Video : MG GS advert goes on air

The marketing push for the MG GS begins in earnest now, with a new TV advert being aired across the UK. The MG Motor UK team is selling this as a trio of adverts, but, hey, we’d like to see more to come – like the Gold Blend couple or the Bisto family, perhaps. The company says the advert will be followed by two further ‘episodes’ in the trio, all of which can be seen across a range of channels including ITV, E4, Dave, Gold, Sky One and Sky Sports over the next few weeks.

Let us know what you think…

Keith Adams
Latest posts by Keith Adams (see all)

92 Comments

    • “What message are we trying to convey here, who are we selling it to?”

      “The sort of useless parents who haven’t been arsed to buy the kids any food. Brighthouse fridge empty, lets go to Dominos and then go back and watch Dave on the freeview”

      “Got it”

  1. So, what’s the message? Buy a GS and you can… um… er… drive to your local pizza restaurant? Hardly aspirational.

  2. *ahem* bit crap. Anodyne and generic, like the car and its name. Think I’ll wait for the Kodiaq…… Like the tail lights of the GS tho

  3. Laughable. Who was this done by? A hungry 12 year old media studies wannabe?

    Bartle Bogle Hegarty obviously have nothing to fear from the producers of this tat.

    The car is pretty mundane too.

  4. Awful ad, cheaply made. Who at MG signed that off? Must have been made for peanuts. Another dismally amateur launch of a below par car which is already racking up lukewarm reviews at best. Hope someone puts this MG nonsense out of its misery soon.

  5. My thats bad.

    This advert will put people off not tempt them into the showroom.

    Is it Aprils fools, that cant be the real advert, can it?

  6. It’s really not hard to make a sophisticated up market looking advert these days. A GoPro, a drone and an empty beach/country road would have done the trick. Plenty of cool post production effects are easy to achieve for very little. A bit of “inspirational” instrumental music could have been had for free from a commercial production CD. Even a decent voice over wouldn’t have cost more than a couple of hundred.

    If they wanted cheap and cheerful then the Dacia adverts are the way to go. At least they use a well known voice over guy. I forget his name but he played “Chris Finch” in “The Office.”

    Regardless of the badge, this is not a British car. It’s not made here or even finished here. Are the brand’s owners that bothered about selling here? Is the car RHD so it can be sold in certain Asian markets and potentially the Indian sub continent and Australia?

    I’d rather tool around in one of those Land Wind knock-off Range Rovers.

    It’s a shame, because I really want to like MG.

    • Then, we have to deny the whole current MG cars from the official MG history(from 1924), and deny the development centre located in Britain, where is staffed with British engineers and designers? The current status of MG always make me agonized so much…

  7. Terrible music, slightly spurious pizza routine but other than that, the advert should reach out to its target market (early forties a couple of kids etc).

    • Well, apart from being too long (so a bit of editing), and I wonder if the production company for Sherlock might have got a bit antsy about similarities with its own product … But, you are absolutely right, it’s a far more engaging, memorable and witty piece of marketing.

  8. It’s hardly going to go viral. It’s not going to get people talking. It’s a bit dated and a shame because more could have been achieved for less.

    • If you ask MG they will tell you that “market trends show a move away from diesel power”.

      However, the actual truth is that the current diesel engine they use doesn’t meet European standards implemented last year and they’ve deemed the number of sales they’ll get insufficient to justify investing in the diesel engine further (adding AdBlue/SCR is an expensive business). Hence, no diesel GS and the MG6 being quietly dropped as they can’t sell Euro 5 cars past the end of August.

  9. WHO agreed to pay for this pile of poo

    WHO has the idea for this pile of poo

    WHO employed the marketing company that produced this pile of poo

    The Chinese version with benedict Cucumber was/is and will always be a far superior advert, why they could not have used that is beyond me, even if they had to pay the Cucumber man more money to allow European usage, it would have been cheaper than this, i am sorry but it is crap, the worst advert i have seen for years years and more years.

    Did no one trial the advert before launch as they do with most other adverts, if they did, who watched it and said it was great – ??????

    Come on guys, you have at last a brilliant product, but as usual you have shot yourself in both feet, both knees and an elbow with this low rent, below par, sub standard drivel, i watched it twice, only to make sure that i really had seen what i thought i had seen…….

    get the meerkats behind the wheel and it will do wonders, try some comedy, something memorable, like the ZEDS playing footie, even in the dim dark days at the end, they were producing superior adverts that would wipe the floor with this one.

  10. A truly awful advert let down by a poorly executed storyline and that irritating soundtrack which helped make the MG3 adverts just as tacky.

