If Jack Bauer can kick ass in a Hyundai Genesis Coupe maybe you could too?
I’m guessing that’s what the folks at Hyundai are hoping after Kiefer Sutherland, uh sorry, Jack Bauer steals and takes to the wheel of a slick looking Hyundai in the recent 24 season 8 episode 15.
The episode must have cost Hyundai a fortune in product placement dollars as Jack Bauer power slides his way through the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It is probably one of the longest car chase scenes on 24 ever with lots of car maneuvering action, tachometer rev shots, and cool power sliding of course.
So does product placement work? I think over the course of time it will. The car looked pretty awesome on the show, and every young man wants to be Jack Bauer, so it has potential.
I think the reason it may work in this case is because the new Hyundai Coupe actually looks like a great product. If Jack had got behind the wheel of a 1986 Hyundai Pony or even a later model Sonata I doubt the reaction would be the same.
I saw the Genesis Coupe at a shopping mall display recently and had to do a double take when upon closer inspection I discovered it was a Hyundai. The Korean car manufacturer has come a long way in terms of beating its beater roots into the ground. Twice now a Motor Trend Car of the Year, Hyundai is further building its reputation by associating itself with Americana programming like 24.
In season 7 of 24 Morris, Chloe’s beleaguered computer programming husband, drives a Genesis sedan with loads of bells and whistles which was a marked departure from previous seasons where the only picture cars seemed to be either Ford, Toyota, or Lexus. It was always funny how Jack Bauer would start out in a Ford Expedition SUV, destroy it, and then somehow manage to find another more-or-less identical Ford SUV.
The other contracts must be up because Jack sure made a splash for Hyundai last night ripping up the streets of New York in a compact sports car. It’s a shame that this is the last season. I would like to have seen some Casino Royale-esque car product placement in 24, but perhaps Jack will stumble on another Hyundai Coupe in one of the remaining episodes.
Do you think that the use of auto product placement in the show is a distraction, and would you be more or less inclined to buy a Hyundai now that Jack Bauer has driven one?
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