Launching a new car model – let alone a new car company – is a daunting task. Fortunately, for Kia Motors Canada and its agency, Griffin Bacal Volny, they had the experience of their U.S. counterparts to draw upon.
Not only has the gradual rollout of Kia in Canada been inspired by the South Korean car company’s U.S. introduction back in 1994, but the Canadian advertising has also taken some cues from the launch campaign by Goldberg Moser O’Neill of San Francisco.
Andrew Gray, Kia Canada’s assistant marketing manager, says the company is currently focusing on the target market that has been most successful for the Kia brand in the U.S. – 18 to 49, with a skew to female and young-family buyers.
But Gray says he expects Kia to have an even broader appeal in Canada because of its affordable, value-oriented products and the propensity of Canadian consumers to choose compact and sub-compact cars.
With that in mind, GBV created two humorous spots based on actual third-party testing of the Kia Sephia that evaluate the entry-level model over 100,000 kilometres and 200,000 kilometres against a comparable Honda Civic and Toyota Corolla.
The spots show the Sephia – which is topped by a gigantic odometer – being taken on a coast-to-coast test drive by a young couple to ‘make sure Sephia has everything Canadians want in a car’ and ‘to show how reliable, enjoyable and lovable the Sephia really is.’
Throughout the spot, the giant odometer clicks over, kilometre by kilometre, until the tag line is presented: ‘Kia. Because it’s about time everyone had a well-made car.’ It’s at this point that the odometer clicks over to reveal the price: $12,995.
Joe Camilleri, creative director at Griffin Bacal Volny, says the concept for the ‘Odometer’ TV spots also came from the U.S., but he was glad to build on it for Canada because of the experience and success south of the border.
‘Obviously the Canadian market is different and we had to reflect that in the way we did it here, but the basic idea of building credibility for the car company by using the 200,000-kilometre test run seemed to make sense here,’ says Camilleri. ‘We tried to communicate the attitude and positioning of Kia through the use of humour, style and attitude.’
Similarly, the commercial for Kia’s Sportage sports utility vehicle is an adaptation of the U.S. spot that launched the 2000 Sportage this past spring. ‘Parking Lot’ shows two women racing for the lone parking spot in the lot – one in Kia’s Sportage, the other in a competitive model. The Sportage wins.
Price – this time $20,995 – again plays a big role in the finale.
Title: Odometer
Client: Kia Motors Canada
Agency: Griffin Bacal Volny
Agency president/senior account executive: Peter Volny
Account executive: Stewart Wright
Creative director/art director: Joe Camilleri
Copywriter: Kurt Hagan
Production management: Winnie Alford and
Lori Estabrooks, Second Unit
Media: Television, radio, print, out-of-home
Start date: Aug. 23 (French),
Aug. 30 (English)
Length of run: not disclosed