    MG Motor UK Ltd, please take a look at the latest advert for the Suzuki Baleno featuring happy, smiling people in it, a Jerry Hall wannabee character and a great soundtrack, to get an idea on how to do it properly.

    Alternatively take some inspiration from this advert: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZI-E8qyqjI

    • A cracking advert for the Streetwise. Just a shame that the car was essentially eight years old, & therefore a year past its sell by date, when the mini-SUV version was launched.

    • @ Andy W:

      There is definitely lots of scope to work with this superior advert to meet the needs of the UK market’s broadcast time while at the same time maintaining the essence of its intriguing storyline and creative imagery.

      Thanks for posting this link.

      • I’ve watched adverts for the new MG company from around the world, and most of them are far superior to those produced by the UK operation. How some of the people in charge at Longbridge keep their jobs, after several years of failure, is completely beyond me.

      • As well as the “leap of faith” towards the end, MG would have to a couple of the off-road shots. When he sets off in the mud, there is clearly wheel spin from the rear wheels & when driving on the grass, there is mild oversteer which you wouldn’t get from the FWD version, only the 4wd one which isn’t sold over here.
        Even without those clips though, the advert would have far more gravitas than the slightly lame UK version.

  11. I’m sure the posh advert doesn’t comply to some sort of ASA rule like you say. And perhaps the actor’s deal excluded UK transmission.

    However….

    There’s plenty of footage there that could be re-used and edited into something sophisticated. Hell you could even convert the car to RHD digitally.

    I really do not understand MG’s UK marketing strategy. I would love to get an insight.

  12. This is very worrying. This ad should not be shown again. Truly dreadful. The people behind this campaign should be embarrassed.

    • You have the next two instalments to look forward to yet!

      Quite why Matthew Cheyne thought it was a good idea to make three cr*p adverts, rather than one decent one, only he can answer.

      Despite what Cheyne himself said, the company doesn’t seem to have learnt a single thing from the failure of the MG6.

      And meanwhile, the bosses in China don’t seem remotely bothered by any of it.

  13. I don’t like the couple’s house either – it has gravel in place of a lawn and a fridge full of processed food. Not my kind of people.

  14. All I can say is………….OH MY GOD !

    Sorry but that was shocking !

    I have seen better adverts done for yogurt, you know the really badly dubbed french ones.

    Naff idea, Naff director (if there was one) and naff choice of colour for the car.

    To be honest it looks like an advert a local car dealer would make by himself, Arthur Daley lives on.

    Makes me proud to be British……. NOT!

  15. No disrespect to a GSCE student but frankly that advert is not even GCSE pass grade dreadful. Amazed at China clearly not bothered with the UK market.

    • …and just seen the Sherlock advert which total polar opposite and would so engage with a wider market. WTF were you thinking with Pizzeria and parents?

  16. Poor.

    Another MG launch has gone off like a damp squib. From that witless and inept ad to the website still riddled with typos and bad translations to steep prices and no diesel engine at launch. As one commentator above puts it ‘it’s the MG6 all over again’.

    The next MG to be launched is meant to be a smaller SUV and that is sure to have far more market appeal than the GS. I’m saying to SAIC now that after the mess that’s been made of the GS launch if they want to have any success with the next one they simply have to axe the entire existing sales and marketing department and put their money into recruiting experienced high quality replacements. This launch has been an embarrassment.

  17. Having seen it more than once I am still wondering what ad company did they use for this? It looks like something a five year old would produce. My wife was laughing her head off at how bad it was.

  18. Blimey. Seeing as anyone with an iphone can now shoot 60 frame per second video that looks as good (if not better) than the production values of this advert I am seriously wondering if this was made by members of the marketing team using their phones. Also that gold colour – seriously who is going to buy one!

    Should be pushing gunmetal or white cars – and watching all Mazda’s UK adverts for the last 5 years to get some ideas on how to do this properly.

    I sense there must be someone up high making decisions who won’t be told what to do….

      • Yep. No other MD of a European car business would have kept his job through years of almost non-existant sales. You could say the same about Tony Williams-Kenny and, especially, Matthew Cheyne too.

        • Cheyne is completely out of his depth. He even had the cheek to slate his predecessor at the GS launch and then comes up with this joke of an advert. Williams-Kenny I do have some sympathy for as his hand are tied by SAIC’s complete lack of ambition.

          The sad thing is its the people at the bottom of the pile at MG Motor who will lose their jobs in the next few months now that all the cars are imported fully built. While the like of Cheyne and Wang oversee the death of Longbridge and quite possibly MG in the UK.

