Initially reading the name Carcraft I was apprehensive to press the play button, thinking I would see a group of sales bods standing in the showroom singing come down to Carcraft and sticking their thumbs in the air.

But.... er, surprisingly good, restrained and effective. Well done.

Merry Christmas all!

Like the 'crafted' link (see what you've done there) and the nice move from the 'hard sell' ads we too often see. But, is it too soft and too premium? If someone wants a good, value for money car would Carcraft be front of mind after watching this ad?
Might be worth doing a 'Finance package that's crafted for you' version - especially in the New year or around plate change.

Alternatively - there's a whole host of 'Badger' commercials http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c8Rcee99yOA&feature=related

Unexpectedly good.

You can see the camera crew reflected in the building in the background at 7-9 secs..

Agree with 14:58

Could be a manufacturer's ad for their Peace of Mind warranties.
It will need a lot of air-time to may this stick. I think it will be forgotten very quickly.

Just wrote a lengthy repsonse about how poorly judged the name of the dog is, but then realised no one in their right mind should give a shit about this.

Can you say "shit" on The Drum at Christmas?

I give a shit about the dog's name. Heathcliff? Fucking Heathcliff? He's a dog. Who the shit calls a dog Heathcliff? The ubiquity of the weimaraner in ads/fashion shoots is also starting to grate.

I remember a time when almost everyone called their dog Sheba.

You're right Anon 16.14 - Everyone knows Heathcliff is a cartoon cat!

Nicely shot. Well done Nath.

Aye, like this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-isDCuMbB4

'Kin 'ell. If this wallpaper is being praised then no wonder the digital twonks are winning. you lot below either work for the agency or client or are freshly lobotomised.

It is shameful and dull.

Totally agree with anon 9.34 and 14.58, if the creatives that produced this, want to work on national brand activity.........move down South to one of the London shops, because this has as much chance of delivering footfall onto Carcraft forecourts as my dear old mum and dad making it to my house for Christmas day! You want reassurance and peace of mind when buying a used car, you go to a Brand Franchise, you want multiple choice of brands and pile them high, sell them cheap, you go to a car supermarket. I hope Carcraft have deep pockets because it will cost them a fortune to change consumer perceptions based on this.

Nicely shot and presumably designed to reassure the consumer that Carcraft isn't plagued with spivs in sheepskins. The 'crafted' thing doesn't work for me. A 120 point check does not craft a car. The robots at the manufacturing plants crafted the car. Like I said, nicely crafted ad though.

This ad is being praised in the context of what other people in this sector are doing. True, it's not the most amazing thing you'll ever see, but it ain't bad. re comment about 'craft' - you're taking it all a bit literally mate - it's the whole experience that they're talking about methinks, not the literal construction of the car.

I disagree with agency comment about reassurance being an undiscovered territory in used cars. Vauxhall's Network Q were there a long, long time ago with basically the same proposition. I do like the cinematography though it's not rare in car commercials to see nice filming of cars. I don't like the "crafting" theme because, as someone else says, they're not crafting a car they're just inspecting and preparing a car. And yes this maybe is literal but that's the type of consumer I am thank you very much. Not massively convinced there's a decent idea here – just some "okay" film work joined together. And the script starts with, "Because..." and I don't like that either. Pah!

'And yes this maybe is literal but that's the type of consumer I am thank you very much.' - You're not a consumer mate, you're somebody linked to this industry cos you're on a forum passing comment. Punters will not look at this and think, 'oh, they've not made those cars, why are they using the word 'crafted'? In your literal head they might, but in reality they're not.

Anon 09.57 - get your point that it isn't shouting £8999 for model A this weekend only and isn't heavily laden with the usual calls to action we find in this sector - but we don't know what the brief was do we? Maybe the brief was to produce a piece of brand advertising and not a typical footfall generator type ad.

Personally I like this ad, i think it will encourage people to view the brand as a little less sharkish and a lot more human than the typical 'spiv in sheepskin' image associated with car sales.

However I can't think for the life of me, why in this economic climate the client isn't wanting to shout about price, but again we don't know the brief of carcrafts long term marketing strategy.

Nicely shot with a strong, simple idea. Well done Driven. It'll sit well on Boxing Day, too. Not sure about 'Heathcliffe' as a dog's name, though...

Car craft had a terrible reputation for hard selling their cars and this is simply an attempt to turn that round. In tough times the immediate thought is to go for price when actually people are lookiing for reassurance - that's why all the big brands are digging into their past on TV. So letting the TV do the emotional bit and build trust and getting down and dirty on price in the press, where the battlefield for used cars is, is a smart move. Textbook example of how to do it and I hope they keep it going with more ads like it.

It looks good, nice track and the crafted lines work; it's about the care and attention given to the cars and the service. No brainer.

I hope the offering lives up to the promise.

I agree with the comments of 22:49. I doubt if Carcraft can live up to this though.

love the comments of 22.49 and the use of word like 'attempt' and 'hope'.

True - it is an attempt to change a mindset
Hope - is what the attempt will need

It is too soft. I'll give it three months for a price point to be added.
Network Q would be proud.

Fords Of Windsford don't need to be scared