Pontiac ad is glorious homage to Spy Hunter

47 Comments by Alexander Sliwinski Mar 14th 2008 3:00AM
Filed under: Culture, Business

Spy Hunter, one of the great arcade games of the '80s, is given proper tribute in the amazing commercial found above. OK, ignore for 30 seconds that this is a Pontiac commercial and just bask in the awesomeness of it. The music, the look, the feel ... seriously, if we could focus on what car the company is selling for even a split second we might consider buying it.

But don't be fooled folks, there is some brilliant marketing at work here. Even the car's website is designed with our demographic in mind; featuring a mosaic of the car made up of images like Transformers and Halo (clearly being promoted at the bottom of the page). Admittedly, the whole thing is very slick. Now, if only this car wasn't $30,000 ... oh yeah, and a Pontiac.

[Thanks Josh ... even if you might be a Pontiac marketing guy]

Tags: ad, commercial, marketing, pontiac, spy-hunter, spyhunter

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(Page 1) Reader Comments

Spin44: Mar 14th 2008; 3:05AM

Spy Hunter was just great during the 80s, I loved the PS2 versions!

Psaakyrn: Mar 14th 2008; 3:09AM

And this is why I prefer cinema commercials, 30 seconds is just TOO @#$% SHORT for a proper homage.

Vokyous: Mar 14th 2008; 3:09AM

Man... greatest car commercial ever. I wonder if the Pontiac will transform into a boat when I blast through a boathouse at over 100 MPH...

GreyFox: Mar 14th 2008; 3:11AM

Damn I almost forgot Pontiac was shit when I saw that. Awesome stuff.

kmo: Mar 14th 2008; 3:10AM

That isn't a Pontiac, that is a Holden VE Commodore from Australia. It just gets sold under the Pontiac name in America.

Vokyous: Mar 14th 2008; 3:23AM

Holden VE Commodore, eh? This car keeps getting better and better. Not only is it an insane spy car, it's also powered by C64s!

Hopefully they've been upgraded to support CDs or something... because I'm not waiting 20 minutes for the tape deck to load my Spy Hunter simulation.

capt_carl: Mar 14th 2008; 7:22AM

GM did it with the new GTO too. Holden Monaro I think it was? Either way, that's a hot commercial.

Evan: Mar 14th 2008; 9:54AM

Seems to be happening a lot...

The Saturn Aura (introduced 2007) is based on the 2002 Opal Vectra.

The Saturn Astra (introduced 2008) is just a rebadged 2004 Opal Astra. They couldn't even be bothered changing the name.

Easo: Mar 14th 2008; 8:45PM

That IS a Pontiac. Holden and GM are the same damn company.

Its funny how much stock people put in a name. The car uses the same engine that GM put in the CTS in 04 and im pretty sure the chassis and transmission is the same as the G6's.

why not the LS2LS7?: Mar 14th 2008; 3:38AM

You have to be a real douche to either prefer or diss a car based upon the marque.

Kye NFC: 7016 - 9552 - 1191 - 8991: Mar 14th 2008; 5:43AM

Your not a car fan are you?

Dunno how it is where you live but where I live just saying the name of your cars maker can either get people rolling their eyes at you,laughing or nodding respectfully.

Marques usually build up a reputation of being dependable, crap, luxurious etc so it's to be expected that people associate all cars in a brand under one umbrella.

P.S> I thought it looked very much like the monaro.

Egon Pax: Mar 17th 2008; 9:15AM

@Kye NFC: He didn't say it isn't like that, because it ALWAYS seems that way... whether people are a car fan or not. He just doesn't agree with people who are fanboys, and seriously who likes rabid fanboys?

ThornedVenom (Harley Quinn Defense Force): Mar 14th 2008; 3:46AM

Here's what I want for my car:

- security crash-test ratings
- gas mileage

The rest is superfluous.

ThornedVenom (Harley Quinn Defense Force): Mar 14th 2008; 3:47AM

Oh, and maybe reliability, since I would hate to go to the car technician too often.

ugg.tryptophan: Mar 14th 2008; 6:42AM

you lack passion

Burnt Meatloaf: Mar 14th 2008; 4:12AM

Wait... this is an ad?

Dammit!

rowdyone: Mar 14th 2008; 4:32AM

Wasn't there supposed to be a movie based on Spyhunter?

(Goes to Wikipedia)

cjshrader: Mar 14th 2008; 8:28AM

From what I heard, The Rock was going to play Mr. Spyhunter

Kn1ves: Mar 14th 2008; 4:42AM

this car is pure of win, regardless of it being a pontiac

JRM: Mar 14th 2008; 5:16AM

Too bad it's a pontiac. But creative anyways.

Pacey: Mar 14th 2008; 7:19AM

The G8 is going to be one hot ride. The wife is on her 2nd G6 (leases) and its also a great car, well built, nice interior, fun to drive. Things Pontiac used to be a while back. The G8 is gonna be a killer, especially with the v8 option.

As for the commercial, thats some seriously smart advertising. Give the person who came up with that idea a rase because everyone who ever played Spy Hunter is going to feel an instant emotional attraction to that ad.

playwhutyalike: Mar 14th 2008; 9:55AM

It's good to see some divisions of GM coming around. I grew up loving the GM brand, till they started making cheap, shitty-ass, vehicles.

kbomb1upc: Mar 14th 2008; 9:41AM

Nice ad. Makes me want to play my illegal ROMs on my illegally modded Xbox over my illegal cable...Come on I’m not the only one...

