Havoline Launches Ad Campaign

HOUSTON-- Equilon Enterprises LLC has launched an aggressive advertising campaign promoting its Havoline Extended Life Anti-Freeze Dex-Cool in response to an August General Motors bulletin advising against the use of similar, compatible products in vehicles whose coolant systems were filled at the factory using actual Dex-Cool materials.

Dex-Cool compatible coolants are orange-colored like Dex-Cool and claim compatibility on their labels--but they do not meet the General Motors GM6277M specification, according to the company.

The new TV commercial--now airing on ESPN, ESPN2, TNN, TBS, Fox Sports, The Learning Channel, Sci Fi, Speed Vision and Outdoor Life cable channels--was developed to alert owners of some 30 million GM vehicles manufactured since mid-1995 of the GM service bulletin.

According to the new Havoline commercial: “We could do a lot of things in this commercial for HavolineExtended Life Anti-Freeze. We could show a beautiful pour shot. We could say Havoline lasts five times longer than most conventional coolants. But we’d never say you have to use it. We wouldn’t. GM did. GM just issued a bulletin stating you should only use Dex-Cool approved technology in your GM vehicles. Dex-Coolcompatible coolants are not to be used in vehicles built with Dex-Cool.”

Peggy Montana, vice president of Marketing for Equilon Lubricants, which markets Texaco-branded coolants and lubricants throughout the United States, said Equilon is airing the 30-second spot because consumers need to know to use a Dex-Cool approved coolant.

“We also want consumers to know that if they own one of approximately six million GM vehicles manufactured in 1995--excluding Saturns and Geos--it’s time to change their anti-freeze,” Montana stated.

“Our Havoline Extended Life Anti-Freeze Dex-Cool has proven its long-term performance time and time again against the effects of extreme heat, corrosion and rust,” she said.

The product meets the GM 6277M Specification, and is readily available in stores where automotive products are sold. The coolant meets U.S. car manufacturers’ requirements, Japanese car manufacturers’ silicate-free requirements and European car manufacturers’ phosphate-free requirements, she said.

Havoline was awarded GM’s first Dex-Cool license in 1995. The product extends cooling system drain intervals from the traditional 30,000 miles to a five-year or 150,000 mile recommendation. GM has factory-filled virtually all of its vehicles with Dex-Cool since 1996. Saturn began using the technology in 1997.