  19. The Benedict Cumberbatch advert is far better – but remember, it’s nearly a 2 mins long Trail, not the popular 30 secs slot, so TX costs would be higher.

    Watching the planned UK version wouldn’t tempt me to try or buy a GS. Sorry it’s a no from me.

  20. I had to post twice – just watched it again after getting the email from MG. This is the most horrifically cheap advert I’ve ever seen. Compare and contrast to some of the 80’s and 90’s Rover adverts – they put this to shame, even the antiquated Metro adverts were by far better than this and those were 25+ years ago.

    Look at the latest Tiguan advert of the Dad dropping his daughter at school – simple but very effective and funny. I’m sure even one or two of us round a table would have come up with a far superior storyboard for an advert than this.

    I genuinely don;t know what MG are thinking, it’s almost as if someone has managed to install a saboteur in the MG Marketing team….

  21. We should all contact MG to complain about this…

    post on their FB page, tweet them, whatever it takes to draw attention to this ridiculous advert

    • I’ve made my thoughts known on Twitter, even copying in Matthew Cheyne @mcheyne240 – but, sadly, it won’t do any good. He’ll think we’re all wrong, carry on with the third-rate campaigns and continue to pick up, presumably, a nice, fat salary. The people who need to know, and I’m not even sure they’re bothered, are SAIC in China, but I couldn’t find a Twitter account for them. What is needed is for someone, either Keith, the Birmingham Post, Autocar, Richard Burden MP, whoever, to find out what the hell is going on at Longbridge and what SAIC’s realistic long-term aims are. Heads really do need to start rolling.

  22. I’m sorry, but this atrocious attempt at ‘marketing’ epitomises why the MG logo (brand?) has to lay down and die gracefully. MG in the UK is a joke.

    WHAT AN EARTH WERE THEY THINKING AT LONG-GONE-BRIDGE????????????

    As a pizza company advert it was pretty bad, but you got to see a huge cheesy, stodgy mess. Oh hang on a minute, this was a car advert that was actually a huge, cheesy, stodgy mess…..

    Whatever the present incumbent of the MG name and logo think of the brand, the marketing of MG in the UK has been at best poor and at worse diabolical. They clearly haven’t a clue and hence the sales figures reflect the fact that most people only see MG now as a cheap Chinese rip-off with little USP, a fragmented dealer network and exceptionally competitive alternatives in this market sector.

    I think the advert was spot on for how MG in the UK perceive their product. they really don’t care about it and as long as they draw a salary cheque every month, they are all OK with fourth rate advertising and paltry sales. If this is the future for this car maker in the UK, just let it fade out quietly, whatever the perceived pros and cons of the cars themselves.

    MG marketing might as well be engaged in advising Jeremy Corbyn how to cling on to his leadership right now, they certainly make me feel the same way with their cringey efforts.

  23. It was William Morris who famously said ” I know that half my advertising budget is wasted. The trouble is, I don’t know which half ! ” This advertisement would perhaps have helped him decide

    • Dear me. Nuffield said no such thing. That quote is attributed to various people including William Lever and John Wannamaker, while some suggest it is a re-phrasing of a comment by Adolph Ochs.

      As for the Chinese advert – let’s not forget filmed many moons ago as the GS is hardly new to this world – Benedict is using the same gravy train enjoyed by Clooney, Bacon, Aniston, Baldwin et al, agreeing to star in an advert shown in territories far from his home nation and certainly would not sanction it being screened over here; it provides so-called ‘A-listers’ with lots of cash without sullying their name so they can continue to say to people that they are serious thesps. Credibility is so very important when you’re hamming Hamlet’s soliloquy. Or bumbling through yet another one of Gatis and Moffat’s dreary scripts.

      In the meantime, this abysmal advertisement will run and two more may be aired, although the negative reaction across so many social media channels might keep them locked away. As for Cheyne, he does appear to believe that the wholesale panning of his marketing efforts for the GS is actually good publicity and gives not a jot if you don’t like it. That tells you all you need to know about how the company is run and what expertise they have.

      • More a case of poor publicity is good publicity rather than no publicity is good publicity?

        • Somehow I don’t think the likes of Gerald Ratner, Google, Starbucks, Amazon, Nestlé, Domino’s or Tesco would agree with your suggestion.

  24. I was looking forward to watching this but I just thought “WHAT!!??”

    It’s neither cool nor clever. A bit cheap, a bit homemade. I suppose they’re trying to say family, practical but at the same time cool, MG. It just does not work though. Do we need close up images of a fridge door and a pizza? Would images of Grandad’s MGB not have been better?!

    Is it going to make people think “Wow, I’ll have to take a look!”. I doubt it.

