2008 Subaru Impreza WRX The Legend Reborn: Episode 1

After teasing us with the preview video of the three-part action film "2008 Impreza WRX: The Legend Reborn", Subaru released the first part of the series that carries the name “The Return”. As you can see, Subaru’s animated commercial is inspired from the world of video games combining a tad of mystery music with plenty of jungle scenes and a scent of driving action. Not a bad idea but we’re certainly not overtaken by the final result. I don’t know if they did it on purpose, but the 3D animation makes the replays on Gran Turismo 1 look like the real thing! What did you think about the first episode?

Subaru Releases Three Part-Epic Series: "2008 Impreza WRX: The Legend Reborn"

Don’t matter if it’s a Lada or a Ferrari, everyone needs a good promotion to kick off sales. Subaru on its behalf is betting on the online community to promote the all new 2008 Impreza WRX by releasing what it describes, as a “three-part epic-series” dubbed “The Legend Reborn”. The first part of the mini-series is called “The Preview” and it takes place in Japan. Not much, but we’ll wait for Subaru to release the next two episodes for our conclusions.

Chinese Transformer’s: Knock-Off’s in Disguise

Chinese automaker, Great Wall, is at it again. This time, they’re knocking off our beloved “robots in disguise”, The Transformers, in order to promote their own knock off vehicles. With the opening of the new Transformers movie, what better way to show off the Chinese copy-cat skills than to make some knock off robots and match them with profiles, silly names and their own “original vehicles”. Take for example “Florida” which transforms into a 3.91 meter tall robot from a knock of Toyota. But after we learned that this particular robot “identifies most with Paris Hilton”, we completely lost all respect. Other fake-o characters include Perry, i7 and Coolbear. Beware for those knock-off Chinese Transformers because ultimately, they are “less than meets the eye.”

PS: Don’t forget to tell us what you thought about the Transformers Movie here

Posted by Dani

Via: Autoblog.com

VW Tiguan 3D Promo Video

Volkswagen is hyping up its promotional efforts on the recently introduced Tiguan compact SUV with the presentation of a new video clip. However, this is not your usual “static image and driving scenes” promo video but a 3D animated film featuring both versions of the Tiguan. In the rare case that you missed out on the Tiguan presentation, you can see the official images of here and the press release here. Also, don’t forget to leave us a comment below telling us what you thought about the specific video along with what you would like to see from VW; who knows, maybe someone from Volkswagen might be reading you as we speak…

Thanks for the link Patrick!

Renault’s Smoke & Sex Ad

Sex sells! So Renault is using most of people’s 2 favorite activities to sell the 7 passenger Renault Grand Scenic: Sex and Smoking. As our friends over at Jalopnik said, this commercial would never fly in the U.S. I mean come on, they banned the TV ad with Paris Hilton eating a cheeseburger and washing a car. Put it this way, the Renault commercial does not appeal to the soccer moms. Unless you’re planning on having an orgy, we wouldn’t recommend this Grand Scenic. It’s too Windstarish!

Posted by Dani

Via: Jalopnik

Promo Wars: Transformers, Pontiacs in Disguise...

Pontiac has begun its promotion of the Solstice GXP roadster that will appear in the new Transformers movie that’s due out July 4th. The promotion is also holding a campaign through Maxim, a magazine geared towards men. By visiting the Maxim website, visitors can enter contests whose prizes include a Solstice GXP and a chance to accompany Transformers star Megan Fox to the movie’s premier.

Other “transformations” that we’ll see in the movie include the likes of Chevrolet, GMC and Hummer vehicles. Pontiac used similar technology in a campaign tied to this year's NCAA men's basketball championship which generated a viewer click-through rate 10 times higher than other Pontiac online promotions. In this high tech digital age, we’re excited to check this remake flick from back in the day. -Click “Read More…” below and check out the Solstice - Transformer wallpapers

Via: Automotivenews , Link: Maxim

Renault Twingo: French Supermodel Leticia Casta Used To Draw In Young Men

To attract younger, male buyers Renault has hired popular fashion model, Leticia Casta, for an Internet marketing campaign for the all new Twingo that just went on sale in Europe. In an effort to explore a new market, but maintain their original target of middle age women, visitors going to www.laffairetwingo.com (French only) will have the honour of helping Casta recover her stolen Twingo in a short internet film called "L'affaire Twingo".

