels indexed below industry norm.
- However, consumer response across the full gen pop audience would suggest the brand adjust in-market plans to favor the :60 or :30 “The Way It Shouldn’t Be,” with these two ads also being excellent choices for targeting one-year auto intenders. For intenders, the :15 “Coming Soon Soon Soon” also delivered above-norm intent.
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Creative Agency: The Martin Agency