Nissan Unveils High-Impact Ad Campaign for New Sentra and Enhanced Pathfinder
3 April 2000
Nissan Unveils High-Impact Ad Campaign for New Sentra and Enhanced Pathfinder
GARDENA, Calif., April 3 Nissan North America, Inc., today
announced the launch of the automaker's nationwide advertising campaigns for
the new Sentra sedan and Pathfinder sport utility vehicle (SUV). Both
vehicles recently went on sale at Nissan's 1,100 retailers across the United
States.
The campaigns for both vehicles will be part of a three-tier strategy --
national, regional, and dealer -- which Nissan has used since debuting its
"Driven" umbrella campaign in 1999.
"These campaigns continue our approach of capturing consumers' attention
and reminding them that Nissan is delivering new, high-quality products," said
Scott Fessenden, the company's Director of Marketing. "The new Sentra and
Pathfinder represent the next step in Nissan's product revival -- and the
campaign gives consumers powerful reasons to consider our vehicles."
The first phase of national ads portray a "product vision" element,
featuring Jerry Hirshberg, president of Nissan Design International, the
company's La Jolla, Calif.-based design studio. Their aim is to emotionally
position the design goal and product direction for each product.
The second flight of ads to be aired nationally focus solely on specific
product attributes, using contemporary music and a "model specific branding"
approach.
Sentra
Debuting on April 3, the focus of the Sentra "product vision" spots is
primarily geared toward first-time new car buyers and develops the concept of
"the un-compact" sedan. Hirshberg emphatically drives that message home by
crossing out the word "compact" with red paint, stating "this is a lot of
car."
Sentra's "model branding" phase, which begins airing on April 10, is
called "Scratches." Contemporary music is used from various popular artists,
including Smashmouth, The Cult, Blur, Kinder Atom and The Breeders, to grab
the attention of Sentra's target audience. Viewers are treated to a
non-traditional approach of highlighting the vehicle's attributes not by
voice-over, but with single descriptor words and the use of a telestrator red
pen to cross out words that don't apply to the Sentra.
"Nissan broke the rules when we designed the new Sentra and we took the
same approach with its advertising campaign," said Fessenden. "Using words on
the screen, we show who drives the Sentra: independents. Sentra's turn-on:
hugging curves. What it has: a seven speaker, 180 watt stereo system that is
far from industry standard issue. What does Sentra want: a green light.
Simple and to the point."
Pathfinder
The "product vision" spots for Pathfinder begin on April 17 and highlight
the "needs" of SUV drivers -- luxury, comfort, and a new V6, 240-HP engine
that provides more power than many V8s. "Your right foot is going to be very
happy," says Hirshberg in the ads. His statements vividly sum up a key
benefit of the Pathfinder's new engine and how Nissan is positioning its
top-of-the-line SUV against the competition. "Nissan recognized that, in the
past, consumers have had to choose between brawn or beauty in SUVs, with the
new Pathfinder they get both," added Hirshberg.
A second flight of "model branding" Pathfinder ads will begin later in
May. The ads take off-roading to new heights, playfully demonstrating
Pathfinder's all-terrain capabilities by showing how it performs in
outlandish, but possible situations. "We wanted to visually show how much fun
a driver could have. We don't recommend these situations in everyday life,
but you get the idea very quickly," said Fessenden. The new campaigns were
created by Nissan's agency, TBWA/Chiat/Day, based in Playa del Rey, Calif. In
addition to the television campaign, the launch for both Sentra and Pathfinder
also will be supported by an integrated marketing effort, which will include
print/radio, billboards, theater ads, the Internet, Website banners, grass-
roots efforts, public relations, co-branding opportunities, and direct mail.
In North America, Nissan's operations include automotive styling,
engineering, consumer and corporate financing, sales and marketing,
distribution and manufacturing. More information on Nissan in North America
and the complete line of Nissan and Infiniti vehicles can be found online at
http://www.nissandriven.com or contact the corporate media line at 310-771-5631.
Contact: Tim Gallagher of Nissan North America, 310-771-5606, or Jeremy
Miller of TBWA/Chiat/Day, 310-305-5511.
Or visit the Nissan Online News Bureau at http://www.nissannews.com)