Autoblog

The new Volvo slogan gleaned from hours of interviews with valets and Volvo owners: "Life is better lived together." When Volvo's new ad agency, Arnold Worldwide, went looking for a Volvo message that went beyond safety, it started with valets and parking attendants. They told Arnold that Volvo owners are friendly, generous, travel in company, and use their cars as more than showpieces.

Arnold then went to Volvo owners and discovered that they are "users, not havers," and they like to share. In fact, "89% of them put a premium on togetherness and sharing." The result is that six television spots will air that showcase Volvo owners as "'we' people as opposed to 'me' people."

Lifestyle marketing doesn't follow rational rules, but it will be interesting to see if buyers will connect being gregarious doers with owning a Volvo. If so, then Volvo might reverse its 9% decline in year-on-year sales so far this year. And if you're the person who actually did bring enough candy for everyone in the first grade, Volvo would like to have a word with you.

[Source: Ad Age]

Subaru is hoping to give us all a little culture via its new Impreza ads. To show off the new 2008 Impreza and WRX, the company is using an ad campaign that portrays "the history, heritage and popular culture of its home country, Japan." Think everything from Japanese pop culture, from anime films and manga comics, to "The Fast and the Furious," "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" and even "Blade Runner." The commercials will be debuting online today.

Visitors to the Subaru site will find three commercials that show a man from the future visiting "a land of forbidden secrets." While navigating this jungle, he discovers that "the legend is reborn," and eventually takes control of a "powerful jungle creature," the new WRX. The print ad at right shows the look and feel of the campaign, complete with hilltop dragon. Other print ads will follow the theme and present comic-book panel stories complete with dialogue balloons. Seems like a great fit for the 20 to 34-year-old men that the car is aimed at.

[Source: NY Times]

We would rather be tasked with reversing the downward tug of gravity than take on the ad account for the 2008 Ford Focus. The Blue Oval has announced that the account may not be handled by its usual agency, JWT Detroit, and that it's searching for a brave new agency to take on the daunting task of selling the redesigned Focus. JWT Detroit will bid for the account, but sources say Ford would like at least two outside agencies with fresh ideas to also compete for the job.

We were harsh on the 2008 Ford Focus mainly because the car's new styling leaves a lot to be desired. To be blunt, the designers turned the attractive styling of the original Focus that had survived a couple evolutions into a mess of creases, curves and fake vender vents the likes of which we haven't seen since the Saturn ION first arrived. Nevertheless, the new Focus will be significantly lighter than the outgoing model, which should help handling and fuel ecomony; the new SYNC interface developed with Microsoft is supposedly a serious piece of tech; and a coupe body style is being offered in place of the three- and five-door hatchback.

So the 2008 Ford Focus does have positive attributes on which an ad agency can focus its campaign. Nevertheless, it still looks the way it does, which any ad agency worth its weight in pop up ads knows will be extremely difficult to sell.

[Source: Automotive News - sub. req'd]

BMW's new 60 second TV spot is something of an automotive Fantasia. Remember the segment of that animated masterpiece where a symphony plays and the emotion behind the sounds are displayed in Technicolor glory? Well, think music, emotions, and motoring here. Bringing the exhiliration one feels when piloting a Beemer to visible life, sights of different BMW models explode into lights and swirls all accompanied by a fresh arrangement of Beethoven's 9th Symphony by UNKLE. This new campaign was created by Nick Thornton-Jones and Warren Du Preez of Wanted Films. Follow the jump to watch the whole commercial.

Thanks, Martijn!

[Source: BMW via Fresh Creation]

That Suzuki regularly achieves near-mythical levels of performance with its motorcycles is a well-established fact. The bikes are proven winners and champions on the international stage. When it comes to the company's automotive division here in the US, however, it's been a different story.

In recent years, the automaker's showrooms have been home to a rather odd and not-so-compelling mix of vehicles. Sure, there are bright spots, like the current Grand Vitara, a legitimately attractive small SUV. To a lesser extent, there's the Aerio, which I've heard is actually a fun and practical little car in its hatchback form.

The rest of the lineup, however, has had issues. The Forenza and Reno are rebadged Daewoo products that will ultimately be phased out now that Suzuki and GM have parted ways. The XL-7 was long-in-the-tooth and outclassed by many other vehicles in the segment. Nothing about those cars makes anyone think, "Oooh...fun!"

Suzuki is working to fix that, however, with the new-for-2007 XL7 (goodbye, hyphen) and the very appealing SX4. The XL7 uses GM's Theta platform and a lot of GM switchgear (a good thing), and blows away its Equinox and Torrent platform and production line-mates with a Suzuki-built V6 pumping out 250 horses. For its part, the SX4 looks good, has a peppy yet economical 4-cylinder underhood, features standard AWD, and will retail for between $15,000 and $18,000.

Those two cars are set to be Suzuki's launching pad for its US resurgence, and knowing they have two good things in the new rides, they are finally leveraging the motorcycle division in the marketing campaigns for the cars. The new SX4 print ad (above right) shows the Giugiaro-designed hatch casting a shadow shaped like one of Suzuki's sportbikes. The copy touts the company's fun reputation without mentioning any bikes specifically. The shadow says it all.

On the TV side, two new XL7 spots (sorry, we couldn't find them online) work the same angle. One pans from a motorcycle shadow over to the new XL7, which is the vehicle casting it. Another one shows a closeup of a foot emerging from the CUV, the door shutting, and a kickstand being flipped down as the driver walks away. Both spots ask, "Are our SUV's as much fun as our bikes?" and the Suzuki logo appears.

Only time will tell if customers think the answer to that question is "yes." We'll say this, though: both new products appear to have the goods to make a splash. Now, for the ultimate bike/car tie-in, Suzuki needs to hurry up and get their sportiest offering, the Swift, across the ocean as soon as possible. The SX4 and XL7 will put runners on base. The Swift is the car that'll drive them home.

UPDATE: Suzuki press release detailing the new campaign and images of the new print ads have been added after the jump.

[Source: Brandweek]

"Like always, like never before."

Sibling site Adjab reports that Saturn will be taking a different tactic in marketing its new vehicles: the Aura, Outlook, and Sky. According to the linked article Brandweek, the marketing campaign will be promoting all the vehicles as a unit with the "Like...." tagline instead of, just the Sky roadster, for example. The advertising company that developed the campaign feels it better reflects Saturn's 'togetherness' philosophy.

Will it work? Certainly the division's products are becoming more compelling, but Saturn has clearly moved away from its brandspace as the egalitarian small car company 'with a heart of gold' into a world of 8-passenger crossovers and such. Critics argue that the brand's identity is becoming very muddy in its quest to enter other segments and find profitability, and that the "Like..." campaign is a tad disingenous. Who's right? Have your say in comments.

[Sources: Adjab, Brandweek]