Mitsubishi Asks Super Bowl Fans 'What Are You Doing This Weekend?'

1 February 1999

          New Montero Sport Ad Debuts in Sunday's Super Bowl Lineup

    CYPRESS, Calif., Jan. 29 -- While many football fans this
weekend may be out doing the "dirty bird" dance, Mitsubishi Motors suggests
that they could be doing something more.  A new ad for the company's popular
Montero Sport mid-size sport utility vehicle will make its debut to a
high-powered playing field of consumers during the third quarter of this
weekend's Super Bowl.
    "Mitsubishi wants to be a world class brand and they're demonstrating it
with confident advertising," said Eric Hirshberg, executive vice president,
creative director of Deutsch Inc., Mitsubishi Motors' advertising agency.
"Beyond the obvious opportunity to reach the world's biggest audience, there
is also an important non-verbal communication here: take this brand seriously.
Mitsubishi is not currently a brand one would expect to see on the Super
Bowl."
    The 30-second Montero Sport ad, filmed in Lake Powell, N.M., and scored
with Ozzy Osbourne's hit song "Crazy Train," is a continuation of the
successful "wake up and drive(TM)" campaign that Deutsch launched for the
company last August with the 1999 Galant mid-size sedan.
    While the spot itself authenticates the Montero Sport's off-road
capability, both visually and spiritually, it also brings the viewer back to
his own everyday life.  As the Montero Sport drives through a glorious outdoor
environment, a graphic headline states, "The golf course doesn't count as
getting back to nature."  The voice-over then asks that viewers, "What are you
doing this weekend?"
    "The 'wake up and drive' campaign has been an enormous success for
Mitsubishi Motors," said Peg Dilworth-Hunt, director of marketing for
Mitsubishi Motor Sales of America, Inc. (MMSA).  "There's a whole new energy
within our organization that's embodied in our brand awareness campaign, and
more importantly, has created an emotional connection between ourselves and
consumers."
    Mitsubishi Motors' partnership with Deutsch recently expanded when the
agency was awarded MMSA's entire national advertising business including
collateral, direct mail, interactive and Hispanic efforts.  As of this week,
Deutsch was also named "Agency of the Year," by the industry's leading trade
publications Advertising Age and AdWeek.
    Deutsch, Inc. is a $785 million full-service advertising agency with
offices in New York City, Los Angeles and Chicago.
    Mitsubishi Motor Sales of America, Inc., was established in 1982 by
Mitsubishi Motors Corporation, Tokyo, and markets a full line of vehicles,
including coupes, convertibles, sedans and sport utility vehicles.