• by Karl Greenberg , May 7, 2007

Ford and Chrysler are both launching campaigns that acknowledge pain at the pump (see related story in this issue). Chrysler's is a dealer ad push highlighting the fuel efficiency of a range of cars and trucks under its three brands. Ford is promoting its 2008 Escape and Escape hybrid, both of which recently went on sale, with new campaigns that also bring Kermit the Frog as spokes-amphibian for the Escape Hybrid.

Ford launched a new TV spot for the gasoline version of Escape that promotes it for fuel efficiency without the sacrifice of small car. Usha Raghavachari, Escape and Escape Hybrid marketing manager, tells Marketing Daily that although the hybrid version of Escape appears in the new spot, the two versions of the compact SUV are treated as separate brands, with different creative, messages and marketing strategies. But, she says, this is the first overtly fuel-conscious effort for the gasoline version of the Escape. "We are getting to $4 per gallon, so we wanted to emphasize the fact that Escape [both gasoline and hybrid] has great gas mileage."

The new ad, via JWT, Detroit, shows an utterly, desperately bored, nearly comatose guy going through a ritual of shopping and a car wash at a service station in a fuel-efficient, if nondescript sedan. He sees a gasoline version of the Escape full of exuberant, active young passengers. Voiceover: "You didn't buy your sedan for excitement. You bought it for gas mileage. But what if you could get all the mileage of a sedan, plus the excitement of an SUV?" The ad touts the Escape's 28 mpg, while showing it doing SUV-type activities, then finishes with a shot of the hybrid, with text highlighting its 34-mpg rating.

"What we are seeing in the industry is that, with drastic changes in gas prices, we see increased [SUV] sales," says Raghavachari. "It's that uncertainty." She says the message is about Escape as "friendly and fun-filled" for active-lifestyle consumers. The theme for the campaign is "More fun for the gallon."

Ford's Web effort for the gasoline version of Escape follows the theme of the TV spot, with boredomhurts.com, with a splash page suggesting some inner sanctum of the Centers for Disease Control, where they keep the really awful viruses. In this examination room is a guy named Colin Padden, a doctoral candidate at Oregon A&M, who is on a mission to destroy boredom wherever he finds it. The site, devoted to an examination of all things boring, includes areas where one can upload videos of boring things one does, or watch them. One video shows a woman using Scotch tape to distort her face.

For the hybrid version of Escape, Ford has launched a microsite within forvehicles.com that features Kermit. "We are continuing the partnership with Kermit this year, because he's the perfect ambassador for all things green," says Raghavachari. "So you will see more of him," she says, adding that a lot of the investment for the Escape hybrid campaign is online, "since hybrid buyers spend a lot of time online doing research.

When they walk into a dealership, quite often they are so well-versed on product, options and benefits, dealers are basically ready to take their order. For 2008, the site has been structured to deliver information about hybrids in a fun and engaging way," she says. The new Escape hybrid site with Ford.com includes videos on Ford's hybrid technology, vehicle features, and a section called "Saving Green" about the Federal 2008 hybrid-vehicle tax incentive.

Raghavachari says Ford will also run grassroots efforts in regions with high concentrations of hybrid buyers--particularly urban areas like Los Angeles, Chicago, Washington, D.C. and New York. "The focus for the gasoline Escape is national, but for the hybrid Escape, because there are clearly defined markets for hybrid, and since you get the best mileage benefits in cities, there's a regional focus." Ford will auction a hybrid Escape in Santa Monica, Calif. at the end of May to benefit an environmental non-profit. "At the moment we are targeting D.C., Chicago and New York for other events."

Chrysler's effort, "Maximize Your Miles," via BBDO, Troy, Mich., touts Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge branded vehicles that get 30 mpg. TV, print, POP, direct mail and radio ads for the Chrysler Sebring, PT Cruiser and 300; Jeep Compass and Patriot; and Dodge Charger, Caliber and Avenger are underway.

The ad for Chrysler says "Chrysler proves you don't need an import to get great mileage." The Jeep spot shows a group of friends on a road trip in a Compass and Patriot. After several hours of driving, they stop at a gas station, and the driver heads inside to the "squishee" machine. His friends take a few minutes to stretch and play around as they wait. After what seems like a very long time, we see that the driver has filled a five-gallon gas can from the "squishee" machine. As the vehicles drive off, the voice over says, "With gas mileage this good, they'll change the way you think about filling up."

The spot for Dodge opens with what looks like alcohol filling a glass. But as the camera pulls back, a gas pump is revealed. The voiceover says, "It's highly refined. It's imported by the barrel. It's something you shouldn't guzzle while driving. Now Dodge goes the distance with our most fuel-efficient lineup ever." Beauty shots of Dodge vehicles are interspersed with images of the features like Boston Acoustics Sound System beverage cooler and the MyGIG Infotainment System.