Tenneco Automotive's Sensa-Trac(R) Shocks and Struts Ad Campaign
23 April 1998
Tenneco Automotive Taps Prime Time for New Improved Monroe(R) Sensa-Trac(R) Shocks and Struts
CHICAGO, April 23 -- In a category where consumer advertising
is seldom seen or heard, Lake Forest-based Tenneco Automotive is setting a new
standard for its industry this week with the launch of a multi-million dollar,
prime time television ad campaign for Monroe(R) brand shock absorbers and
struts.
In the biggest consumer ad buy for its brand in Tenneco's history, the
campaign is part of the company's ongoing effort to raise consumer awareness
of the benefits of replacing worn shock absorbers.
The ad effort reflects Tenneco Automotive's conviction that consumers
should exercise an educated voice in automotive aftermarket purchasing
decisions. Breaking during an optimum auto repair period, Tenneco will spend
$4 million during April and May to advertise on both prime time network and
popular cable TV channels. The campaign highlights the safety benefits of new
Monroe(R) brand Sensa-Trac(R) shock absorbers and struts with the new
Safe-Tech(TM) System.
"Clearly we stand alone in the industry by spending significant marketing
dollars to educate consumers about the benefits of replacing worn shocks,"
said Jay Burkhart, Tenneco Automotive vice president of worldwide marketing.
"Shocks and struts play such a key role in vehicle safety that people should
know about it. The new ad brings this important safety message into
consumers' living rooms at a time when they are receptive to hearing it."
A leader in the worldwide manufacture and marketing of ride control and
exhaust system components, Tenneco Automotive has secured a three-week
blockbuster "finale package" on NBC, beginning May 4. Running through the
season finales of some of TV's most popular programs, the package includes
spots on Seinfeld, ER, Friday Dateline, Law & Order and Frasier. The new
commercial also will air during the NHL hockey and NBA basketball playoffs,
major league baseball and NASCAR programming.
The natural progression of a five-year consumer and trade effort on the
importance of replacing worn shocks, the new :30 spot is part of a broader
consumer campaign to promote replacement of worn shocks and struts with
Monroe(R) Sensa-Trac(R) shocks and struts with the Safe-Tech(TM) System.
"The impetus behind timing a high concentration of advertising now is
because there is a seasonal increase in annual auto repair and maintenance
that takes place in early spring," explained Burkhart. "As soon as winter
passes, people think about putting things in shape -- their houses, themselves
and their cars."
The ad was created by JWT/Detroit, which this year marks its 25th year as
the ad agency for Monroe(R) brand products.
Using a hint of humor to heighten interest in the seriousness of how worn
shocks and struts can influence safe automobile braking and handling, the new
spot helps viewers imagine what could occur if a truck filled with ripe juicy
watermelons backed into a moving automobile. Just in time to avoid this
calamity, the road in the ad "stretches" to dramatize how new Monroe(R) shocks
and struts help "give drivers more road," enabling the driver in the ad to
stop safely and avoid being hit.
This Monroe ad is the third in a three-part educational series on the
safety performance of shocks and struts in vehicle braking and handling
situations, the first of which rolled out in 1993. It is also the company's
second new :30 consumer spot to be released in a month, the other one for its
new line of Walker(R) brand Quiet-Flow(TM) mufflers.
Tenneco Automotive, with annual sales of $3 billion, operates
73 facilities in 22 countries in North America, Europe, Africa, South America,
Australia and the Asia-Pacific region. Its parent company, Tenneco
is a global manufacturing company based in Greenwich, Conn.
SOURCE Tenneco Automotive