    It’s hardly R8 and “lift us up where we belong” !!

    Will the next ‘episode’ feature the GS with a Dominoes Pizza sign on its roof?!!!

  25. MG

    Please don’t embarrass yourselves by bringing out the second and third iterations of this tripe. Recut the Cumberbatch advert to fit UK prime-time viewing and you might get some interest. Carry on like this and your are killing what is left of the brand.

  26. I was genuinely hoping for some spectacular cinematic commercial but, “THIS”, come on seriously. the first advert should give the WOW factor not showing pizzas, even my grandson thought it was advertising pizzas.

  27. Truly awful . Like others have said , it almost feels like some of the guys at Longbridge have produced this advert. The launch event looked like it was held at ‘vintage’ style wedding venue .

    Advertising isn’t cheap , i recall Rover paid Saatchi around 30 million pounds for the 25 and 45 launch campaign – whether that was just the UK or worldwide budget I’m not sure. The Rover adverts may have carried confusing messages about the brand at times , but at least they looked well made. The 45 advert being a prime example -retro styling , chrome trim and wood racing around a pinball machine with a Fatboy Slim track playing…. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tvWQ85jTg80 . Ford did something for the Fiesta only a few years later https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZnurdZPBn-s .

    It’s worrying when MG Motor make the MGROVER group operation look like a paragon of efficiency and professionalism.

    Maybe we need another nostalgia thread looking at past AR and Rover group adverts?
    I like this particular Rover 800 advert at 1 minutes and 30 seconds in .

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I3r2g49ovtw

    • Despite being from a different era, this is the kind of commercial MG should have gone with for the GS!

    • Cheyne effectively said on Twitter that there’s no such thing as bad publicity:

      “Lots of folks like it and if people are tweeting about GS that is a good thing. #cantpleaseallofthepeople

      It’s almost like he planned it. Maybe the man’s a genius after all!

      Not helped by a few sycophants on there who clearly have no idea whatsoever:

      “Well, I think the advert gets the image across in a lighthearted but genuine way. Where do I sign on the order form?”

      Probably from Cheyne’s wife.

      • Despite MG having form for knocking up to two grand off the 3 and the 6 under “scrappage” schemes quite soon after launch. There are a few people daft enough to want to buy this Chinese import at list price.

  28. Saw this for the first time tonight. At first I thought it was an advert for a Pizza restaurant. It came on again in the next ad break, the whole thing just comes across as cheaply made, with no real point to it. Even the picture quality, just comes across as being made in an afternoon by some A level media students.

    • Yep, despite how amateurish this advertising campaign is, they really went and aired it!

      I knew what was coming when the ad started so asked my better-half what she thought it was about. She said was it an ad for the local (cheap) independent pizza shop….. At the end she still wasn’t sure and didn’t even realise that MG was still around.

      It’s certainly missed the mark and makes the history behind MG octagon into a laughing stock.

      Fall on your sword Cheyne.

  29. It’s the sort of advert that you’d expect to see at your local cinema, for a small business – Low budget & unimaginative production.
    Hardly a big fanfare for the launch of a new car.

  30. I saw it, and sadly, the advert was too pointless and very easy to be forgotten(like the CityRover’s and Rover 75’s launch advert). Bad news for a new start of MG, and former MGR people, who now work for the MG and SAIC…

    • Here’s a better idea for the advert; “Totally Equipped MG, Totally Pleasing MG(borrowed from Triumph Acclaim’s own).” It could have nicely highlight GS’ value for price, styling, and its ‘RV’ advantage.

  31. Sadly, a lost opportunity. Seems like an attempt at ‘lifestyle’ advertising which completely misses the mark. Surely it wasn’t beyond the realms of possibility to create a TV commercial that focused on the GS’ styling, comfort and technical features instead? Even if it was just in a professional, dynamically lit studio environment with strategic exterior and interior panning shots with a reassuring voice over to whet the appetite of its intended audience. I’m sure this could have been done within the marketing budget for what has been hailed as such an important car for MG.

    What’s next I wonder? £500 of Domino vouchers given away with every purchase? Maybe ‘buy one get one free’ in the manner of desperate UK Dodge dealers trying to shift the ill-fated Avenger several years back…

    Very sad.

  32. Dire! Dire! Dire! I was actually thinking of buying one but if the product is anything like the ad…………….

  33. I remember the 2004 MGRover Group advert voiced by John Nettles which was much better than this MG GS one and a bit more patriotic… despite what was to happen in 2005.

  34. I can’t believe they ran that rubbish again last night! Has Cheyne not heard the outcry? Does he not understand the damage he is doing to the brand by peddling this mindless amateurish rubbish? Doesn’t it make him cringe too?

