Subaru vs. Ford - And Texting While Driving

This week, Subaru ran four - count 'em - four FULL PAGE ads in the News Section of USA Today. Here's the series of ads the car maker ran and what Ford is doing in contrast.

 

Ad #1: Through snow ...

 Ad #2: Through the woods ...

Ad #3: On the open road and into the sunset ...

 Ad #4: Through the mud ...

It's all terrain for Subaru but ... where's the car? It's cool. They're selling what the car can DO. They're leaving their competitors in their tracks and making them eat dust. (For the media buying inclined, ads were all on the left page of four consecutive spreads.)

In contrast, let's look at Ford's double truck magazine ad in this month's Travel+Leisure magazine ...

"Daddy, why are you texting while driving? Oprah says that's a no-no!"

Ford explains, via body copy to Daddy (aka Jordan) ...

 

So if you're wondering how to combine Social Media with your print ad, here's a solution from Ford. Or if you are thinking of updating your Facebook status about your All New Ford Explorer while driving, please wait until you're in the driveway.


Advertise responsibly.

Auto Dealerships Try to Outdo with Bells and Whistles

Bells and whistles - that what we direct marketers call snazzy formats and tipped on do-dads that you might find on a direct mail package. They're usually rather costly but can have a great ROI if they bump up response. Case in point ...

Two auto dealers send similar mailings to me on the same day - what are the chances of that happening? It may not seem too unusual until you look at the actual mailers ...

This one is from Peruzzi Nissan.

Hey, that's a real key tipped on the piece. Wow! And a scratch off. Double wow!

This one is from Dieckhaus Buick.

That's a real key tipped on the piece. And a scratch off. Semi-yawn. I've seen this trick before! Oh, wait - this one has more pages. It's like a newsletter. Hmmm. Interest piqued. AND there's a check inside - "Customer Down Payment Assistance - Pay the sum of:  ONE THOUSAND SEVEN HUNDRED THIRTY FOUR DOLLARS AND ... 00/00." You may have me at varoom.

Bells and whistles be damned. Too bad I am not in the market for a new car. Those keys are not cheap to put on a mailer. For high-end products like cars, the cost to put something in the mail with a real key can be worth it if it bumps up response.

So I wonder which of these mailers outperformed the other? Is this something new for auto dealerships to send mailers with car keys tipped on? Have you seen it before in your mailbox? Inquiring minds want to know.

SOCIAL MEDIA FOR NONPROFIT

The Copy Grove has just completed the training required to do SOCIAL MEDIA for the American Red Cross, Lower Bucks County Chapter.