• by Karl Greenberg , October 7, 2010

You may not be ready to undergo cutting-edge, remote robotic surgery, but you might think twice when it comes to using the equivalent technology to drive a new car.

Mitsubishi Motors, which is scrambling to build back its place in the collective automotive consciousness in the U.S., is launching a campaign this month that centers on a virtual test drive. Rather than say, launching an online video game where one can drive an animated Mitsubishi vehicle, the company is letting people around the country "drive" a real Outlander Sport on a closed course by controlling it remotely with their computers.

The program, running Nov. 1 through Nov. 10, is the first-ever online test drive, says the company. Developed with Mitsubishi's new AOR 180 LA, B-Reel, robotics expert James Brighton and Web designer Simon Cave, the program is concurrent with -- and getting traditional-media support from -- a TV, print, digital and direct-mail campaign starting mid-October and running through January.

The test-drive works with point-of-view cameras on board the vehicle, electronic receivers and servo motors to control the vehicle's dynamics, and GPS mapping. People can sign up to do the drive starting on Oct. 15 at OutlanderSport.com, where they will get a code that can be used to queue for the live test drive on opening day, Nov. 1.

"Since April this year we have gotten back on TV, but we are also working on social media programs because we have a very passionate consumer base, says Gregory Adams, VP marketing for Mitsubishi's North American operations, who came on board in late April, when the company was in the midst of finalizing a new roster of agencies.

Adams tells Marketing Daily the microsite will be the baseline for the test drive event. "We want to drive everyone there," he says, adding that the new Web site will change on Oct. 15. According to Adams, the initial raft of TV and print ads will also drive traffic to the microsite to get people to sign up for the virtual test drive. The company will let around 700 people per day test the vehicle virtually during the 10-day period, according to Adams.

Adams says the initial ads supporting the test "will run for three weeks to drive awareness and maintain water cooler buzz. It's very important to our objective of putting Mitsubishi back in the light we belong in. Once the online test is complete, everything switches to more product-focused advertising."