“Mahketing” 101: How Chevy accidentally won the internet

9 June, 2017

 

 

You can imagine how excited Chevrolet were when they came up with this concept. Get a bunch of definitely-not-paid-actors together, film them standing around your new range of cars chatting about how amazing every single feature is, give them a few dollars and send them on their way. The end result was, well, a bit shit really.

So the “post-production” addition of “Mahk” as one of the people hanging about checking out Chevy’s new range and generally taking the piss in the most brilliant fashion has boosted this campaign into the stratosphere, with three of the first four videos from YouTubers Zebra Corner so far having had in excess of two million views (as opposed to the 5,000 odd views on the official Chevrolet channel). There’s no such thing as bad publicity, right?

Check the vids out below. Time well spent but probably not for the overly precious.

Today sees the fifth instalment in the series targeting millennials and Mahk is taking no bearded, flannel shirt wearing, typewriter-using prisoners.

 

 

A star in their eyes – 1968 Ford Galaxie 500

“Everyone asks that until they take a closer look,” says its owner today, Brent Harris of Auckland. “They also ask if I’ve done the restoration myself, and I have to tell them no, it is 100 per cent original. It’s the paint listed in the handbook.”
It was the original condition of the car that won Brent over from the moment he first saw it — that and the fact “it just looks stunning”.
Brent had owned a 1968 Mark II Cortina for four years. It was in need of some work and the question arose whether to spend the money or get something different. You don’t get much more divergent than Ford’s different approaches to its markets in the UK and the USA.

Bob’s Bambina video

Bob McMurray has spent a lifetime inside Formula 1, including 33 years he and wife, Shaune, spent working for McLaren from his earliest days as a mechanic through to watching Scott Dixon’s first Kiwi win at Indianapolis. Bob is now one of our top motorsport commentators and Toyota Racing New Zealand’s ambassador, a role he relishes.
Bob now owns this restored Fiat 500 F. The story of how he became its owner almost by accident and of its restoration is one of those that has ended well, and it was a bit of a laugh getting there. Bob’s Fiat actually has a distant McLaren connection.
This is a short video of Bob’s Fiat Bambina shot by Classic Car magazine