Cundari takes motorcycles off the beaten track
BMW Canada has put a new spin on motorcycle advertising with a drive towards the non-traditional consumer.
The manufacturer introduced the new model F650CS into the Canadian market in January, with the aim of attracting a younger, hipper generation to the motorcycle industry. The first of three print ads, created by Toronto-based Cundari Integrated Advertising, was featured in a March issue of the National Post, and subsequent executions of all the ads will be made in rotation throughout the summer months, in mainstream publications including Toronto Life.
‘This product is really designed for two different markets,’ says Marc Belcourt, marketing manager at BMW. ‘It serves to lure back the older generation motorcyclist, and to attract a new generation of younger riders. We chose to focus our first campaign specifically on that younger crowd.’
With the 25-to-35 age group in mind, Cundari designed the ads to appeal to the adventure-seeker on the lookout for a new sport.
The first ad features a photo of Mount Everest and the words: ‘You feel the urge to snowboard down Mount Everest.’ A picture of the motorcycle is beneath, together with the tagline: ‘But what you really need is a ride on the new F650CS.’ The same theme is repeated in the second and third ads, which make use of images of the Pacific Ocean and Grand Canyon.
‘We realize that we are talking to people who already have active participation in adventure sports so we wanted to say, ‘if you enjoy hang gliding or windsurfing, you’re going to love this bike,” says Dennis Forbes, VP, creative director at Cundari.
‘We chose the scenes of natural beauty because part of the allure of this bike is that it offers you the freedom to get outdoors and experience places like this. These are three locations that really grab the attention of adventure-sports enthusiasts.’
While the model is attractive to male and female riders, Belcourt says that the campaign is skewed towards the male demographic, as the primary purchaser of motorcycles.
The new model is already doing well in Canada but Belcourt anticipates a big hike in sales during the summer months, on the back of the campaign. ‘It’s a vehicle that depends on warm weather and good riding conditions,’ he adds.
Coca-Cola’s take on staying smooth
Knowing how to keep your cool in challenging situations is an important part of being a teen. With this insight in mind, Coca-Cola Canada will launch a national TV campaign to re-launch its Mello Yello soft drink brand into Canada on May 6.
The citrus-flavoured soda, which had a brief stint in Western Canada from 1993 to 1995, will be re-introduced to Canadians across the country with the tagline ‘How would you stay smooth?’
‘At the time of the original launch, the lemon-and-lime category was very under-developed but that has really changed now, so we decided it was a good time to bring the brand back,’ says Alison Lewis, VP of marketing at Toronto-based Coca-Cola Canada.
The campaign, which was created for the U.S. by New York agency Berlin Cameron, has been adapted for Canadian use by Toronto and Montreal-based Cossette Communication-Marketing. The voices and on-screen wording were altered by the Canadian agency to include French versions. Four 30-second spots, two in their original English form and two in French, are all aimed at the product’s target demo: teens and young adults, with a skew towards males.
‘The aim of the campaign is to position the drink as a product that is smooth in taste and smooth in image, in a way that is relevant to teens,’ explains Neil Buchanan, group account director at Cossette.
‘Short Trip’ focuses on a teenage boy walking down a street. He waves at three girls and promptly trips on the curb, at which point the voiceover asks ‘How would you stay smooth?’ The first two responses are vetoed by a buzzer, but the third, which involves the boy tumbling deftly across the road to rescue a puppy from being hit by a fast-moving truck, gains the admiration of the watching girls.
The same idea is used in the French spots, ‘Pique-Nique’ and ‘Le Velo.’
The launch campaign also includes an extensive nationwide sampling program and an Internet promo, which will run in conjunction with MuchMusic.
And for those looking for a stronger beverage…
Vernon, B.C.- based Okanagan Spring Brewery has introduced a radio and print campaign to support the arrival of its new premium craft beer.
1516 Bavarian Lager, created to pay tribute to the Bavarian Purity Law which was introduced in Bavaria in 1516, is launching this month in liquor stores, bars and restaurants in B.C. and Alberta.
The first of three print ads created by Vancouver-based Grey Worldwide Northwest, launched on April 11 in the West Coast youth-targeted publication Georgia Straight. It aims to promote the product to the target 18-to-34 age group, with a skew to the male drinker.
The ad shows an image of the bottled product on a background designed to look like a brimming-over beer glass, while the copy, in the form of an official document, introduces the product with an explanation of its history and the purity law.
‘The purity law changed beer for the better by enforcing the use of four natural ingredients, so we wanted to make the point that this lager is brewed in accordance,’ says Jeff Lewis, VP creative director at Grey. ‘We gave the ads the appearance of a decree to really bring home the history.’
A tongue-in-cheek radio campaign, also created by Grey, started running on stations in Victoria and the lower mainland on April 8. One ad makes use of a politician who tells the listeners that a vote for him means a vote for better beer. An announcer asks: ‘Wouldn’t it be great if politicians focused on important stuff like better beer?’
Another ad talks about the purity law and compares it to the laughable law that exists in Victoria, making it illegal to give out ‘balloon animals’. The sound of a balloon animal being made is followed by the sound of a SWAT team homing in to make its arrest.
The campaign also includes in-store merchandising and promotions, including the launch of a 1516 Bavarian tumbler.
Air Canada enters the jazz age
A branding campaign to signal the launch of the new Air Canada Jazz brand started to roll out across the country in mid-April.
Target Marketing & Communications in St John’s, Nfld. has created a single print ad to introduce the new brand which last month was born out of the consolidation of Air Canada’s regional airlines: AirBC, Air Nova, Air Ontario and Canadian Regional Airlines. It will run in 80 different daily and weekly publications across Canada this month.
‘The ad is deliberately simple and uncomplicated, just as the aircraft is deliberately presented as a billboard for the brand,’ explains Noel O’Dea, president at Target. ‘The headline makes the point that this is not an upstart but a continuation of the young, fresh personality of the four individual airlines.’
The first ad shows an image of a plane bearing the new logo, together with a brief explanation of the name change and services offered by the airline: ‘Unfortunately ‘AirBC-Air Nova-Air Ontario-Canadian Regional’ didn’t fit on the side of the plane.’
Product and service-based promotions to support the brand change will be executed later this quarter.
