Mercedes-Benz Launches 1998 Advertising Campaign
16 September 1997
Mercedes-Benz Launches 1998 Advertising Campaign Tonight; Spotlight on New M-Class and Fall in Love Initiative
MONTVALE, N.J., Sept. 16 -- In support of the largest retail
launch in its history, Mercedes-Benz of North America, Inc., will debut a
series of ads beginning this evening created by its advertising agency Lowe &
Partners/SMS in support of the 1998 Mercedes-Benz model line. The company has
four new models for 1998 -- the stylish CLK coupe, the M-Class all-activity
vehicle, the E320 wagon, as well as the SLK roadster which made its debut
earlier this year -- as well as enhancements across its core model lines.
The new ads will be an extension of the company's award-winning brand campaign
which was introduced in February of this year. They will complement the
company's "Fall In Love" initiative which revolves around retail events at
Mercedes-Benz dealerships across the country.
Mike Jackson, president of Mercedes-Benz of North America, said, "The new
ads show that our new products deliver on the promises that we made -- and the
expectation we created -- with our brand campaign. And the 'Fall in Love'
initiative, which showcases all of our new products and services in an
unprecedented array of events right on the showroom floor, will be nothing
less than the retail equivalent of the brand campaign."
Four new ads will debut in September: one to create awareness of the "Fall
in Love" initiative and three in support of the much-acclaimed ML320,
Mercedes' first entry into the sport utility market.
The M-Class ads highlight the unique character of the ML320 in terms of
its combination of rugged off-road performance and passenger car safety,
performance and handling. Each ad is also tagged with the ML320's extremely
competitive price, $33,950, which puts it squarely in the mainstream premium
sport utility segment with such competitors as the limited edition models of
the Jeep Grand Cherokee and the Ford Explorer.
The 60-second "Big Show" spot features archival and digitally enhanced
Ed Sullivan footage with recreated scenes of acrobats, contortionists,
ventriloquists, puppets, ballet dancers, opera singers, a "British-invasion"
rocker, screaming fans, the real Jackie Mason and Senor Wences. These
familiar figures from the Ed Sullivan Show are joined by the ML320 which
performs its own driving, handling and traction feats, even bursting
spectacularly through a wall of paper. While there were limited late night
placements on Monday, September 15th, "Big Show" begins its full prime-time
run on Tuesday, September 16th during NBC's Frasier.
"The M-Class is a breakthrough vehicle. It will revolutionize the world
of 4X4's the same way Elvis and The Beatles revolutionized rock 'n' roll. How
better to introduce it than in the penultimate variety show format," said Lowe
& Partners/SMS Co-Chairman and Creative Chief Officer, Lee Garfinkel.
"My Dad," 30/60-seconds, illustrates safety in a weekend jaunt of a baby
and his father during a rain storm. The "singing" baby performs a country
music ballad -- a poker-faced paean to safety in the face of some harrowing
encounters, all navigated with aplomb thanks to the ML320's car-like, handling
(and "big, bad dad" at the wheel). "Smooth Ride," 30-seconds, is a tongue-in-
cheek spoof of the ML320's ride comfort: Mom paints her nails, sis builds a
house of cards, junior offers grandma a "scalding hot cup of tea" in delicate
bone china and Fido balances balls and teacups nonchalantly, all undisturbed
by the challenging terrain.
"This campaign reinforces the brand attributes that typify Mercedes-Benz:
great style, great value, reassuring safety and great performance," said Lowe
& Partners/SMS Co-Chairman Marvin Sloves. "But at the same time it expands
the image to encompass the off-road experience. We wanted the advertising to
be 4X4, comfortable with every possibility, just like the vehicle."
The full print campaign consists of two "launch" ads: "Eat Paper," focused
on the M-Class' technological advances and segment-leading handling and safety
features; and "Evolutionary," a metaphorical tracing of the development of the
ordinary off-road vehicle to the premier M-Class. Sustaining print is a
series of up to five ads, each one delineating a single, unique feature of the
vehicle and the corresponding emotional appeal.
The television spots begin an eight-week national prime time run on
Tuesday, September 16th. They will also be featured during the thirteen
televised weeks of NFL football. Programming includes E.R., Seinfeld,
Friends, Mad About You, the Late Show with David Letterman, The Tonight Show
with Jay Leno, Nightline, on cable channels ESPN, CNN, CNBC, A&E and Discovery
and during additional late night and sports shows. Consumer magazines for the
print advertising include Outside, The New Yorker, Sports Illustrated,
Gourmet, Skiing, GQ, Architectural Digest, Tennis, Business Week, Forbes,
Fortune, Car & Driver, Vanity Fair, Road & Track and others. Newspapers will
include The Wall St. Journal, USA Today, Barron's, Investors Business Daily
and The Asian Wall St. Journal, among others.
Simultaneous with the M-Class introduction is an extensive national retail
sales campaign for the brand called "Fall in Love," the umbrella theme that
will run for the remainder of the year. Airing concurrent to the M-Class ads
will be broadcast and print executions in support of the "Fall in Love"
initiative. The spot, "Field of Dreamers," is a 30-second commercial that
humorously depicts all manner of humanity running in slow motion through an
idyllic landscape towards a Mercedes dealership. The '60s song "What the
World Needs Now" sets the spirit and tone for the spot.
The spot supports the "Fall In Love" retail initiative which begins this
week and showcases the vast variety of new and innovative vehicles and
accessories, technological breakthroughs, customer care, service and parts
offerings through events at Mercedes-Benz dealerships nationwide. In addition
to the all-new vehicles, dealerships will highlight the core Mercedes-Benz
passenger car lines which consist of the mid-size C-Class sports sedans, the
full-size, full-featured E-Class model line, the flagship S-Class sedans, the
CL coupes, and the renowned SL coupe/roadsters.
New York-based sales promotion agency Diamond Promotion Group, a division
of Lowe & Partners/SMS, along with the Long Beach, California integrated
marketing communications firm The Designory, Incorporated, were responsible
for the execution of the "Fall in Love" initiative. Diamond Promotion Group
handled overall project coordination and logistical support. The Designory,
Incorporated developed the theme for the "Fall in Love" initiative and
implemented all retail support activities including point-of-purchase and
collateral materials.
Lowe & Partners/SMS client list includes Mercedes-Benz, Sun Microsystems,
Inc., The Coca-Cola Company, Braun, Sony, Time Warner, Major League Baseball,
Oral-B, Ralston Purina, Western Union, Denny's, Whitehall-Robins, Marriott and
Perdue. Headquartered in New York City, the agency employs more than
300 people with billings of $600 million. Lowe & Partners/SMS is part of the
Lowe Group which is ranked 13th among agency networks and has billings of
$3.6 billion.
SOURCE Mercedes-Benz of North America, Inc.
