Everyone has an opinion on the Nissan Leaf ad

A tried and true tactic for selling cars has been the attractive woman. The (usually) subtle message is that if you buy this car, a hot chick could end up going home with you - maybe even in the back seat.

In the new advertisement for the electric Nissan Leaf, the owner gets some action – in the form of a hug from a polar bear. Produced by TBWA, the one-minute spot is called “Polar Bear”:

Of course, there’s a “making of” video you can watch as well.

It takes a clear stand on climate change and thus received a mixed reaction online. Autoblog called it as subtle as a box of hammers.

But the response from the green blogosphere has been mostly positive. At TreeHugger, Brian Merchant wrote: some people will probably think the ad is cute, some will think it's heartwarming, some will think it's obnoxious, and some will think it's ridiculous. He liked the ad because it puts climate change back into the conversation in a decidedly non-political way.

On Futerra’s blog, David Williams agrees with Merchant, saying it’s a clever piece of climate change communications because it dumbs it down for the viewer, but gives it a mixed review doesn’t do enough to differentiate from the Prius. No new angle, nothing else brought to the mix, just 'buy this if you want people to think you care about the environment'. In conclusion, Williams calls it a very well executed but ultimately unsurprising ad.

Karen Barnes, Director of Insight at Shelton Group believes that because the car is meant for people who already care about the environment, it is well-targeted advertising. At eart2tech, Katie Fehrenbacher simply gushes about the awesome new ad. The green skeptic thinks it’s very clever. When Michael d’Estries of Ecorazzi watched it, it ended with Awwwww…

The New York Times compiled some other responses on their blog under the headline: A Bear Hug? Nissan Ad Raises Eyebrows.

The comments to these posts haven’t been nearly as complimentary. Take a look at the AutoBlogGreen comments as an example. Or the one comment on the Strategy for Sustainability blog.

What do you think? Too abrasive or well-targeted? No new ground or bringing climate change to the masses? Weigh in below.