Premiering alongside the flurry of new television shows over the next few weeks will be a new star of the automotive genre – the Mercedes-Benz R-Class. The new four-wheel-drive 2006 R-Class – both a new vehicle from Mercedes and a new category for the luxury market (the Grand Sports Tourer segment) – combines the best attributes of a sport utility vehicle, a station wagon and a passenger car.
The launch spot for the new R-Class is called “1886” and draws on the company’s heritage and its unique position as the maker of the world’s first automobile. The 30-second spot creates an imaginary encounter between drivers of the Karl Benz and Gottlieb Daimler era -- and the new R-Class. “We wanted to get across that this isn’t just another variation on a theme -- this is the newest thinking from a brand that has been shaping, reinterpreting and innovating the luxury automotive arena for over a century,” said Scott Keogh, general manager, marketing communications for Mercedes-Benz USA (MBUSA).
National advertising for the campaign, which was created by MBUSA’s lead agency Merkley + Partners (New York), begins tonight in spot markets and will reach full schedule at the end of the month and into October as Mercedes-Benz dealers across the country receive the new R350 and R500. The commercial “1886” begins airing this week in the top 25 R-Class markets during the season premieres of top-rated, primetime shows: Lost, Grey’s Anatomy, Boston Legal, Desperate Housewives, CSI, CSI Miami, CSI New York, Law & Order SVU, Law & Order Criminal Intent, West Wing, ER, Two and a Half Men, Crossing Jordan, Alias, Amazing Race, Without A Trace and Numb3rs.
Four weeks of national cable advertising will begin on September 26 on top-rated news networks such as FOX, CNN and MSNBC as well as on various lifestyle networks. Print advertising will run in USA Today, New York Times and the Wall Street Journal. Magazine advertising will begin in October in automotive, newsweeklies, technology, home and travel magazines.
National advertising is complemented by regional executions (broadcast, print, radio and outdoor) which underscore the unique style, versatility and performance of the R-Class (e.g. “Imagine the Car You Have to Drive is Actually the Car You Want to Drive”). The marketing initiative in support of the new R-Class launch also includes interactive relationship marketing, collateral materials and ongoing brand experience marketing initiatives.
“Be OuR Guest” Drive-to-Web Sweepstakes
Viewers of the eagerly awaited ABC season premieres of Lost (9/21), Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (9/25) and Desperate Housewives (9/25) in the top fifteen markets will get a chance to view “1886” and be invited to enter the “Be ouR Guest” sweepstakes. In addition, a 30-second vignette promoting the R-Class and the sweepstakes will air during ABC’s morning and evening newscasts from September 19 through October 2.
Prizes include:
Grand Prize: Concierge level getaway for two at a Ritz-Carlton hotel with the use of an R-Class.
First Prize: Two 45-inch Sharp Aquos HDTVs.
Second Prize: Three 37-inch Sharp Aquos HDTVs.