Filed under: SUVs, Marketing/Advertising, Land Rover
Land Rover's ad agency has sick sense of marketing
We recently discovered this article from Brandweek/Adweek about a new marketing campaign for Land Rover that leaves a bad taste in our mouth. Ad agency Young & Rubicam Brands took the Land Rover LR3 to actual disaster areas and filmed it among the wreckage to create spots that present the SUV as a "hero car." The campaign's theme is called "Created for the one," the idea being that the Land Rover LR3 was designed to handle that one unexpected event like a snowstorm, flood or hurricane. To film these spots, however, the production crew actually monitored where natural disasters were occurring in the U.S. and arrived on the scene to shoot the LR3 among the wreckage. Last month they were in Levasy, Missouri, which had just been hit by flooding. Y&R creative director Miles Turpin is quoted as saying, "When it snows big time, we'll go out and do that. And when hurricane season starts, we'll go there."
The agency is reportedly aware of potentially being judged as exploiting disasters, and will offer its vehicles to emergency personnel or, as it did in Missouri, make donations to relief organizations. In our opinion, that doesn't mitigate the fact a natural disaster that caused suffering in the lives of real people is being used as a backdrop to help sell Land Rovers.
To be fair, this article was written with the marketing industry in mind as an audience, not us. The agency, which is just doing its job, comes off as insensitive and exploitative to our ears, but a professional in the biz might think this idea is genius. And while it's a good thing that Land Rover may donate money or the use of its vehicles to aid disaster relief efforts as a result of this marketing campaign, that bad taste in our mouth comes from the fact that it likely wouldn't do those things if a camera weren't there to capture it.
[Source: Brandweek]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
JC3 12:09PM (6/20/2007)
Tackey weasels.
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Yago Bal 12:20PM (6/20/2007)
It's the same when you exploit a Romenian couple's death in 20 posts, just for some more clicks... ;)
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John Neff 12:28PM (6/20/2007)
We posted three times on the tragedy that happened during this year's Gumball rally...
http://www.autoblog.com/2007/06/08/the-saga-continues-gumballer-nick-morley-guilty-but-may-be-rel/
http://www.autoblog.com/2007/06/01/british-gumballers-forgiven-by-victims-family/
http://www.autoblog.com/2007/05/04/a-matter-of-time-one-killed-one-injured-gumball-cancelled/
Naveed 12:26PM (6/20/2007)
I went through Hurricane Charley in Florida; if I saw a Land Rover ad crew out there in the middle of the wreckage, I'd be irate. And I was actually driving a Range Rover during that time.
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bmoredlj 12:36PM (6/20/2007)
I once watched a McDonalds promotional video from the 90s that was a slowed-down 30 sec TV spot with a droll voiceover pointing out exactly what each person and scene in the spot depicts or represents, and how they fit into the bigger picture of the McD's image which was slowly becoming more "urban". It isn't meant for the consumers' eyes, as it would seem patronizing at best and racist at worst. But it was meant for the board, not the consumer.
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bill 12:42PM (6/20/2007)
Wow, what's the big deal. The Democrat party exploits every disaster for their own political gain no matter who they offend. Maybe the LR3 ad agency is filled with liberals and don't know any better. Hey, the Democrat party is still blaming Bush for anyone still dying in New Orleans. The LR3 guys need to find an ethanol plant and drive the vehicle through the plant since ethanol is the next disaster to hit America.
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John Metcalf 2:18PM (6/20/2007)
9/11 + republican White House exploitation = Iraq Disaster
(Sorry about this non-auto related response, but I couldn't let this one go.)
pat 5:55PM (6/20/2007)
Bill, you sir, are a moron.
bill 6:08PM (6/20/2007)
Pat, now my feelings are hurt. I try to have a little fun by mingling reality with humor, and I get called a moron. The least you could have done was comment on my sentence structure and word usage. Even when I am being a "moron" I try to be grammatically correct.
Chrysalid 12:43PM (6/20/2007)
The disaster occurs whether they're there or not, I don't see how "exploiting" it in film (whether to sell something or to increase ratings) could be seen as morally wrong. Their filming is not harming anyone, nor does it seem that it would affect any of the victims at all. That being the case, the fact that they are lending vehicles to help out and donating to relief funds is above and beyond the call of duty.
