Acura is promoting the 2015 TLX on Jerry Seinfield's webshow, "Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee."
With the launch of the new 2015 TLX, Acura new advertising campaign must pull double duty. Not is not only launching a new car, but also it needs restore the company’s reputation as a top-flight luxury carmaker.
Mike Accavitti, senior vice president and general manager, said the advertising blitz comes at a critical time for Acura’s passenger car line. Sales of Acura passenger cars dropped 55% in July and are down 34% for full year.
The campaign will debut Aug. 17, and Accavitti declined to say how much Acura will spend on the initiative “for competitive reasons,” but it will easily be the most expensive ad campaigns ever mounted by the Acura.
It will also be one of the most sophisticated, according to Ed Beadle, Acura senior marketing manager, who said it will incorporate lessons Acura learned last year when it launched the MDX.
It will be centered around broadcast and social media, but it will also incorporate multiple creative approaches with both hip-hop music and more even more traditional approaches that emphasize luxury, style and sophistication, he said.
Acura has already cut 13 different spots and the number is expected to increase as the maker looks for opportunities to put the vehicles in front of different groups of potential buyers.
Acura also has lined up comedian and car buff Jerry Seinfeld to help with the launch of TLX.
The TLX is featured in Seinfeld’s Internet series, “Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee.” The web-based show features Seinfeld and a guest driving in an older or classic car he believes fits the personality of that guest.
Acura is the sole sponsor of the show, which is filled with plenty of obvious product placements. As a part of that the comedian created and produced special commercials that run in the show that were TLX focused.
The commercials may run elsewhere beyond the Seinfeld show, Acura officials said.
In addition, Acura plans to use video shot along with the advertising spots on the Internet to show off TLX and its features.
Another element of the campaign allows interested consumers to download videos that explain key technology, such as the TLX’s “Super Handling- All Wheel Drive,” on their smart phones.
(For TDB’s first drive in the new TLX, Click Here.)
Explaining the Super Handling system is also part of the advertising campaign.
Acura officials are eager to explain the super-handling system because it’s a piece of unique technology. A typical all-wheel-drive system features a center differential that can direct power to the front or rear wheels, depending on where traction is needed and is effective for straight-line acceleration. When the steering wheel angle doesn’t match the actual direction of the vehicle, stability control can apply braking to individual wheels to turn the vehicle in the desired direction.
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Acura’s Super-Handling system adds torque vectoring, which means power can be applied to individual rear wheels. When cornering, the outer rear wheel can be accelerated up to 5% faster than the front wheels with 100% of the rear torque going to that wheel as in similar to 4-wheel steering and point the car in the right direction on dry or slippery surfaces.
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Accavitti also said the launch of TLX gives Acura chance to re-introduce its passenger cars to potential customers and to introduce the Acura
“We’re only going to get one shot at this,” Beadle noted. “We’re not only launching a new car, we’re also re-launching a brand. It’s much about the brand as the TLX.”