Taking note of the growing affluence of the Chinese market, Cadillac used the allure of Route 66 during this rather epic three-minute commercial to tout the automaker’s Chinese vehicle.
Autoblog reports:
In a new short film for the Chinese-market SRX, Cadillac attempts to bridge East with West via Route 66. The ad shows actress and singer-songwriter Karen Mok taking on Will Rogers Highway with a male friend. The Mother Road calls, romance blooms and the Cadillac SRX is the tool that unites the pair.
You can view the video here. It’s in Chinese, but you shouldn’t have trouble following the plot. And, yes, parts of it take place on the real Route 66.
UPDATE: The ad was just posted on YouTube:
Don’t be surprised if this ad spurs new interest in Route 66 in China. A recent New Yorker magazine article took note that the Chinese are becoming a big force in world travel:
Most countries begin to send large numbers of tourists overseas only when the average citizen has a disposable income of five thousand dollars. But China—where urban residents are at barely half that level—has made travel affordable by booking tickets in bulk and bargaining mercilessly for hotels in distant suburbs. Last year, more than fifty-seven million Chinese people went abroad, ranking China third worldwide in international tourism. The World Tourism Organization predicts that before the end of the decade China will double that.
Don’t be surprised to see a bunch of Chinese tourists on Route 66 in the coming years.