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Can celebrities really persuade folks to buy cars?

well I don't think Tiger did much for Buick, but really I don't think anything short of Jesus coming back and forcing people to buy them would have helped Buick.

I think celebrity endorsement can have a positive effect. I am sure they will have promotions that tie into some American Idol tour or something that will create traffic in ford showrooms. He will probably release some special CD you can only get after test driving a ford, or maybe they will do a signature edition vehicle that has a built in Karaoke machine and speakers on the outside. Better yet, a ford vehicle that one component gets voted off of every week instead of just falling off at random like the rest of ford's vehicles.  

Ford's signed up American Idol contestant Taylor Hicks as part of the automaker's upcoming "Drive on Us" campaign. Apparently Blue Oval thinks he'll be able to help them sell more cars as the MY ends this summer. http://www.automotive.com/features/90/auto-news/21220/index.html

What do you think? I don't watch American Idol and am not impressed with famous folks unless they actually use the product regularly (e.g., actress and biofuel advocate Daryl Hanna actually uses biodiesel.) Also, my main sources of car news are mags and the Internet which makes star power difficult to transmit. ("Oh, look. A pic of Paris Hilton with a Bentley. Oh, look, an XXX ad with a Paris Hilton lookalike having sex on a Bentley. Oh, wait. His name IS Bentley....")  

Hahaha, Tiger Woods definitely didn't do it for me. He doesn't even drive one himself, how convincing.  

Tiger probably has a couble Buicks anyways though, even if he doesn't drive them.  hey would michael schumacher count as a celebrity, cuz he kinda makes me want to get a formula 1 race car?  

I'd buy a trans am from burt reynolds. hahaha I did think that steve mcqueen commercial Ford did was pretty cool when they released the new mustang. i didnt go out and buy a mustang but i still thought it was a good idea. but american idol? come on, at least get someone cool or has some kind of connection to cars  

I think movies have a better affect on getting people to buy cars.  After all wasn't there a big rush to buy Mitsubishis after they were featured in the Fast and the Furious Movies.  

Misubishis still around? ARent they brankrupt yet like Isuzu? Good riddence: US needs real AMERICAN cars not wimpee ricer imports.  

Well now, FORD said "Drive On Us" and the ricer imports are.  Last time I checked the big 3 were talkin' more layoffs, bankruptcy re-calls etc... They've been driven on by Nissan, Toyota, Lexus, Infiniti, Audi, Volksvagen, BMW, Honda, Suzuki, Mazda, Hyundai, Subaru, need I go on? Besides, those "foreign" cars are made here now anyway, so they ARE american. And the reason your FORD is falling apart is because the parts were made in China and it was assembled in Mexico!  
At least the brakes on my nissan don't lock up 3 times in two months, or the driver seat catch fire, or the tires blow on one side and the car roll down the highway.... or guzzle gas, or handle like a tank, etc... you get the Idea.