Here at Jalopnik, we’re big fans of Mazda. We love the Miata so much, it might as well be our unofficial mascot. We also regularly encourage friends and family to buy Mazdas because they’re great cars. I’m personally responsible for at least five CX-5 sales and a couple of Mazda 3s. So it was great to see Mazda announce that year-to-date sales are up 13 percent. Go Mazda! Except then I saw the latest Mazda commercial, and oof. If this is what Mazda thinks is going to help it grow sales, it’s in for disappointment.
It’s no secret that Mazda has been trying to move upmarket, and it actually appears to be working. It even replaced the CX-9 with the CX-90, and with its rear-wheel-drive platform and turbocharged inline-six, it was clear Mazda had its sights set on taking sales from the Germans. The CX-70 in the ad below is just a CX-90 without the third row. So how are they selling it? With a hamfisted Audi comparison.
The ad opens with the line, “Mazda performance, artful design and its finely crafted details will all leave you wondering, ‘Is a Mazda like an affordable Audi, or is an Audi more like an expensive Mazda?’” Aaand that’s it. That’s the ad. The car drives off, and you get a “Find Out” graphic on the screen.
I mean, I get what Mazda was going for here, but there are so many better ways to do it. It takes a certain amount of audacity to take on a luxury segment with so many established players, and Mazda shouldn’t shy away from that. At the same time, though, no one has ever wondered whether a Mazda is basically a more affordable Audi. The cars are good, but I really don’t think people see Mazda as a true luxury brand just yet. A step up from a Honda or Toyota, sure, but not a true luxury brand.
Even if Mazda stuck with the same general concept and compared the CX-70 to the Audi Q5, there are still better ways to get that message across. The wording is clumsy, and the ad itself doesn’t have much of a luxury vibe. It’s entirely possible I’m wrong, and this commercial is bringing new buyers into dealerships on a daily basis, but I doubt it.