Don’t drive our cars.
It sounds like a Saturday Night Live skit – an ad agency pitching a campaign to a Quebec Toyota Dealers Association telling consumers not to drive as much. But the results of this unexpected campaign speak for themselves – record-setting 2008 sales.
Montreal-based agency BleuBlancRouge came up with the bizzaro world campaign and sold a 5-step plan to the dealers. Phase 1 ads discussed Toyota’s hybrids, positioning them as an alternative to regular gas guzzlers from other manufacturers. Phase 2 messaging hit on eco-savings and Phase 3 focused on gas mileage and saving at the pump. In Phase 4 the standard car messaging was turned on its head. Consumers were asked to buy Toyotas but drive them less to save money and the environment. Sales almost immediately jumped 53% and the dealers began to sell their 2009 models while other car dealerships were still stuck with their 2008 models.
Nicolas VanErum, VP-client services at BBR told Ad Age that “Some markets are more ripe for it than others, but I think there is a long-term trend that points in the same direction: needing a car but not necessarily needing it all the time.”
I love watching convention get destroyed and I love it when a client listens to an agency and trusts they know what they’re doing. Really great work all the way around. Anyone betting American car companies would try something like this? I wouldn’t hold your breath.
Filed under: Good Stuff, green | Closed
Tags: advertising, good, green, TV