For something that causes such enormous land, life, and economic disaster, I think it's positive to get anything productive from it. Not to mention that if I found myself in such a situation I would probably want to have an LR or other truck.
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David Naylor 12:10PM (6/21/2007)
Couldn't agree more.
Jaqi 2:50PM (7/12/2007)
Chrysalid, there's nothing "productive" here - these people are literally capitalizing on the extreme misfortune of fellow Americans. As writer John Neff points out - they wouldn't be making those 'donations' if cameras weren't there. And it's not like the folks behind Land Rover can't afford to spend a few dollars on special effects. It's reprehensible. I intend to share this article with everyone I know.
paul34 12:43PM (6/20/2007)
Go ahead, LR, come here and try that next time there's a hurricane.
We'll freakin throw you into the sea.
Seriously, how many decent marketing people are there out there? I have such a bad impression of marketing people... but don't want to generalize to all marketing people - although its getting harder and harder to NOT generalize.
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Blippie 8:05AM (12/07/2007)
""Land Rover may donate money or the use of its vehicles to aid disaster relief efforts as a result of this marketing campaign, that bad taste in our mouth comes from the fact that it likely wouldn't do those things if a camera weren't there to capture it.""
What rot.
Land Rovers have been used for the last 60 years to respond to all manner of emergency situations - hurricanes, floods, earthquakes, political & military turmoil.
They are used extensively by police, fire, ambulance, medical, social, industrial and infrastructure organisations across Europe. The Red Cross was using them after the Asian tsunami, and even hurricane Katrina. They are widley used by other aid agencies, including the UN/UNICEF and environmental agencies such as conservation societies, Greenpeace, Born Free, etc.
Land Rover even has a dedicated division "Special Vehicles Division" which is dedicated to producing vehicles for entities with unique requirements.
LR sells vehicles which do a job.
Compare that to companies that sell lifestyle products - what had McDonalds or DKNY ever done for you?
Cheers
Blippie
James 12:50PM (6/20/2007)
I don't get it. Wouldn't it be a better marketing idea to bring the LR3 vehicles to areas hit by natural disasters and film the car and crew HELPING people?
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tinman 12:54PM (6/20/2007)
The difference is, the land rover is at the disaster site, being filmed for a commercial, when it could be used at the site to help people....
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Mark 12:56PM (6/20/2007)
I don't really see this as being offensive at all. Land Rovers are designed to tackle the elements and that's what it's doing. If you consider this to be exploiting disasters would you rather Land Rover gussy it up and use fake disasters (ala Toyota)? What about the carfax commercials showing used vehicles in floods and other wrecks? Is VW taking advantage of crash victims by showing commercials with realistic looking crashes?
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Dinger 1:03PM (6/20/2007)
Yes, VW is taking advantage of me and I need a $1,000,000 for the mental trauma and suffering that I experienced when their commercial brought back memories of my accident. Or a 12 of Stella, whichever, I'm easy.
John Neff 12:59PM (6/20/2007)
Honestly, and I'm sorry I didn't think of this while writing the post, but the reason this offends me is because it's ambulance chasing in the marketing industry. Sure, when a lawyer chases an ambulance, the result might be someone getting compensation for an injury. In the same way, this agency is making sure that they offer the use of their vehicles or donate money at disaster sites. But the same fact remains for both situations, neither the lawyer or the agency would be there if they didn't have something to gain from it.
Honestly, it's the filming of the commercial that gets me. It's one thing if an automaker donates vehicles and money to aid disaster victims and its PR Director shows up with a camera to take pictures. That happens all the time. HUMMER does that with the Red Cross. But at most we see a press release and a picture or two. There's something about a commercial, specifically a commercial that uses these disasters like a backdrop on a sound stage, that irks me. I appreciate marketing folk who understand that by spreading good will, i.e. just giving vehicles and money where it's needed, is a better way to attract customers to your brand than this.
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Donte 10:59AM (6/21/2007)
I understand how this offends you, and it is in bad taste for Land ROver to do this, I think it would have been a little better if they first thought of sending vehicals out to these disaters and taping them in action. I would accept that more. And in a commercial explain the disaster and happen to have a land Rover in it. Throwing in a place people can donate straight to Land Rover. That would make them look alot better.