Obie: Mar 14th 2008; 9:42AM

It's great when media makes references to videogames and not be condescending or naive.

Anthony: Mar 14th 2008; 9:50AM

That car down under has been getting rave reviews, the handling of BMW 5 series, the interior design of an Audi, a car that fits 5 comfortably, and an engine that is around 370 horses, PLUS rear wheel drive - so those who are saying "It's too bad it's a Pontiac" don't know D*ck.

Mr.ESC: Mar 14th 2008; 12:25PM

Sounds good to me but I'm not really into cars.

Anyway sweet ad.Midway try making a proper Spy Hunter game again please.

umm....hello???: Mar 14th 2008; 2:01PM

really?? ever read ConsumerReports?? ever read the reliability ratings on Pontiacs, Audis, or BMWs?? sorry--the car is full of win, but it IS too bad it's a Pontiac.

umm....hello???: Mar 14th 2008; 2:05PM

also wanted to add I've also owned 2 Pontiacs in the past. one threw an engine rod just out of the warranty period but they reluctantly covered it after I showed them all the service/oil change records that proved that it was well cared for...

jojo biscuits: Mar 14th 2008; 9:56AM

Burt Reynolds never had a problem with Pontiac.

sorensilk: Mar 14th 2008; 10:11AM

Fantastic ad. I would love to see someone do a movie or short film in that exact same style.

Marshmallow713: Mar 14th 2008; 10:18AM

Oh the hours wasted on that video game. So simple, but so addicting. I still have my original cart and NES (top loader). I think I'm gonna go play now :D

zero2dash: Mar 14th 2008; 10:54AM

Holy shit that ruled.

LOs: Mar 14th 2008; 10:57AM

Maybe you guys should refer to your sister site Autoblog who's bee fawning over the car for months now before stating something you clearly know nothing about.

Toop: Mar 14th 2008; 11:11AM

Cosigned! A brand new car on a new platform (one that is getting good reviews under the body of other cars as well) should not be judged on its predecessor's shortcomings. Talk about jumping the gun.

MasterCKO: Mar 16th 2008; 6:38PM

Agreed. Also, this car for under $30K is a steal.

dvnt: Mar 14th 2008; 12:28PM

Oh and Holden Monaro is the Aussie counter-part of Pontiac. All GM brands. Though those Australians have been the ones breathing new life into GM's style lately. Props to them.

Scott: Mar 14th 2008; 12:57PM

Motor Trend gave the new G8 a big thumbs up, said it was the center of attention wherever they went, and that it has the muscle to back up the looks.

http://www.motortrend.com/photo_gallery/112_0804_2008_pontiac_g8_vs_dodge_charger_photo_gallery

Mutant: Mar 14th 2008; 2:45PM

I stopped giving Motor Trend reviews any credit when they gave the Chrysler K cars and Renault Alliance car of the year in they respective years. Hell I was a kid back then but I still knew those cars were crap.

Who knows maybe they're not crap anymore.

point09micron: Mar 14th 2008; 1:17PM

What's with all the Pontiac hate?

notsonic: Mar 14th 2008; 4:03PM

all the pontiac hate is really unfounded and at best horribly misguided.

i bet the solstice is a piece too right?

Anthony: Mar 14th 2008; 4:35PM

Anybody who uses Consumer reports to make an argument for a car - no thanks, they are better rating toasters. No respecting car guy would listen to Consumer Reports.

diesavagenation: Mar 15th 2008; 2:12AM

Yeah people that say to bad its a pontiac are just plain stupid. GM makes some of the most reliable cars around. Hell GM auto transmissions are used by bmw in most if not of their cars. The g8 is a pretty sweet car.

grtgonzo: Mar 16th 2008; 5:35PM

Shove your anti-American car, anti-Pontiac comments. Despite all the negativity, American car companies, particularly GM, are putting out some great cars.

Egon Pax: Mar 17th 2008; 9:07AM

That commercial was definitely full of win.

Also like other people are stating, I've heard mostly positive things about the G8. Of course some people don't care for the styling (I like the Holden front better) or other minor quips, but overall I would've seriously purchased one of these if it test drove well and if I didn't already buy a car. It's GMs fault they didn't release it a few months earlier when I needed a car... they got their money from me anyways.

Hendricks.89: Mar 29th 2008; 10:20PM

Hey ... regardless of the pontiac, can anyone tell me about the car that spins out in the beginning? I know it looks like a CGI ... but its got to be modeled after something, as it's not the first time I've seen something like it.

Help! :) Thanks.

hvnlysoldr: Mar 30th 2008; 3:14PM

I don't get my brother's fascination with looking at expensive cars.

Brain Colin: Mar 30th 2008; 6:49PM

Fun Stuff! I worked on this original arcade game at Bally/Midway back in the early 80's. I've still got an upright arcade cabinet in our Game Refuge Offices.

Original Design Team...
Programming - Tom Leone, Art - Steve Ulstad, Brian Colin, Sharon Perry, Kevin O'connor, Cabinet - George Gomez, John Kubik.

Brian Colin
Game Refuge, Inc
http://www.gamerefuge.com

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