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Jaime Gottlieb
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A south Florida native, Gottlieb is a Creative Writing graduate from Florida State University and was a freelance Arts and Entertainment feature writer before joining ADOTAS in 2004.

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Never Say Never: Mercury Follows the Lucky Ones with Lovely Campaign

Written on
March 28th 2006
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by Jaime Gottlieb  |
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It’s safe to say that the Lincoln Mercury brand never used to be so neatly tied with the younger generation. Models like the Mercury Marquis were more than likely to be found primarily in Florida condominium neighborhoods like Seinfeld’s parent’s Del Boca Vista. But ever since 2004, Ford decided that the Internet was where it’s at in terms of gathering a younger audience for its former retiree vehicle of choice. In doing so, the company jumped in wheels first creating the much buzzed about “Meet the Lucky Ones” campaign, proving it was onto something really big.

Now, in the wake of their past online video and viral successes, Ford hopes to spread the good word about two of its latest Mercury models with two new intertwining microsites–TheNeverything.com and LovelyBySurprise.com—that feature the services of Young & Rubicam and Wunderman Detroit. As Mercury’s Brand Manager Kim Irwin explains, “We developed the idea to use Web-based entertainment for the launch of the Lincoln Zephyr and Mercury Milan sedans based on past success we have had with this medium for launching a vehicle.” She adds, “Specifically, as part of the launch of the Mercury Mariner in 2004, Mercury sponsored is first online film, ‘Meet the Lucky Ones.’ That project was very successful from a number of aspects, including driving approximately 500 sales of the vehicle and getting consumers to spend 4 times more time on our Web site learning about the Mercury Mariner.”

And the company is certainly tuned in to its younger demographic. As Irwin offers, “The Mercury Milan target audience (25 - 35) is a young, savvy individualist who is curious about life and looking to discover.” She continues, “The Lincoln Zephyr target audience (35 - 45) is a self-made optimist seeking to reach higher in life and reward themselves for their success. Both targets are relatively new to the Mercury and Lincoln brands and we wanted a fresh way to break through to these audiences, which is why we have sponsored LovelyBySurprise.com and TheNeverything.com.”

The two new web series written and directed by Kirt Gunn—which for “The Neverything” follows two shipwrecked hermits, Mopekey and Humkin who wear only underpants and who eat only Frosted Sugar Balls cereal, and “Lovely By Surprise” which follows a struggling novelist who is all the while writing those two aforementioned characters and their adventures—intertwine to create one larger indie film. “The Web series are vignettes that were pulled from a full-length independent feature film, which will be submitted to film festivals this fall,” Irwin explains. Though for those interested in how much or how little the brand presence will be involved in the full-length film, according to her that decision is “still being worked out.”

For those of you who like a little anticipation, Irwin tells us the film bits are rolling out slowly to keep you coming back for more. “The Web series launched on March 13 and will run for five weeks,” she explains. “Each Monday, a new set of episodes for each film will be available on the Web sites.” And natch, visitors can share these bits virally via a send-to-a-friend tool.

As for their decision to go back to their Lucky Ones roots, it’s no surprise the initial successes had something to do with it. The company, while staying faithful to its loyal mature consumer demographic, certainly now understands how to reach a broader audience. “Our Mercury and Lincoln target audiences are big users of the Web and go there for entertainment, shopping, socializing, etc. We are using the Web to entertain our target consumers and ultimately engage them into learning more about our brands and vehicles,” Irwin concludes. “We believe it is very impactful to engage consumers and put them in control of how they learn about our products. By doing so, we are building relationship with consumers and through this relationship, hoping to break through all of the advertising clutter in the marketplace.”

Grab some popcorn and tune in: TheNeverything, LovelybySurprise.



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