    Dacia, Kia, SsangYong et al must be laughing themselves silly at the opportunities it’s going to give them. However I don’t suppose Land Rover or Nissan are even in the slightest bit concerned about this being competition.

    He should really do a Chris Evans and release a statement on Twitter along the lines of “I feel like my standing aside is the single best thing I can now do to help the cause.”

    It must be slowly dawning on people that actually care or remember what MG has become; a Chinese manufacturer trading on a ‘purchased history’ with perceived Britishness abroad but actually no UK content or following. I want to be angry at what has happened to MG, but I’m really sad as this pathetic, slow crawl using the octagon to mask the route towards the final lingering death.

    The only solace is that this isn’t the real MG that many of us know and have loved, that went years ago.

  35. Saw the advert on TV for the first time on Sunday (or was it Monday? – I’ve taken three days off work and lost track of time!)

    Anyway, my reaction was ” perhaps it’s not quite so bad, especially if it’s part of a 3 part ‘series’ “

  36. After watching that garbage mg really did die on 8th April 2005.the mg TC the last great true mg.mg 3,6,vs China junk.

  37. As a gauge of public response, opinion – I spoke to a guy last night who is a car and bike enthusiast. He told me he’d seen the GS advert. I remarked “It’s a bit naff isn’t it?”. He replied “not so bad” or similar.

    Jon, above – As an MG3 driver for the past year I have to strongly disagree. Not a modern day Zed, but my MG3 is most certainly not junk!!!

    • “Not a modern day Zed, but my MG3 is most certainly not junk!!!”

      Probably true, given that there’s no such thing as a “bad car” these days, but let’s see what it’s worth compared to its competitors when it’s 3 years old?

      • Matt, when I bought my 3 residual values were not much of a concern. The idea was to keep it 10 years plus ie to a point of nominal value anyway. I’m now wondering whether I will change cars sooner. I’ll keep my eye on used values. The fact it will most likely be changed for another will help!

  38. Hyundai, Kia, Dacia etc – they’ve all had to start from zero in the UK. They all faced the high depreciation of an unknown brand. All have survived this, grown. Surely MG can do the same.

    I am starting to notice interest in my MG3. Three lorry drivers outside work have now commented on my 3 and all had one themselves. Just days ago, a taxi driver was alongside me at the lights. I noticed him pointing at my 3. Windows down – “Seen them advertised. How you finding it?”

  39. Just viewed the GS ad AGAIN. It’s not flash, it’s not dramatic. However, I don’t think it’s really so bad after all. The music continues the theme of the MG3 advert and has a certain element of ‘fun’ to it. The one of three factor will also help greatly I think.

  40. The new GS advert is like something produced by the BBC’s The Apprentice programme, I have seen better produced adverts at my local cinema promoting the local indian resstaurant in town.

  41. Just asked my Mum to watch the GS advert. Her comments – “You’re not sure what it’s advertising. I don’t care for it. More like a pizza advert.”

    Not very encouraging, much as I tried to be more positive about the advert.

  42. I saw ‘Part II’ an hour or so ago. My feelings were more positive. The advantage to be gained from a series of adverts was evident. The car seemed more the star (as opposed to a slice of pepperoni!).

    If I was Joe Bloggs considering a new SUV and had already half noted Part I, then I think I would be making further enquiries.

    • Interesting, though, that they’re showing the second advert on TV, but – given the bashing the first one received – MG haven’t mentioned it on social media, as far as i can see!

      • The first advert was utterly dreadful.

        The second? Dreadful. Which you can take as an improvement.

        As you mentioned, the marketing team in Longbridge seem to have gone very shy about their abysmal in-house productions all of a sudden.

  43. But where do you make further enquiries? I’ve just been on the MG website. Is there a list of dealers ? No there isn’t . Can you find your nearest dealer ? No you can’t . I tried the expedient of looking for used cars, and that way found that the nearest 2 dealers to me were both a 60 mile drive away, and I live within the third biggest conurbation in the UK. Does no-one who is supposed to be promoting MG ever try the site, and ask themselves the obvious questions which arise from its deficiencies, or have they in reality all given up on the job?

    • In fairness, I have now found that if you keep looking through the website for the MG GS, eventually you find, right down at the bottom, a ” find a dealer ” button . But it is far from obvious, and the first invitations are of the fill in your name and address, and we’ll get back to you type

      • Christopher, I’m pretty sure I’ve easily found a dealer on the MG UK website before now.

        • Christopher, there is a link at the top of every page on their website (bar the shop) that says “Find a Dealer”.

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