Nissan fell into this camp with the polar bear ads for its new Leaf electric vehicle. However, its new campaign suggests that Nissan's marketing team is on a vertical learning curve, and in my estimation, represents some of the sharpest green marketing smarts around today.
A New Metric for Car Buyers
The ads from this week's Fast
Company assert a new metric for car buyers --"miles traveled for one dollar." The implication, of course, is that a gasoline-free vehicle is far more affordable than the alternative. The
implications are huge: Nissan can excel in and own as an advertising claim. Complementing the tagline, "Shift the way you move," the metric helps to change the reader's thinking about the relevance of
historical miles per gallon accounting-and underscore leadership and innovation of the Leaf itself (with resulting halos to brand Nissan).
EPA's New Fuel Economy Labels
This approach is reminiscent of what I love about the EPA's new fuel economy labels: they
include annual fuel costs and estimated fuel savings in addition to mpg, and smog and greenhouse gas ratings-thus helping would-be drivers to understand the direct, compelling benefits of buying a
greener car.
Attention, Skeptics!
If you question the relevance of fuel mileage statistics to would-be Leaf owners who can plunk down the premium for the hottest
electric car on the market, keep in mind that the claim of "miles traveled on one dollar" is an inherent, dramatic demonstration of the potential benefits of driving an all-electric vehicle, and as
such, should serve the brand well in the years and decades to come.