Sunday night Saturn was the lead automotive advertiser on the 58th Primetime Emmy Awards telecast on NBC. During the first hour of the show, Saturn showed four new commercials that effectively introduced the "new" Saturn to television viewers, and launched Saturn's 2007 model year campaign. The ads continued Saturn's current "Like Always, Like Never Before" theme. Each one was beautifully executed and made good use of choreographed action shots and alluring music.

• The first ad, which is reportedly called "Saturn Question Mark," showed the reaction of everyday people from a variety of walks of life when they first saw one of the all-new 2007 Saturns. "That's a Saturn?" "Was that a Saturn?" and "That's not a Saturn!" were some of the phrases heard throughout the ad. But there was a catch. Much like the very first Saturn ads in the early 1990s that didn't show cars, this ad only showed people until the very end when a quick shot of a Saturn retail store with the new lineup flashed across the screen. The commercial piqued the interest of viewers by cleverly letting them know that something new is brewing at Saturn without showing them exactly what was in store.

• Viewers wouldn't have to wait long for the next Saturn ad for the Aura midsize sedan – this time viewers definitely saw a car. This commercial was all about the Aura, its designers, and ultimately a customer who takes one for a drive. The 60-second spot had a fast-paced edgy feel that not only paid homage to Saturn's core values, but also showed viewers that the Aura was made to be driven. Click here to watch the Aura commercial.

• The third Saturn ad of the night showcased the 2007 Vue Green Line sport-utility. Much like the previous Aura ad, this 30-second commercial started out showing Saturn engineers testing the hybrid. Some animations of the hybrid powertrain at work were shown before a Green Line was shown going down an assembly line. Towards the end there was some good video of the Vue on the road with the voiceover said, "there is a way to go green without going broke." Click here to watch the Vue Green Line spot.

• The fourth and final Saturn ad for the night neatly tied up the evening by replaying the first ad over again... with a twist. This time viewers were able to see the vehicles that folks in the commercial were staring at. There was also a bit of a surprise and tease at the end of the ad. The last vehicle shown was a clear and close-up shot of a red Outlook sitting in Saturn showroom. Click here to watch the 'Question Mark' ad.

Overall, I was very impressed with the ads. Goodby, Silverstein, and Partners did the work, and I think they did a great job. The commercials showed the new, more sophisticated side of Saturn, while including some of Saturn's themes from the past. The brand's 'people first' mantra, while not explicitly spelled out, was still evident in the without being so overpowering that the viewer lost focus of what the ads were all about: the new cars.

You can watch three of the four ads online. My video recorder didn't get the sound for the first ad, but you'll see the essence of that ad in the "Saturn Question Mark Ad with Cars" commercial that I did capture. It was basically the same, but without cars. The others are online and can be found in the commercials section of the SaturnFans.com photos and multimedia gallery. After you watch the ads, post your feedback in this thread in the SaturnFans.com Forums. What do you think of the new commercials?

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