TAXI DELIVERS KNOCKOUT PUNCH - Strategy

MITSUBISHI CANADA CANADA • BBDO • JEEP
Mitsubishi was the newest player in the most hotly contested
segment of the Canadian car market: small cars. Competing against
established players like Hyundai and Kia, Mitsubishi needed to fi nd
a stance that was both relevant and unclaimed. To add challenge to
challenge, this had to be done with a budget that amounted to
a 1.7% share-of-voice.
BBDO found the answer in Mitsubishi’s heritage as a longtime
winner in international rally racing, which suggested endurance, speed
and agility. These weren’t just the attributes of a car – they were the
attributes of an athlete.
In terms of execution, the biggest challenge was in breaking
category conventions. BBDO created a series of athletic-inspired
spots culminating in the “Robots” creative, where assembly-line
machines came to life to play a game of pick-up basketball. The
campaign carried over into the interactive space with online banner
ads in which a robot jams the wheel on a Mitsubishi car.
Results were spectacular. Mitsubishi sales increased by 53% in
2007, making it the fastest-growing player in the Canadian market.
That growth has continued into 2008: through June, Mitsubishi
achieved additional year-over-year sales growth of 18%, nearly eight
times the industry average. The “Robots” creative was picked up by
Mitsubishi USA, where it was tied into sponsorship of the NBA Finals.
Within the increasingly competitive compact SUV class,
Jeep was looking to create consumer demand around
its new Wrangler model. While the basic body design had
hardly changed since its inception, Jeep added two more
doors and more room to this classic 4WD. The problem
was that this innovation wasn’t inherently sexy to the
consumer or differentiating for the brand.
Jeep’s legendary ability to go to the most extreme parts
of the world provided the creative inspiration to address
the strategic challenge. Being able to take more people to
remote parts of the world could have dire consequences
– and this became the creative idea for the campaign.
In a mixture of OOH, dealer posters and magazine
advertising, three executions depicted the consequences
of the insight: a grizzly bear, a lion and a python in remote
locales benefi ting from the SUV’s new four-door feature.
The super read: “The fi ve-passenger Wrangler Unlimited.
Bringing more people to more remote places.”
The media selection dovetailed with the extreme
creative approach, choosing irreverent publications like
Vice, Maxim and Now magazines.
The creative work has been recognized internationally
and at home (winning at D&AD, One Show, Clios and
Obies, and shortlisted at Cannes), and the Jeep Wrangler
continues to grow in its segment. The campaign ran in
collaboration with retail sales support which resulted in
a 54% lift for the total Jeep Wrangler brand during the
fi rst six months from launch, in the same year that new
or redesigned compact SUVs were launched from eight
other auto companies.
STRATEGY November 2008 37