The $16,000 iPod Accessory

Nope, Apple did not unveil a diamond-studded mp3 player.*  Chevy is advertising its new HHR as the "All In One iPod Accessory."

It's a smart move for Chevy based on the amount of iPods flooding the streets. Tying your new product to a brand that's got more buzz going for it can pay off big.

But to tout an automobile as an accessory to an mp3 player is a bit much. Could it influence your purchase? Sure. Will it give Chevy an edge? Maybe. But talk about the tail wagging the dog. Read Chevy’s fine print…iPod not included.

Chevy follows Volvo, BMW and Mercedes-Benz who also tout their iPod-friendly cars. In fact, Steve Jobs recently announced that 30 percent of cars will offer iPod connectivity in the US in 2006.

Music is an excellent way to enhance your brand experience. In fact, for the last 18 months, Mercedes-Benz has been spinning more than wheels on its web site. Mixed Tape is a custom, Mercedes-Benz branded mix made available for free download.

There have been plenty of bad iPod tie-ins (via AdRants). But to be clear, this is NOT a bad tie-in, just a bad ad. Chevy, I've owned your products and I want you to win. But this ad gets the Goofus. Who gets the Gallant? BMW wins for its “seamless integration of the iPod and automobile.”

More on the iPod-friendly cars at Ubercool.

* Yes, I know that iPods do not play mp3 files. iPods play mp4 files, which are proprietary to iPods, iTunes and the Apple platform. Regardless, I’m not calling it an mp4 player.

tags: Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Volvo, Chevy HHR, advertising, marketing, brand, iPod

Comments

[Alexander Muse]

"BMW wins for its seamless integration of the iPod and automobile"? Are you kidding? I have a brand new 745i and was informed by BMW USA as well as my local dealer that they did not offer an iPod integration strategy. There is no available AUX port on the sound system. Specifically, the car is designed not to allow for a thirdparty sound system and thus there is no way (according to the dealer and BMW USA) to connect an iPod to the system. Nightmare!

[Kevin Dugan]

Alexander - Funny you should mention this. You are not alone. My comment was directed to their promotion of the capability vs. the capability itself.

In researching this post I also heard that while BMW might promote it the best, they deliver the least on the promise.

[Alexander Muse]

Ah... On their low end cars they are offering Aux ports. They should offer true integration via the real port (not the headphone port). They need only hook up with Griffin Technologies or someone similar and they could be in the game.

[Steve]

I know this post is old, but iPods do play MP3s. Most of the music on my iPod is MP3, not AAC/.mp4.

[JJMusic]

Wow, Chevy and ipod in one single package. This is really something new. Although the previous one like Nike and ipod sure rocks, I'm just interested to see how this new combination going to get the attention.