• by Aaron Baar , April 21, 2009

New television commercials spotlight how car enthusiasts and those who rely on cars for their livelihoods rely on Texaco with Techron gasoline to keep their autos performing well. The commercials are intended to depict a "Tex Message," with what looks like the subject line of a text message on the top of the screen underlying what the characters are telling the characters.

"We are looking to reinforce our communication around Techron and provide consumers the reason to use our Techron brand," Monica Albornoz, Texaco brand manager, tells Marketing Daily. "With this campaign, we're trying to make a connection with customers with a new tone and style. We're providing the emotional connections and the rational benefits to using the Texaco brand."

In one ad, a cab driver talks about his job. "After driving a cab 10 hours a day, I know it inside and out. I know its idiosyncrasies, its moods," he says as he subject line types out the message, "His BFF." He later says he uses Texaco with Techron because "the engine runs clean [and] the cab runs great, less moody." At the end of the commercial, the cursor in the subject line types out: "Trust your car to the star."

A second execution features a twenty-something car enthusiast who claims he spent more on aftermarket add-ons than on the car itself. "You protect that kind of investment," he says. "I use Texaco with Techron because it helps keep it running good."

The campaign will also include print, out-of-home and point-of-purchase materials. A text-messaging campaign -- to go along with the "Tex Message" idea presented in the ads -- is also forthcoming, Albornoz says. "It's a link that we want to make with the new language that young people are using right now," she says. "We are going to use this in other activities that will come soon."