People who complete the game can qualify to win a new Twingo. Since the French-language site launched its marketing campaign, they have received more than 700,000 visitors. The completely new Twingo will go on sale June 15th. Using the supermodel to sell products is a marketing strategy dating back to Cindy Crawford and Pepsi. It’s a fool proof tactic. A beautiful woman is sure to grab someone’s attention. However between you and me, a 150Hp+ Twingo RS would more than do the trick. -Check out all six episodes after the jump

Posted by Dani

Episode 1: Le diner

Episode 2: Soupcon

Episode 3: Doom's

Episode 4: Roman rose

Episode 5: Puppet master

Episode 6: : C.Q.F.D.

Via: Automotivenews Europe

Mini Clubman Teaser Commercials Hit The Web

MINI is attempting to climax promo its efforts for the 2008 Clubman by releasing a couple of abstract, teaser commercials that bring back horrific memories from our kindergarten days. Forget about the cuddly animals, it’s the song we’re talking about and especially the refrain “one of these things is not like the others”. We vow it can’t get worse than this; once the chime sticks in you head it’ll take days to go away. You’ve been warned... -One more video after the jump

Via: Jalopnik

Banned Again: Toyota Prius TV Ad Gets Axed For Exaggerating CO2 benefits!

Believe it or not but the British Adverting Standards Authority (ASA) has banned a second Toyota hybrid-car related ad in a month! This time it’s for a Prius TV ad that misleadingly claims it emits less CO2 than an equivalent diesel engine family car. About a month ago, ASA pulled the plug off a Lexus RX 400h magazine advert for falsely implicating that it caused little or no harm to the environment and had low CO2 emissions in comparison with all cars.

The Prius TV commercial, created by Saatchi & Saatchi Japan, claimed "what if all cars were like the Prius, with its hybrid synergy drive technology, it emits up to one tonne less CO2 per year" On-screen text stated "1 tonne of CO2 less than an equivalent family vehicle with a diesel engine. Average calculated on 20,000km a year. Toyota Prius: CO2 emissions: 104g/km".

The problem was that, according to ASA’s investigations, the chart used by Toyota to make the calculations held data on petrol and diesel cars as opposed to merely diesel. Moreover, while the average annual distance driven by private cars in the US was 20,000km, the average for the UK was 13,440km. -Click “Read More…” for ASA’s press release

Ad: A TV ad, for the Toyota Prius, claimed "what if all cars were like the Prius, with its hybrid synergy drive technology, it emits up to one tonne less CO2 per year" On-screen text stated "1 tonne of CO2 less than an equivalent family vehicle with a diesel engine. Average calculated on 20,000km a year. Toyota Prius: CO2 emissions: 104g/km".

Issue: The complainant challenged whether the claim "it emits up to one tonne less CO2 per year" misleadingly exaggerated the environmental benefits of the car.

Response: Toyota sent a chart that took an average of the emissions of new cars registered in 2005 and compared that with the emissions of the Prius. The chart showed that, on average, new cars registered in 2005 emitted 172g of CO2 / km, while the Prius emitted 104g / km. They said they had taken the difference of 68g/km and multiplied it by 20,000km, which they considered a reasonable average annual distance travelled by a car. That gave an emissions saving of 1.36 tonnes. The chart also gave emissions figures for individual cars with engines of between 1.2 and 2.2 litres. They said they had chosen 1.8 litres as a threshold of comparison because although the Prius had a 1.5 litre engine, they believed its output was comparable to a 2.0 litre engine. They sent a document that compared the output of the current Prius with the first generation Prius hybrid and the Toyota Allion, which had a 2.0 litre engine. They argued the chart showed that the Toyota Prius emitted one tonne less of CO2 than a range of cars with engines either side of their threshold of comparison and pointed out they had qualified the claim by stating "up to" 1 tonne less to make clear that the emissions saved would not always be as much as 1 tonne.

The Broadcast Advertising Clearance Centre (BACC) said they had checked Toyota's evidence with an independent consultant, who had advised it was suitable to show that the Toyota Prius emitted significantly less CO2 than other cars.

