• by Karl Greenberg , January 11, 2016

When up-and-coming boxers face an adversary who is already a shoe-in for the Hall of Fame, the upstart gets more respect if they give it, along the lines of, “Well, Roy Jones has been a great champion, and I’ve followed his career since I was yay-high. But now it’s my time.” Nissan, playing the upstart, is taking that approach in a launch spot for its all-new Titan XD pickup. 

The Titan XD will be only the second generation of a truck that first launched 12 years ago, which because of very limited configurations and power options couldn’t pack much of a punch against Ford, Dodge and Chevrolet.

The new Titan XD, which Nissan is touting as “Every Duty,” lives in a white space between half-ton and three-quarter ton, and offers three cab configurations, including a crew cab variant with a Cummins V8 Turbo Diesel. It comes in two frame sizes, has three powertrain offerings, and allows a choice between five grade levels.

The majority of the anthem spot, which broke Monday night on the college football national championship game, shows no brand, no vehicle, no pitch, just young people — kids and teens — challenged and mentored by peers, parents, coaches and personal heroes. Then, near the end, we see classic Chevrolet, Ford and Dodge pickups, called out by name with the narration, “To those who’ve gone before us…Ford, Chevy, Dodge…thank you, we see the way forward.” The spot closes on the all-new 2016 Nissan Titan XD and its tag line, “The ‘Every Duty' Truck.’” 

Fred Diaz, Nissan’s divisional VP and general manager of North American trucks and light commercial vehicles, tells Marketing Daily that crafting the message was delicate because of the risk of being misconstrued as disingenuous. “We pained over every syllable, comma, intonation, so there was no way it could be thought of as backhanded; it truly is a sign of respect for who they are, and where they come from.” 

If there is an implicit jab at the Detroit three, intended or not, it is that the competitive vehicles shown aren’t exactly competitive, as they are classic versions of Silverado, Ram and F-150. Jeremy Tucker, vice president, marketing communications and media, Nissan North America, tells Marketing Daily that the company took time to find the right vehicles from the past: the 1972 Chevrolet C-10 Action Line; the 1995 F-150, the first Eddie Bauer edition; and the ’85 D001 Dodge Ram, the first with Cummins diesel.

“The gauntlet we are putting down is to say we are here and ready to compete,” says Tucker, adding that communications around product proof points — torque and towing capacity — will be extended through digital and social. “We have been working on this [creative] for eight or nine months, and have done lots of testing with hardcore, competitive truck owners; one of them said a line that solidified this idea: you have to give respect to get respect. The marketing acumen from before would have said it was crazy to do that. But you have to do something different; the Big Three have built the category, and have been running it for decades. We had to think outside the box.” 

Nashville-based automaker’s message, via TBWA\Chiat\Day, will benefit from Nissan’s recent keystone sponsorship of 100 colleges and universities nationwide, and activations surrounding the Heisman Trophy Trust partnership.  

Diaz says the company is still selling about a thousand late-model Titans per month, representing a loyal owner base. “I was pleased to find out that they are loyal Titan owners and loyal Nissan owners, so we have that; then the opportunity with the new truck to go after new entrants coming into market with no loyalty predisposition, or new Millennials who don’t want what granddaddy bought.”