Automakers want men to like minivans
Minivans are for women. Soccer moms. Carpool drivers.
Not for stylish, macho men. Are they?
They are, according to automakers, or at least that’s what the companies want men to think.
When it comes to minivans, the problem car companies faced never involved the vehicles themselves — people who buy them love them. The problem is their reputation, said Richard Bame, Toyota’s national marketing manager for trucks and minivans.
“Minivans, while tremendously popular, carried baggage. A minivan driver is someone who has given up their own personal style, their self-identity ... when you saw someone in a minivan, you thought ‘soccer mom.’ You thought of someone who is no longer an individual, but a parent,” Bame said. “People love their minivans, but wanted to shed the reputation.”
To spruce up their image, many auto companies have added physical features to their minivans that appeal to men — sleeker styling, a more sporty feel, and more high-tech gadgets, for example — and then market the cars in a different way.
Rather than marketing directly to men, the approach has been to market to men and women.
Dodge’s newest commercial for its new Grand Caravan, for example, doesn’t feature moms hauling around children and groceries.
Instead, it features a minivan full of men in business suits, driving in darkened alleys, and watching “Popeye” cartoon on the drop down DVD player. No kids are in the commercial at all. The female driver, also in a business suit, orders the men into kitten masks as if they’re about to start a top-secret spy operation. (www.youtube.com/watch?v=dhnvasKneR0)
Toyota mocked the minivan’s image with its popular ad for its Sienna minivan. It contained a hip-hop song referring to the Toyota Sienna as a “Swagger Wagon” and starred “the Sienna family” who danced in front of their minivan and rapped funny lyrics like:
“I roll hard through the streets in the cul-de-sac, Proud parent of an honor roll student, jackI got a swing in the front, a tree house in the backMy #1 Dad mug says, yeah, I#146;m the mack.#148;
The #147;Swagger Wagon#148; YouTube video received more than 9 million hits (www.youtube.com/watch?v=ql-N3F1FhW4) and helped increase Sienna#146;s market share, Bame said.
Commercials help, but the vehicles need to look good on the sales floor, so companies have added man-friendly upgrades.
The Grand Caravan, for example, offers Flo TV, Wi-Fi hot spots and a voice-activiated navigating system. The Sienna upgraded its grill, smoked taillamps and made the ride lower and more sporty.
Bame said minivans appeal to two types of customers: parents of young children and empty-nesters, who are more likely to drive other couples around in the car.
#147;We said, here#146;s something that you could feel at home at a soccer field as much as pulling up with another couple to the valet,#148; Bame said. #147;We didn#146;t design this specifically to attract men, we designed it to reject the reason that prevents them from buying it in the past. Something they can see themselves in more comfortably.#148;
Gender roles have shifted, so men play a more active role in their children#146;s lives than they did a generation ago. But men still tend to prefer big trucks to minivans.
The new minivan designs and ads aim to influence the thinking of both men and women.
#147;(New models) say, specifically to the mom, #145;I#146;ve still got some style here. I#146;m still me,#146;#148; Bame said. #147;Because more often than not, it#146;s the mom who#146;s going to be driving it.#148;