"The Culture of Driving" - New brand campaigns from Mercedes-Benz

STUTTGART, GERMANY - The most desirable of all Mercedes-Benz models appear like jewels before a spectacular mountain landscape: the new generations of the SL, SLK, and CLS. Mercedes-Benz is presenting three dream cars together for the first time, in a brand campaign conceived to make the premium automotive brand even more desirable than ever before.

“With this campaign we are for the first time displaying our new strategic approach, which we sum up with the motto ‘The Culture of Driving’. The aim is to further sharpen the profile of the Mercedes-Benz brand,” says Dr. Olaf Göttgens, Vice President Brand Communications Mercedes-Benz Cars. This is why the campaign’s focus is not on a single vehicle type, but on the brand itself. “Presenting the three dream cars together conveys the fascination of the Mercedes-Benz brand, so it should also generate spillover effects for all of our models,” adds Göttgens.

The campaign will commence in mid-March 2008 and employ all channels of communication - from print advertisements to mobile marketing and online communication to CRM, dealer marketing, and events. The integrated campaign gives center stage to the latest “heir” of the SL legend, which is being brought vividly to life in a television commercial. Titled “Sternschnuppe” (shooting star), the TV ad tells a story of a couple on a romantic trip through the mountains in the roadster. The man in the spot - unlike his feminine “better half” - can think only of his vehicle and the prospects of driving on stretches of road featuring even more exciting curves.

The fascination campaign will kick off a whole series of new brand campaigns slated for this year, and each will communicate a specific aspect of the Mercedes-Benz brand’s ‘Culture of Driving’.