• by Tanya Gazdik , September 4, 2019

There’s an expression that friends are the family you choose. Hyundai Motor America aims to show how the 2020 Hyundai Palisade can be used for all different kinds of families, not necessarily just those with whom customers share the same DNA.

From AOR Innocean USA, the effort includes four national TV spots that break Sept. 5 during NFL football and feature a voiceover by Jason Bateman, who starred in Hyundai’s Super Bowl spot and debuted as the voice of Hyundai in a branding campaign in July.

“The campaign is meant to communicate how family is more than blood and a last name; it’s the friends you grew up with who know everything about you, the neighbors you have weekly dinners with, or the sports lovers who share the same passion as you for a specific team,” Hyundai Motor America DMO Dean Evans tells Marketing Daily. “The Palisade is the quality time machine that brings all of your worlds and families together, making the time you spend with each other better."

The spots feature the brand’s positioning tagline, “Better Drives Us,” first introduced in July. Creative aims to demonstrate the key features of the automaker’s new eight-passenger flagship SUV, including advanced safety features and convenient features like third-row power-folding seats.

“‘Better Drives Us’ is our brand mantra that communicates what we stand for as a company,” Evans says. “In the development of our marketing programs, it’s critical that they all ladder up to ‘Better Drives Us.’ The tagline itself stems from the 'we make things better' brand promise that was first introduced in 2016. It’s how we summarize our belief in doing the right thing for people with a new lineup of vehicles, technologies, and services."

In “Like Family,” a dad and his different “families” use the Hyundai Palisade to surf, catch a football game, and enjoy a meal together. “Family Tree” shows a mom with her “families” as they complete a marathon, enjoy an afternoon at the spa, and catch a night out. In “Tide Pools,” generations of a family go from the aquarium to the coast, enjoying a full day of together time. “Where You Go” demonstrates the vehicle’s all-wheel-drive system.

The target demographic for the Palisade is a diverse audience of older millennials and younger Gen-Xers with large (or growing families), Evans says.

Spots will air on national TV throughout the fall on shows that include "This is Us," "So You Think You Can Dance," "America’s Got Talent," And "Fear of the Walking Dead," and will be supported across Hyundai’s social media channels.

The campaign also includes a series of digital videos targeted at in-market SUV shoppers, to run on Facebook and automotive shopping sites. Additionally, there will be brand and Facebook pre-roll videos.

The Palisade ads will run for the next several months. Hyundai will also have a national ad in September that recognizes Pediatric Cancer Month and Hyundai’s Hope On Wheels nonprofit, which supports pediatric cancer research.

Hyundai’s next big product launch is the 2020 Sonata. Advertising timing is to be determined.