Controversial Chevy Truck Commercials

The Truck Wars have been going on for decades – Chevrolet, Ford, and Dodge, all battling it out for supremacy. Once in a while, Nissan, Honda, and Toyota even try to get in on the action. This has led to commercials and ad campaigns that can be as attack-heavy and bitter as a presidential campaign. Of course, like with many presidential ads, some of these campaigns do have plenty of truth at their heart, like the latest “Bed Wars” commercial from Chevrolet.

In only a month, this commercial has stirred up plenty of controversy across the internet, and has certainly gotten truck owners who pledge their allegiance to one side or the other up in arms. It follows up on the recent aluminum versus steel cage commercials featuring a bear, one that highlighted the preference of many customers for the stronger, albeit slightly heavier, steel. There was also the comic-book-themed Almighty Aluminum Man.

Bed Wars demonstrates what could happen when 800 pounds of heavy, sharp-edged, landscaping blocks are dropped into an exposed bed from a few feet up. While doing something like this wouldn’t be the brightest thing to do – after all, this could also damage the expensive blocks, not to mention your expensive truck – it does dramatize the wear and tear over long terms, and also show what could happen in the case of accidents when loading materials. Just because you don’t intend on dropping in concrete block from five feet up doesn’t mean a distracted loader driver at the building store won’t accidentally do it.

After these blocks were dumped, the Chevrolet certainly showed some dings, scratches, and dents. 800 pounds of blocks is 800 pounds, after all. These were all easily repairable at your local body shop, or even at home with some touch-up paint or a dent hammer. The Ford didn’t fare quite as well, with some blocks puncturing the aluminum bed, creating holes that would need some serious work. Not to mention that, while you won’t see rust on aluminum, it can still corrode and weaken. These holes are the perfect spots for corrosion to attack.

So what does this highlight? It shows the vulnerability of relying on full aluminum throughout a vehicle. It’s not that aluminum is bad, because after all, our Chevrolet trucks have plenty of aluminum used throughout the body and engine. Trusting aluminum to daily, heavy-duty workloads and impacts however can be a problem. If you are utilizing your truck as the backbone of your business or are otherwise relying on it day in and day out, the last thing you can afford is a corroded bed, or having to bring it into a shop for repairs instead of just going about your day. It’s not that Ford is using aluminum, it’s that they’re using too much of it, and in places where rolled steel still offers the best option. The right application is key.

Here at New Smyrna Beach Chevrolet, we realize you may not believe everything you see in commercials. Heck, you may not even watch commercials because you skip them on your DVR – we can’t blame you for that. Believe them or not, the fact is, we sell Chevrolet trucks because we believe they are the most reliable, capable, and enjoyable pickup trucks for sale today, and we stand behind that belief. Whether you are a repeat Chevrolet buyer, or a Ford truck owner who is starting to doubt your purchase, stop in and talk to our staff in person about how a new Chevrolet truck can be a perfect fit, whether you actually do need to haul 800 pounds of block, or you just need an everyday truck.