Pontiac Debuts "Fuel For The Soul" Advertising Campaign
FOR RELEASE: September 16, 2002Pontiac Debuts "Fuel For The Soul" Advertising Campaign
DETROIT - Pontiac, the excitement division of General Motors, will begin airing new divisional advertising themed, "Fuel for the Soul" on September 19. The campaign debuts with a 60-second television commercial on the premiere episode of Survivor V (Thailand) and ABC's College Football game on Sept. 21. The spot also will run on major fall programs such as the Emmy's telecast on NBC on Sept. 22.
"Fuel for the Soul," the latest evolution of Pontiac excitement, uses a simple, yet powerful, approach to express the performance benefits of Pontiac vehicles and the emotional connection between "driver and machine."
"Pontiac is about emotion and feeling and our new advertising was created to reflect that message," said Lynn Myers, general manager for Pontiac-GMC. "We're really excited about this campaign because it puts the passion back into what it means to drive a Pontiac," said Myers. "We think it will make a lasting impression on people and help them understand that Pontiac is and always will be about performance and sporty, athletic designs."
Myers says the new series of ads show Pontiacs are authentic drivers' cars by showing that driving a Pontiac is an adrenaline pumping experience for those who really enjoy to drive - those for whom it is more than just transportation.
Pontiac and its agency, D'Arcy Advertising (Troy, Mich.) set out to demonstrate this excitement by using fast-paced footage of cars in action - shifting gears, steering hard, gauge needles dancing, engine components pumping and the vehicles taking on aggressive performance maneuvers - all intended to help the viewer feel the excitement and power of the Pontiac driving experience.
"Our creative focus was on bringing back the Pontiac feeling - not over-thinking but over-feeling what it means to drive a Pontiac," said Mark-Hans Richer, director of advertising and sales promotion for Pontiac.
The campaign was developed by Pontiac's long-time agency D'Arcy Advertising in Troy, Mich. "Our creative team, including the director and his crew, were challenged to approach this campaign as if it were a movie instead of a commercial," said Gary Topolewski, executive creative director at D'Arcy. "The high production value of the cinematography helps convey the feeling of driving a Pontiac. It's about that connection between man and machine, demonstrating the emotional benefits of driving a car with Pontiac Performance. In fact, our :60 spot will be playing in movie theaters across the country in October further reinforcing the need to bring out the feeling of driving a Pontiac."
The director, Jeffrey Plansker, made innovative use of cameras and was able to capture great action shots from angles never before seen in vehicle commercials. "One camera, for example, swung out 10 feet from the speeding car and panned from one angle to an identical angle on another car driving on another location," said Richer.
The "Fuel" introductory TV commercial, and others soon to follow, will feature music best described as "soulful funk" - music with a lot of swagger. The "Fuel" spot is set to the song "Sex Machine," by James Brown. Brown, known as the "Godfather of Soul," was chosen because his music conveys action, excitement, emotion and movement - the same as Pontiac vehicles.
"We feel James Brown's music gives the campaign an explosive and soulful persona that can motivate even the weariest of viewers. As they say, he's retro-cool," said Richer. During his four-decade music career, 98 of James Brown's songs have made Billboard's Top R&B singles charts, a record unsurpassed by any other artist. Seventeen of his songs reached number one. In 1986 he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and earned a Lifetime Achievement Grammy Award in 1992. More on James Brown and his music is available at www.rockhall.com.
After the release of the :60 second divisional spot and a :30 second version to follow, most of the "Fuel for the Soul" TV commercials will be :15-seconds spots. "We believe :15 second spots are ideal because they grab the viewers' attention, get them intrigued by the power of Pontiac and then leave them wanting more," said Richer. "They will serve as reinforcement of the :30 and :60 divisional spots, providing examples of Pontiac Performance within the context of the campaign."
The "Fuel for the Soul" creative framework will be the foundation for retail extensions of the Pontiac campaign as well. Retail spots will include a strong product introduction rich in performance facts and conclude with a point-of-sale offer while utilizing the national creative music.
In addition to "Survivor V," college football and the Emmy's, Pontiac ads will air on national television through November, including prime time, news program, late night, sports and cable programming as well as a strong presence in college football on ABC, CBS and ESPN.
Accompanying print ads mirror the campaign and use a similar simple approach by portraying one car in each ad against a solid backdrop. There is minimal print copy, only a bullet-point listing of the car's four to six key features. Print ads will run in national monthly and weekly magazines read by a diverse audience, including Entertainment Weekly, Sports Illustrated, People, Time, ESPN, and Rolling Stone.
Pontiac is a division of General Motors Corporation. The division markets the Vibe, Sunfire, Grand Am, Grand Prix, Aztek, Montana and Bonneville. Pontiac has the youngest buyers in General Motors and among the youngest in the industry.
General Motors , the world's largest vehicle manufacturer, designs, builds and markets cars and trucks worldwide, and has been the global automotive sales leader since 1931. More information on GM can be found at www.gm.com.
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