• Ad Age, Thursday, May 17, 2007 10:50 AM

Saturn wants car buyers to "Rethink American" in a new ad campaign that breaks this week. The spots, from Deutsch, mix imagery with a rock beat and product shots and contrast stereotypes with cultural flashpoints. But there is no voiceover and titles drive the message, points of which include the company's 100,000-mile and claim to offer the most affordable hybrid.

The tag extends beyond the tube to print, outdoor and online. "Saturn is seen as a new car company," says Eric Hirshberg, CCO at Deutsch. "We know it has been around for a long time, and we think of this as a relaunch. But it got us thinking about how few new car companies, especially new American car companies, there are."

The goal, he adds, was to morph away form an "Aw, shucks" approach. "When it was an entry-level brand for non-hagglers, that tone meant a lot. But Saturn has always been so much more than nice. We had to give them a more assertive tone."

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