Behold, one of the most cringey ads ever.
What do you get when you take a Mazda dealership — in this case Schwartz Mazda in Shrewsbury, New Jersey — some aviator sunglasses, a hysterical fringe jacket and Lil Nas X’s “Old Town Road”? You have one of the best examples of “there’s no such thing as bad publicity” I’ve ever seen.
Instead of taking their horses to the Old Town Road, though, these guys want you to take your car down to the dealer. And, while you’re at it, why not take a drive in a new Mazda CX-5? They even have Sandy, a dog sporting an adorable cowboy hat!
I know you probably had the urge to click out after two seconds, but if you stuck with it until the 23-second mark, you hit the jackpot of this ad. I don’t know how homeboys managed to make the commercial even more awkward, but their moves are just priceless. Plus I know I’m in good hands when Lou the service guy winks to camera.
Seriously, you guys, if this doesn’t convince you to get down to your local Mazda dealer and try out a CX-5 or MX-5 Miata, I don’t know what will. Sure, you can watch our reviews, but I’ll fully admit we have nothing on these guys, especially right at the end. Just watch it all the way through, one time, then maybe hate (or love?) watch it some more. New Jersey 101.5’s Joe Votruba says, “Maybe culture in general is what’s being decimated here,” in reference to the ad’s cover of Lil Nas X’s hit single, and these guys’ dignity, or rather what’s left of it.
Hey, I’ll be much more generous. You have to be creative to bring in a crowd, and I definitely don’t have the guts to dress like these guys to sell some cars. Kudos to you, gentlemen.
On a more serious subject, the Mazda CX-5 is indeed a good car — one that’s worth considering against the likes of the Toyota RAV4, Nissan Rogue and Honda CR-V. And no, I’m totally not saying that because I own one.