Assessment: Upheld

The ASA noted on-screen text stated that the claim compared the Prius with "an equivalent family vehicle with a diesel engine" and that it made clear calculations were based on an annual driving distance of 20,000km a year. However, we noted that the chart sent by Toyota held data on petrol and diesel cars and that, while the average annual distance driven by private cars in the US was 20,000km, the average for the UK was 13,440km.

We noted that the chart drew on UK government data and compared the Prius against a range of cars from different manufacturers, but the document that measured the output of the car was produced inhouse and only compared the Prius against the previous model and another Toyota car.

We did not consider that document suitable to establish that the output of the Prius was comparable to all 2.0 litre cars registered in 2005. We noted that none of the cars with 1.5 litre engines featured in the chart emitted 1 tonne more CO2 than the Prius and that less than half of those new cars that had engines of less than 1.8 litres emitted 1 tonne more CO2 than the Prius.

We noted that Toyota had qualified the claim by stating "up to one ton less CO2 per year" and that the Prius emitted significantly less CO2 than some other cars with greater engine capacity, but we did not consider their evidence demonstrated that it emitted 1 tonne less than equivalent vehicles with diesel engines or that it took into account the average annual distance driven by private cars in the UK.

The ad breached CAP (Broadcast) TV Advertising Standards Code rules 5.1 (Misleading advertising), 5.2.1 (Evidence), 5.2.2 (Implications), 5.2.6 (Environmental claims) and 5.4.6 (Comparative advertising).

Action: The ad should not be broadcast again in the same form.

Technorati: Toyota, Toyota+Prius, Lexus, Carscoop, blogs, automotive, vehicles

Buy One Get Two: Dunkin Donuts Split Car For Sale On Ebay

Dunkin Donuts has used this sawed in half 1980 Eagle to advertise their new SoBe Energy Coolata, and now, it’s being auctioned on E-bay! It was custom built by Premier Studio Rentals which is the leading supplier of vehicles for the motion picture and television industries. The car is completely cut in half and is perfectly contained. From the pics it looks as though no car parts were spared during the “division”. Is there even a saw blade big enough to cut through this thing so perfectly? The commercial should post a disclaimer too: “Warning: Dunkin Donuts is not responsible for your children’s behavior while consuming this beverage. All children under the age of 18 should have an adult or parent present.” -Check out the Video after the jump

Posted by Dani

Via: Autoblog.com

VW Golf "Night Driving": VW's Darkly Beautiful TV Spot

Without doubt, one of the best TV ads we’ve seen. Amazing how ad agency DBB London, managed to create a car advert that stimulated our “driving emotions” without actually showing much of the VW Golf. The dark city scenery is combined with Richard Burton's ominous radio delivery of Dylan Thomas’s play, “Under Milk Wood” which perfectly accentuates directors Noam Murro's breathtaking VW Golf spot. Just makes you want to stay awake till “all the people of the lulled and dumbfound town are sleeping” and take your car for a ride, doesn’t it… Via: Autoblog.com

"And all the people of the lulled and dumbfound town are sleeping now.

Hush, the babies are sleeping, the farmers, the fishers, the tradesmen and pensioners, cobbler, schoolteacher, postman and publican, the undertaker and the fancy woman, drunkard, dressmaker, preacher, policeman, the webfoot cocklewomen and the tidy wives.

Young girls lie bedded soft or glide in their dreams, with rings and trousseaux, bridesmaided by glow-worms down the aisles of the organplaying wood.... You can hear the dew falling, and the hushed town breathing.

Only your eyes are unclosed to see the black and folded town fast, and slow, asleep..."

"Under Milk Wood", 1954 by Dylan Thomas

Technorati: VW, VW+Golf, Ad, Carscoop, blogs, automotive, vehicles

1955 Chevrolet Motoramic TV Ads

Those where the days (for GM that is); Toyota was a horsefly on Harley Earl's humongous tail fins and Hyundai was nothing more than a weird Asian surname. It’s 1955 and Chevy introduces its revamped Bel-Air equipped with an all new "Turbo-Fire", 265 cubic inch V8, offered in three versions: 165Hp with a two-barrel carburettor, 185Hp with a four-barrel carburettor and 196Hp "power pack" version that had a high lift solid lifter cam, high compression heads, and dual exhaust. This nostalgic array of classic TV commercials showcase the 1955 Chevy models deemed as “the new motoramic Chevrolet”. Via: Motorpasion

Technorati: Chevrolet+Bel-Air, cars, Carscoop, blogs, automotive, vehicles

Special Effects Oscar: Best Car Rollover In TV Ad…

A local TV advert for a Sleep Center in Odessa Texas attempts to show us what happens when you mix driving with lack of sleep. In all its sloppiness and stupidity, this commercial really cracked us up. Watch the van rollover and get ready to rollover your chair from laughing!

