Saab Announces New Brand Campaign
21 August 1997
Saab Announces New Brand CampaignNORCROSS, Ga., Aug. 21 -- Saab owners have understood the beauty of Saab's intelligent engineering for five decades. Now Saab wants to let everyone else in on their secret. The messenger is Saab's new brand campaign, scheduled to debut nationally with outdoor, print and broadcast spots in early September. The message? "It's very simple," said John Orth, vp, sales and marketing, Saab Cars USA, Inc. "We are going to start telling consumers exactly why half a century of unconventional thinking has resulted in better cars." Developed by Saab's advertising agency partner, Richmond, Virginia-based The Martin Agency, the Saab campaign takes the "unconventional" theme established by the previous "Find Your Own Road" campaign to its next level. Instead of focusing on the type of individual who chooses a Saab, the new campaign aggressively shifts the focus from driver to car, focusing on key product features and the heritage behind them. And, it does so with gloves off. "The campaign is definitely designed to have a provocative, aggressive tone -- but never without a hint of wit and charm," explained Kerry Feuerman, executive vp and creative group director, The Martin Agency. "Every ad reminds the consumer about the two Saab features most on people's mind when they buy a car: safety and performance. There is also a clear element of entertainment, but never at the expense of the car's substance." An example of the campaign's tongue-in-cheek tonality is evident in one of the first national print ads to debut. Paying homage to Saab's decades of real-world safety testing and the company's long tradition of voluntary crash testing, the ad's headline reads: "If there were elephants in Sweden, we'd have a safety test for that, too." A photo inset on the top-right of the ad page includes a photo of a moose -- alluding to the company's industry-unique moose collision test. The moose test, which is just one of the 21 crash tests Saab performs during development of a car, involves a head-on crash with a 700 lb. steel cable moose dummy. Because there are nearly 34,000 wildlife accidents in Sweden every year, the ability to withstand the incredible force of such an impact is built into every Saab. Feuerman emphasizes that the advertising work is designed to evoke some of the strong emotions you feel when driving a Saab. "Powerful photography is a key element -- every Saab is photographed or filmed in motion, and each image communicates mystery, styling and performance." Like the print executions, the first television spot to debut is a study in motion and mystery -- with a sophisticated sense of humor. It spotlights the pure performance prowess and fun-to-drive quotient of the Saab 900 Convertible. A couple, soaking up the brilliant sunshine while enjoying a sequence of winding mountain roads in their Saab 900 Convertible, isn't deterred by the encroaching, ominous shadows -- cast by the setting sun. As the shadows threaten to overtake the car, the Saab driver simply downshifts, and courtesy of turbocharged performance, jets out of nightfall in pursuit of the sun. The voice-over simply states: "The convertible top lets you enjoy the sun. The turbocharged engine lets you enjoy it longer." Later work, according to Feuerman, will also begin integrating a nod of appreciation to a part of Saab history that influenced Saab's early design and engineering philosophy -- its roots as an aircraft manufacturer. In addition to supporting the current Saab 900 and 9000 product line, and the launch of the company's all-new Saab 9-5 luxury sedan in the spring of 1998, the new brand campaign is designed to position Saab for what will be its most product-intensive period in its 50-year history. "The Saab 9-5 is really a new beginning for Saab," affirmed John Orth. "After its spring 1998 launch, we'll continue with several aggressive new product introductions right through the turn of the century. It's therefore especially important to us that consumers fully understand the scope of the Saab brand offer, and why our cars are a better alternative to the competition -- instead of simply being a niche brand." And that, Orth said, is why the new campaign is single-minded about the synthesis of performance and safety in every Saab, and the heritage of unconventional thinking behind it. "Let's face it," said Orth, "there are many safe cars on the market. There are equally as many performance cars on the market. But there is absolutely no reason why a customer would have to sacrifice one attribute for the other. Saab is the one choice that gives you the best of both -- all from a company that has a compelling story to tell." SOURCE Saab Cars USA