This is how the RV Industry Association (RVIA) is promoting RV sales. It’s evident from the commercial that the market it’s targeting is young, active consumers. Watch for this commercial on TV and online soon.
The commercial’s message is this: “Are you ready for something REAL? It’s time to Go on a Real Vacation.”
“The high-energy, fast-paced broadcast spot was created by Go RVing’s new creative agency, FCB in Chicago,” according to a press release. “The [TV] spot is geared toward outdoor enthusiasts with children in the home who are looking for alternatives to fly/cruise vacations.”
Commercials will run on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, The Late Late Show with James Cordon, sporting events including the NBA Playoffs, The Stanley Cup Playoffs, and Major League Baseball as well as news outlets CNN, MSNBC, and Fox News.
Most of those who respond to these ads will purchase low-end (“sticks and tin”) travel trailers in the $20,000 to $30,000 range.
##RVT963b
In a few months there will be plenty of used RVs on the market.
Ditto!
I really doubt that. Covid and/or the mark it has put on people is not going anywhere soon. Every person here was a newbie at one time and had to learn. In fact, we keep learning because as always things in life change.
I’d hate to be the finance co that’s going to eat all these loans when they walk away next winter
Yes, that’s advertising. The only thing they left out, is where the heck they are going to go camping?! Agree with Bart, if you’re looking to upgrade your RV, wait till around December, buy from owners at a fraction of the cost! LOL!
May be a little difficult to get a spot now and then but I don’t see anything in that commercial that isn’t possible for those willing to plan it out. Good luck to them.
Except that ‘newbies’ might be thinking they can just set out and pull in somewhere – and camp. Unless they have friends who can clue them in to what they have to do, of course.
I think it’s a great commercial!! Just like in boating, if you don’t get the younger generation involved with kids the industry will die.
If I bought a boat that was of equal quality to the average RV, I would have the Coast guard on speed dial. LOL
Based on the comments below, why do you folks think families will walk away from RVing?
Where were all of the crowded campgrounds? When do they tell the new buyers about the delay in getting their new rig into the shop for the needed repairs and warranty work? Oh, and where will they store the new beast when not using it? I hope the people look hard before leaping. Good luck to them.
They are targeting people who make plans and reservations for vacation to instead buy RV then make plans and reservations to go camping. Seems like a smart strategy to me.
It’s an advertisement (not an informed consent), and it does that well. I don’t know that it’s needed right now, with inventories so low, but it’s a good spot.
And for the non-impulse buyers and planners who get inspired, they’ll have all fall and winter to research, plan, and shop online for the setup that is best for them.
I like the ad. But I wonder why it’s needed? After all, they’re being sold at a rate the manufacturers can’t keep up with already…
It’s great! I’m so grateful that my folks bought a travel trailer, probably inexpensive, and took us camping when I was a kid. Some of my best memories growing up and why I still RV today.
Yes but if that was years back they were built better then they are today. Plus at the rate their popping them out, you know they will have major flaws. It’s all about quantity these days and not quality. Glad your childhood has good memories. All kids should have that. That’s why I have done foster care for 14 years and provided many kids this kind if experience. Happy travels.
Promoting RVing has unfortunately led to many problems in campgrounds and even BLM, state and national park sites with overcrowding, lack of understanding of accepted campground etiquette, littering, and even illegal dumping of black and grey tanks. That said, encouraging young families to take children out into nature can be some of the best education that can be had for families, if it is done with appropriate care. It hasn’t been necessary in the past, but I think all camping facilities should make information available about rules and etiquette and put in place consequences if those rules are violated.
My husband and I only make reservations about a week or two (if staying a week or
Longer) before heading out again. If just stopping for the night then it’s usually day before or even day of. I have not had any problem finding a site.
I like the ad. I get that it doesn’t highlight the issues that the we, the more informed RVers deal with. But then, most ads don’t.
It’s a good commercial for their target audience. Young families going camping is really what started the RV industry and what will allow it to continue. I started with my parents in a pop-up, took my kids camping in tents. Now my husband and I travel in a 45’ Class A. We normally reserve our longer stops months in advance. We have had to rearrange some travel plans due to a last minute change in our schedule but we need a different type of campsite than the folks targeted by this commercial. We absolutely need more campgrounds but we also need to encourage new folks to participate in our world. Without the probability of a continued audience, there is no incentive to build new campgrounds for those of us currently camping.
Typical advertising in this country, presenting an exaggerated picture of potential outcomes and well done at that.
Not much reality about many things that can be part of RVing.
Smart people will rent an RV before buying.
I don’t like the fact they have a girl hanging out and waving from the side of a RV while they’re moving. Unsafe. And the majority of the people who they are aiming at aren’t equipped with any knowledge of what they are doing. I’ve already been asked where the plug-ins and cable are while camping in a US Forest Service campground (no hookups available). Another person was filling their fresh water tank from the non-potable hose (which had a big sign stating “NOT FOR DRINKING”. 20 yards away was a fresh water site, but the “camper” said “he didn’t want to have to dig out the hose” in the rental he was using.
I noticed most of the things they showed them doing outside had nothing to do with camping, but things you could do if you just drove there in a vehicle anyway! At least they weren’t promoting them camping in some exotic, scenic site that is just for looks and not an actual place to camp! That drives me crazy.
I absolutely agree with you. We have noticed that really new rvers do not use campground etiquette, they are loud and do not respect others campground space. They have so much equipment (boats, kayaks, bikes), it looks like a junk yard. Hard to sit outside and just enjoy nature with loud parties going on.
