DETROIT – “Beyond Precision,” a new brand positioning and advertising campaign for the Buick division of General Motors, will break with television commercials on Nov. 21 for the 2006 Lucerne, an all-new luxury sedan. The campaign focuses on Buick’s quality by showcasing Lucerne’s luxury features and benefits including QuietTuning and other technical innovations.
The advertising’s new tagline – “Beyond Precision” – speaks to the care and exactitude the designers and engineers put into the Lucerne. “Beyond Precision” exemplifies qualities that resonate with people who want a car to reflect their intelligence and that thrives on scrutiny with compelling attributes.
“The people who design, engineer and manufacture Lucerne are some of the best in the world, and have a near-fanatical way of looking at Lucerne’s details,” said Margaret Brooks, Buick marketing director. “We want advertising that shows the fruits of their labor and spotlights some of Lucerne’s finest details.”
Three new television commercials from Buick’s national advertising agency, McCann Erickson’s Birmingham , Mich. office, were created. The commercials, focused on product attributes, are:
“Precision Millimeter” (craftsmanship) – From its gracefully sculpted exterior design to its smooth yet responsive ride, Lucerne reinforces Buick’s reputation for attention to detail inside and out. In this execution, a camera slowly pulls out from inside a tight panel gap to reveal the Lucerne . The voiceover says, “Someone understands the difference even a single millimeter can make in the way a car looks, drives and feels… And we just wanted you to know… You’re not alone. ” The voiceover relates the fanatical approach of the Lucerne ’s engineers to the high level of quality today’s demanding new car buyers also seek.
“Snowflake” (heated wiper fluid) – A delicate snowflake meets its demise in this spot featuring the Lucerne ’s heated windshield washer fluid dispenser. The wiper fluid is heated to 149 degrees and eliminates the inconvenience of scraping ice and grime from windshields, a problem that has afflicted drivers since the invention of wiper blades 75 years ago.
“Mr. Aachen Head” (QuietTuning) – An “Aachen HEAD” (pronounced Ah-Kin) is a digital recording tool that hears sounds inside and outside of a moving vehicle. Buick Lucerne engineers regularly use the Aachen Head, which mimics a human head of an average-sized man, to capture sounds within the Lucerne ’s interior. Lately though, “Mr. Aachen Head” hasn’t been very busy, because Buick’s QuietTuning greatly reduces sound levels inside the vehicle, as “heard” in this spot.
“The new spots tell the inside story about the engineering of the Lucerne in all its obsessive, brilliant glory,” said Marianne Fey, executive vice president and group managing director of McCann Erickson’s Birmingham, Mich. office. “We wanted to highlight compelling product attributes that show this discerning target what separates a true quality vehicle from the rest of the pack.”
New Buick commercials will be seen on a variety of news and lifestyle programming.
A series of print ads will launch on Nov. 22 in USA TODAY and Nov. 23 in the New York Times and Wall Street Journal; and will run throughout the year in a variety of magazines and newspapers. Interactive inserts, coined “Buzz Prints,” that feature product attributes of the Lucerne will begin running in publications in February. Additional campaign components include online advertising and promotional placements on some of primetime’s hottest shows.
About Lucerne
Built Beyond Precision, the Lucerne is Buick’s third new vehicle in just over a year, following the LaCrosse midsize sedan and Terraza crossover sport-van.
Lucerne offers an array of options, including a V-8 or V-6 power, three trim levels – the well-equipped CX, elegantly appointed CXL or the luxurious, performance-oriented CXS model. Standard on every Lucerne are OnStar, QuietTuning – Buick’s exclusive process to eliminate unwanted cabin noise – and a four-year/50,000 mile warranty. The sedan has a base manufacturer’s suggest retail price (MSRPs) ranging from $26,990 to $35,990. Lucerne is engineered to meet a wide variety of customer preferences and compete across a wide range of domestic and import entries in the premium midsize and luxury segments.
More information about Lucerne and the entire Buick line-up is available for media at http://media.gm.com and for consumers at www.buick.com. |
