Despite falling sales revenue here in the US (which fell from 209,620 in 2005 to just 156,216 in in 2012), Acura is investing big bucks in the hope that comedian Jerry Seinfeld will be able to add some ”luster” to its rather drab showing in line with the much heralded 2012 Super Bowl ad. The spot featured Jerry and Jay Leno zooming down zip lines in Manhattan to see which of them would be able to obtain the first NSX even though the car did not make its actual debut until 3 years later.
“For the most part, car advertising is a total turn-off to the consumer,” commented Seinfield in a recent telephone interview. “It is too ‘commercially’ and fear-based. It needs a total reboot.”
"We love Jerry's unconventional, fan-first approach of creating great content and trusting that the right people will find it," said Mike Accavitti, Acura senior vice president of auto operations, in a statement. "It is totally consistent with Acura's organic approach of putting the customer first and building the vehicle around them."
In fact, the company loves Jerry so much they were the sole sponsor for all 24 episodes of his “Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee” (online) series this summer, running ads at both the beginning and end of each show.
In turn, Seinfeld stated that he was grateful for their support.
"We at 'Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee' are so glad a company we already admire stepped forward to support us. Not everyone understood what we were doing. But like Moe Green who invented Las Vegas, Acura is a company of vision and guts. We could not be more thrilled to have them as our sponsor. Because of them, we advance!"
Since debuting in 2012, "Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee" has delivered more than 10 million streams, garnered rave reviews and earned its star and executive producer, Seinfeld, a Webby Award for outstanding comedy performance.
