A Corvette commercial doesn’t need anything more than a beautiful girl, engine sounds and close-up angles of the key styling features.
The world of advertising has changed a great deal since the Chevrolet Corvette was introduced back in the 1950s. However, some of the key features of every great performance car ad have remained the same. Of course, viewers want to see the styling cues which make the car in question unique and, in the case of performance cars, they want to hear the engine roar. Finally, since sports cars are generally marketed to guys, adding a lovely lady to the commercial adds a little extra impact – one which automakers have been using for decades.
This 2016 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray commercial follows those three simple guidelines, with a beautiful woman in a white dress walking along the side of a black C7. As she works her way to the driver’s door, the camera jumps around, showing us the rectangular taillights, the rear Corvette badge, the rear quarter panel vents, the Corvette-branded Brembo brake calipers, the Stingray logo and all of the other fine lines of the C7. The panning camera pauses at the quad exhaust tips as the LT1 revs and as the woman behind the wheel grips the wheel, the engine sound changes to that of a Corvette blasting down the roar at wide open throttle.
This 2016 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray video doesn’t actually say anything about the car, but it shows the car from every angle, it lets us hear the car revving and racing away and it has a beautiful woman walking around the car – fulfilling the basic requirements of every great performance car advertisement. Even though this Corvette spot is short on information, it follows a proven formula and why mess with a good thing?
"Before I was old enough to walk, my dad was taking me to various types of racing events, from local drag racing to the Daytona 500," says Patrick Rall, a lifetime automotive expert, diehard Dodge fan, and respected auto journalist for over 10 years. "He owned a repair shop and had a variety of performance cars when I was young, but by the time I was 16, he was ready to build me my first drag car – a 1983 Dodge Mirada that ran low 12s. I spent 10 years traveling around the country, racing with my dad by my side. While we live in different areas of the country, my dad still drag races at 80 years old in the car that he built when I was 16 while I race other vehicles, including my 2017 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat and my 1972 Dodge Demon 340.
"Although I went to college for accounting, my time in my dad’s shop growing up allowed me the knowledge to spend time working as a mechanic before getting my accounting degree, at which point I worked in the office of a dealership group. While I was working in the accounting world, I continued racing and taking pictures of cars at the track. Over time, I began showing off those pictures online and that led to my writing.
"Ten years ago, I left the accounting world to become a full-time automotive writer and I am living proof that if you love what you do, you will never “work” a day in your life," adds Rall, who has clocked in time as an auto mechanic, longtime drag racer and now automotive journalist who contributes to nearly a dozen popular auto websites dedicated to fellow enthusiasts.
"I love covering the automotive industry and everything involved with the job. I was fortunate to turn my love of the automotive world into a hobby that led to an exciting career, with my past of working as a mechanic and as an accountant in the automotive world provides me with a unique perspective of the industry.
"My experience drag racing for more than 20 years coupled with a newfound interest in road racing over the past decade allows me to push performance cars to their limit, while my role as a horse stable manager gives me vast experience towing and hauling with all of the newest trucks on the market today.
