• MSNBC.com, Monday, March 13, 2006 11:45 AM

Automakers are beginning to experiment with alternatives to traditional, expensively produced, performance-related TV spots. For example, Honda is using billboards inviting drivers to tune into a particular radio frequency. If they do, they will hear a conversation between a platypus and a car--the Hondas Element--at a cocktail party in which the benefits of the Element are extolled. Another automaker, Volkswagen, has introduced a new effort for its 2006 GTi, a sporty hatchback, which features a bizarre, robot-like little character that represents a driver's "fast"--a reference to the "thing" inside a driver that makes him or her drive fast. Both campaigns are designed to break through the clutter of automotive commercials and make these products stand out. "Television advertising is very expensive, and with hundreds more television channels there is concern about a message actually getting across," said Jim Hossack, an expert in automotive products and marketing at AutoPacific, an automotive research company. "Most car companies have agreed to put less money into television and are looking at alternatives, whether that's vehicle placement in movies, or events where people get to drive vehicles...There are hundreds of different opportunities and everyone is trying to find a more productive mix than the one they currently have."

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