Technorati: Carscoop, Accident, TV, Ad, Commercial, Video, Cars, Autos, Vehicles

Belgian Bus Company Suggests We Park Our Cars On Their Buses Or In A... Canal!

Either way, make your life easier and take a bus next time you visit the city. Or at least that’s what Belgian bus company De Lijn is saying in its playful campaign in an attempt to persuade people to use public transport instead of cars. De Lijn’s first campaign includes a bus with an MG parked on its rooftop suggesting that they’ll let people park their cars on one of their busses if they decide to use public transportation. The second advert has to do with a fake company called “Cardive” that takes on the task of parking your car in a canal. Apart from creating a fake site, De Lijn’s “Cardive” campaign has divers walking around in cities handing out free bus tickets and maps of the bus network. -Continued below

Via: Wikinews , Source: De Lijn

Lexus RX 400h Ad Banned For Misleading Low-Emissions Implications!

Our friendly British advertising watchdog has done it again by banning a Lexus magazine advert for the RX 400h on the grounds of false claims! For those of you with a hefty memory, the British Advertising Standards Agency (ASA) had banned Ford’s "Focus Zetec Climate" TV ad last year due to complaints from two viewers who said that it was misleading.

The magazine ad for the Lexus RX 400h was headlined "HIGH PERFORMANCE. LOW EMISSIONS. ZERO GUILT". Following the picture of the SUV, there was a text stating "RX 400h. The world's first high performance hybrid SUV ... category-leading low CO2 emissions. A combination without equal. Or compromise". In the small print, Lexus stated that the RX 400h’s carbon dioxide emissions figure was 192g/km CO2. -Continued: Click “Read More…” below

ASA received 10 complainants stating that Lexus’ advert was misleading as it falsely implied that the SUV caused little or no harm to the environment. Lexus argued that the CO2 emissions of the RX 400h were very low compared to those of core competitors within its category and that the prominence of the illustration of the vehicle in the ad clarified the type of car the headline claims referred to and also the class of vehicle to which they applied.

The British advertising watchdog wasn’t convinced. In their release, they scold Lexus not to imply in future that a car caused little or no harm to the environment and had low CO2 emissions in comparison with all cars if that was not the case. Ouch…

ASA PRESS RELEASE

Ad

A magazine ad, for a Lexus RX 400h car, was headlined "HIGH PERFORMANCE. LOW EMISSIONS. ZERO GUILT". Accompanying an illustration of the product, text stated "RX 400h. The world's first high performance hybrid SUV ... category-leading low CO2 emissions. A combination without equal. Or compromise". Text at the foot of the ad stated "... CO2 emissions 192g/km

Issue

Ten complainants believed the claims "LOW EMISSIONS" and "ZERO GUILT" misleadingly implied the car caused little or no harm to the environment and gave a misleading impression of the car's carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in comparison with other vehicles. They argued that the "192g/km" emissions figure was high when compared to the emissions of all cars.

Response

Lexus said they had sought approval from the CAP Copy Advice team before launching the ad and explained that, at 192g/km, the CO2 emissions of the RX 400h were very low compared to those of core competitors within its category. They submitted a chart, which compared the fuel emissions of the RX 400h with other vehicles they said were in the same class and showed that the emissions figure of 192g/km was the lowest of all those cars.

Lexus argued that the prominence of the illustration of the vehicle in the ad clarified the type of car the headline claims referred to and also the class of vehicle to which they applied. They believed readers of the ad would understand that the claims were made in relation to sports utility vehicles (SUV) only.

