Online Automotive Financier giggo.com Launches Nationwide Broadcast, Radio and Print Advertising Campaign
5 July 2000
Online Automotive Financier giggo.com Launches Nationwide Broadcast, Radio and Print Advertising Campaign
Edgy Humor Highlights how Giggo.Com Takes the 'Pain' and 'Fever'
Out of the Car Buying Process
DALLAS, July 5 DaimlerChrysler Services (debis) AG's
giggo.com unit (http://www.giggo.com), the web's premier online automotive financing
site and shopping resource, announced today the launch of a new national
advertising campaign to promote how giggo.com simplifies the car buying
process. The edgy, humorous campaigns, dubbed "Painless" and "New Car Fever",
incorporate nationwide television spots and print ads. Additionally,
giggo.com's current network radio campaign will also be augmented with new
commercials.
"Consumers repeatedly tell us that buying and financing a car can be a
very intimidating and uncomfortable experience," said Brian Reed, giggo.com's
CEO. "This campaign makes the point that giggo.com simplifies the overall car
buying process, making it easier and less painful for consumers. We believe
this campaign will be effective in increasing giggo.com's brand awareness,
driving more consumers to our site, and in educating consumers on the benefits
of researching and financing cars online."
Created by The Richards Group, Dallas, Texas, the nearly $20 million
campaign will consist of two TV spots and two print executions running into
the fall. The TV commercials pose seemingly "painful" scenarios that are
resolved in a humorous and hassle-free manner. For example, one spot features
a woman breaking up with her boyfriend. At the point of the boyfriend's
response, a computer dialog box pops up on screen with: "Boyfriend's response
-- bummed or psyched." A cursor then clicks on "psyched", and action resumes
to show that "when you take control", these "painful" situations become easy!
This point is underscored by the concluding voice-over that states, "When you
take control, things get easier. Like giggo.com, where you take control of
buying a car." Another spot features a skinny "dweeb" standing up to a group
of bullies. Commercials will air on most major cable networks nationwide.
"The 'Dot-comedy' formula has become so prevalent, we felt our challenge
was to raise the level of sophistication so that giggo.com stood out. The
'Pop-up' dialog boxes represent how consumers can take control of the car-
buying process and make it easier," said Doug Rucker, creative director for
The Richards Group.
The TV spots were produced by award winning director Bryan Buckley of
Hungry Man Productions, best known for Monster.com's "When I grow up"
commercials and E*Trades's "Broker". Buckley is known for packing humor into
his commercials and was recently named "Director of the Year" by the
Director's Guild of America.
The print campaign complements the edginess of the TV commercials, while
also providing useful tips for consumers about the car buying process. The
print ads reinforce giggo.com's ability to empower consumers to make the right
decisions in buying and financing a car, even when they are afflicted with
"new car fever." The two print ads will run in national publications such as
People, Time and Newsweek through October 2000. The four nationwide network
radio spots, which run through September, also support the theme of
empowerment.
The online automotive financial services market is expected to grow
dramatically over the next three years as more consumers recognize the
benefits of securing their financing and related services online. According
to CNW Marketing/Research of Bandon, Oregon, online automotive financing will
grow from less than 5% today to over 50% by the year 2003, which represents a
$61 billion market opportunity.
About giggo.com
giggo.com is the web's premier online automotive financing site and car
shopping resource that is fast, friendly and easy to use. This innovative,
consumer focused service provides customers with comprehensive automotive
information, car buying research, an easy, direct loan process, and
competitive rates in both English and Spanish. giggo.com's dedicated team of
customer consultants is available 7 days a week, both on- and off-line to
assist customers with all their car financing needs. giggo.com, based in
Dallas Texas, is a fully dedicated e-business division of DaimlerChrysler
Services (debis) AG, Berlin. giggo.com's automotive finance site can be
accessed at http://www.giggo.com, or through the pages of GO.com and Yahoo!
(http://loan.yahoo.com/a/q.html). giggo.com is also the sole finance provider
for AutoNationDirect.com (http://www.autonationdirect.com). For more
information call giggo.com at 1-877-284-4446.
About The Richards Group
With more than 500 employees and approximately $550 million in billings,
The Richards Group is one of largest independent advertising agencies in the
world. Agency clients include 7-Eleven, Chick-fil-A, Chupa Chups USA, The
Home Depot, Motel 6, Nokia and Travelocity.com. The Richards Group can be
found at http://www.richards.com.
Contact: Sara Weisenthal of AGG International, 212-869-8230,
saraw@aggintl.com/