Thanks to Jen, for alerting me to this article on Slate:

SUVs for Hippies?

The Spot: A man waits in the checkout line at the supermarket. He’s buying organic tofu and leafy vegetables. Meanwhile, the guy in line behind him is stacking up huge racks of meat and barbecue fixings. Tofu guy, looking a bit insecure, suddenly notices an ad for the Hummer H3 SUV. Eureka! In a series of quick cuts, he exits the supermarket, goes to the Hummer dealership, buys a new H3, and drives off—now happily munching on a large carrot. “Restore the balance,” reads the tag line.

Apparently, the original tag line was “Restore your manhood,” but that didn’t test well. 😛

I’ve said this before, and I’ll say it again…the Hummer is an obnoxious vehicle. It’s ugly, it’s oversized, and it’s nothing more than a status symbol. Apparently, the H3 is smaller and more reasonably priced than its predecessors, but that doesn’t change my opinion of it at all.

And I think this ad campaign has got it all wrong. Anyone buying tofu and organic veggies is going to drive his hybrid with pride. Not that I want the Hummer to have a successful advertising campaign. You wanna go after tofu-buying hippies? Have at it.

Speaking of hybrids, I meant to talk about this a while ago…I saw a Toyota commercial touting the company’s low gas mileage vehicles. But strangely, the Prius was conspicuously missing from the ad. Seriously, how do you make a commercial about your low gas mileage vehicles and leave out the hybrid? Is this big oil at work?

And just to tie it all together, here’s another article from Slate:

Hummer vs. Prius: The surprising winner in the war for America’s auto soul