Assessment

Upheld

The ASA acknowledged that, based on the evidence submitted, the CO2 emissions rate for the RX 400h was low compared to other cars in its class. We considered, however, that the headline claim "HIGH PERFORMANCE. LOW EMISSIONS. ZERO GUILT" implied the vehicle's emission rate was low regardless of category and readers were likely to understand from it that the car caused little or no harm to the environment, which was not the case, and had low emissions in comparison with all cars, which was also not the case. We noted the body text, which stated " ... category-leading low CO2 emissions ...", clarified that the low emissions claim was made in the context of the cars category only, but considered that that was not prominent enough or linked to the headline claim. Because of that, and because the words "ZERO GUILT" implied the car was environmentally friendly, we concluded that the headline claim was likely to mislead.

The ad breached CAP Code clauses 7.1 (Truthfulness), 19.1 (Other comparisons) and 49.1 (Environmental claims)..

Action

We told Lexus not to imply in future that a car caused little or no harm to the environment and had low CO2 emissions in comparison with all cars if that was not the case.

2008 Ford Mondeo TV Spot Takes On Prestige Marks

Yes, you’re not mistaken; the car featured in the above screen-shot is a 2008 Audi A6. Wondering what the hell it’s doing in a Mondeo ad? Well, Ford wants to place the new 2008 Mondeo that just went on sale in Europe as an upscale model in the mid-size sedan market. So, what better way to do it than to include premium cars in your ad? -Continued below

The TV spot, that was filmed in 30 locations in and around London, shows a series of cars with balloons attached, floating skyward suggesting that the vehicles have been dispensed with by their owners once they have spotted the new Mondeo. The commercial will premiere on Sky Sports HD channel at half time in the UEFA Champions League Final between Milan and Liverpool in Athens, Greece on Wednesday 23rd May.

Technorati: Ford+Mondeo, Commercial, cars, Carscoop,

Audi A5 "Rhythm Of Lines" TV Ad

Not exactly the ‘Vorsprung durch Technik’ themed ad we were expecting from Audi. Dubbed "Rhythm of lines", the artistic and rather pansy for our taste, commercial begins with a swiveling line moving along the screen forming various shapes before joining a bunch of bright coloured swirling lines, "dancing" to the rhythms of classical music. In the end, the lines form the shape of Audi’s new A5 Coupe.

The new ad is the brainchild of advertising agency Bartle Bogle Hegarty (BBH) who won a $9.8m - €7.3m contract from Audi. Apart from the TV commercial, BBH’s campaign will also include press, outdoor and online (via a microsite) activity, all of which are expected to be unveiled this June.

Video: Skoda Creates A Whole Fabia Made From Sweets!

Skoda wants the new Fabia to be "one of your favourite things." To really prove to you how totally "sweet" this car is, Skoda gathered the country's finest chocolatiers, bakers and bricklayers to help create a life delicious size version of the Fabia with cake and candy. According to the Czech manufacture, "rivets were for raisins, metal for marzipan and spark plugs for sugar." The process was captured on a TV advertisement that aired in the UK on May 17, 2007. We wonder, will a concept like this make people buy the car, or just make everyone hungry?

Posted by Dani

Technorati: Skoda, Skoda+Fabia, TV, ad, Commercial, Video, automotive, vehicles, Carscoop, blogs, 2007

Audi A4 Commercial: The Luxury Car For People Who Can Park Themselves

Even if the Germans didn’t use a 2008 LS parked in front of the empty car space it wouldn’t take much brain power to conclude that Audi’s taking a hit on high-tech Lexus models. Witty in its own devilish way. We love it!

Technorati: Audi+A4, Video, Commercials, Ads, automobile, cars, automotive, vehicles, autos, Carscoop, blogs, 2007, images, pictures

World Health Organization’s Innovative Road Safety Campaign

On the occasion of the First United Nations Global Road Safety Week (23-29 April, 2007) ,the World Health Organization (WHO) launched a series five posters dubbed “Road Marks” promoting action on helmets, drink-driving, speeding, seat-belts, and visibility. According to WHO, more than 40% of all road traffic deaths occur among people aged 0–25 years. The posters invite young people in an innovative way to be part of the solution by wearing a helmet, never drinking and driving, never speeding, always wearing a seat-belt and trying be seen on the road. -See the rest of the posters after the jump

Technorati: Safety, Accidents, commercials, auto+news, car+news, automobile, cars, automotive, vehicles, Carscoop, blogs, 2007