I hate the way they “flash”all the pictures at the viewer. Too fast for my old brain to comprehend. Ill try watching it on tv on a larger screen, but i guess, why advertise when the 2 local rv dealers have no stock to sell?
I don’t like the ad. Flashing pictures every half second isn’t the way I see things. Not enough actual RV-ing, just scenery, people, driving. Not a real sense of actual RV-ing. Not even enough information to actually think of going on any kind of trip. But, then I’m so old, I don’t see the world like 20,30,40 year-olds do.
Personally I liked the commercial. Instead of going on a cruise or a resort to be pampered people are getting away, exploring, and enjoying an active lifestyle.
This time next year there will be tens of thousands of year old RVs that nobody knew how to winterize so half of them will require massive repairs, the people that originally bought them will be totally out of the league and just wanting to get out of their 20 year loans. It’s going to be interesting to say the least.
RVIA job is to use lifestyle to promote sales to a specific target audience. They’ve done that expertly. Those flashing pictures are planting seeds of “if I had, I could”. For the mountain biker it’s “if I had a RV I could stay closer and longer to where I mountain bike.”
Promoting the reality of RVing wouldn’t generate as many sales. A sales organization job is to meet the sales quotas. Anything that comes after the sale is someone else’s job.
I do wish RVIA promoted the responsibility that goes along with buying the RV. But that job falls on the shoulders of others.
I spent decades in the advertising industry. It’s less an ad for RVing than an ad for a getaway lifestyle. I like to remind people that when you hit the road in an RV, you’re the same people when you get where you’re going that you were when you left. Having an RV doesn’t change any of that chemistry.
We hosted at a state park in Missouri a few years back. A noob in a brand-new 24′ bumper-pull came in on Monday afternoon for a six-day stay. It was him, his wife and four kids, age 4 to 14.
It rained every single day he was there, virtually non-stop. On my rounds toward the end of his stay i asked him how his week was.
“How would you like to be cooped up for a week in a shipping container with my wife and these four kids?”
I wonder where they are now?
These “Go RVing” television spots fail to mention the shortage of campgrounds and RV Parks…imagine the shock new owners are in for when they can’t find a place to park that sparkling new RV.
Buyers beware.
Plus may have to pay $100.00 or more per month to store the RV.
Millennials have a very short attention span so, this ad might capture their interest. For people OVER 40, this ad is likely to miss the mark and, for seniors who are retiring, it really tells them nothing about what RVing is truly about. This ad might sell low end entry level RVs but, I doubt it will do much to move mid-level and high end units.
Wow! Not another car on the road. Not another hiker in the forest. Have it all to yourself! What alternate world is this?
I particularly like the part where the Northern Lights is something you can see while camping. Maybe you will luck out and see something in late August or September in Alaska, but to see as spectacular a display as the ad shows, you need to be in Fairbanks in winter. Not likely for a new or casual RVer – or most RVers for that matter. My experience has been that extreme cold and RVs don’t mix well.
The commercial is RVing at its best. We all have had trips that were anything but the best. My experience in RVing has scenes like this but it is an exception. That’s not what RVing is about.
I don’t see anything wrong with the ad. It is a typical ad. They are all made to draw people in and get interested in whatever they are selling. Seriously, how many of you have gotten a brand new car with a big red bow on it for a present? Every holiday season we see the same type of ad.
I only see good deals next year on used RV’s.
I hope you are right! I need to trade! Rookie mistake, bought the wrong thing.
I understand the commercial but agree with Chuck and his assessment of readily available camp sites to accommodate this influx of new buyers. I cant fathom the reasoning that RIVA (and individual mfg’s) of not wanting to help increase the camping experience with easy access to camp sites. Very short sited. Chuck’s essay on the Piper Airplane Co was right on if the industry truly wants to be self sustaining.
I guess I’m getting old, but this splatter-cut style of commercial does nothing for me, I just tune out. I guess all those activities that flew by are supposed to be fun you can have in an RV but it didn’t convince me.
They missed the topical point. With an RV you can vacation whenever you want/can safely even if it’s to a campground a few miles away. People are longing for a change of scenery, however short or long or far.
We would rather the RVIA concentrate on improving industrywide quality control improvements in manufacturing. There is too much slipshod work being done that is not good for the long term health of the industry.
The commercial must be for youthful audiences because my old eyes couldn’t follow the ad. Maybe it was just me but I saw a focus on activities outside of the RV. Except for the very end, one could say it was about getting outdoors period. There was no focus on the joy of having your “home” with you and staying anywhere you want. Isn’t that what RVing is all about? It is for me. We won’t mention the regular maintenance required to keep it “on the road”. LOL
It’s the bright side of our lifestyle for sure. No one was wearing a mask in any clip. Not a realistic picture in National or local parks. It paints a picture of freedom from everything; even ones’ personal responsibility to this pandemic. Otherwise I think it’s an OK commercial.
I see RVs parked everywhere, as Millennials won’t be able to find camping spots.
I once thought that the RVIA was an entity that not only promoted the RV lifestyle, but they also pressed for changes in the industry and was a voice for those who bought into the lifestyle. I also thought the RVIA was the voice of reason acting as a interface between the industry and it’s clients. Well, I’ve been wrong before and I guess this won’t be the last time….l
I’m a full timer, and would like to be selfish but everyone has the right to live and play however they like as long as it doesn’t affect others enjoyment.
Buyers beware of the quality or lack thereof.
Responsibility to be good stewards is common in most people, not all, sadly. Perhaps the opportunity to enjoy outdoors may seed that quality in some.
The need to support increased demand will profitable for forward looking entrepreneurs,…eventually,…we hope.