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FOR RELEASE: March 21, 2003 CONTACT(S):
Advertising For New 2004 Pontiac Grand Prix To Debut During NCAA Final Four
DETROIT - Pontiac will begin airing television advertising for the new 2004 Grand Prix during the "Final Four" of the NCAA men's basketball tournament on April 5. The commercials are part of an integrated print, television and web advertising campaign that evolves the "Fuel for the Soul" theme that began in September. The new ads use a simple, yet powerful, approach to express the performance benefits of the 2004 Grand Prix and the emotional connection between "driver and machine." "Our competition is tough, and so our advertising and products must keep rising to meet the challenges," said Mark-Hans Richer, Pontiac advertising director. "We're taking our 'Fuel for the Soul' advertising to the next level with the launch of the new Grand Prix." Richer says the goal is to show people who either are not familiar with Pontiac, or who had never before considered buying a Pontiac, that the new generation of Pontiacs are formidable and stylish machines with outstanding power and performance. Bob Kraut, marketing director for the Grand Prix, feels the advertising mirrors the car itself. "The 2004 model was designed to attract a more discriminating buyer; we have raised the bar across all levels for midsize performance cars," said Kraut. "Our launch advertising reflects this new direction with style, simplicity and drama. The campaign was developed by Pontiac's long-time agency chemistri (formerly D'Arcy) in Troy, Mich. A human element has been added to these ads. They feature people and story lines with some wry humor, where the introductory "Fuel" ads focused purely on demonstrating the performance nature of Pontiac vehicles. "They show people 'getting their souls fueled' while driving the new Grand Prix," said Gary Topolewski, executive creative officer for chemistri. "Our mission since the beginning has been to create 'mini movies' rather than TV commercials," said Topolewski. In fact, one 60-second spot, "Charades" will air in movie theaters across the country this summer. The director, Jeffrey Plansker, made innovative use of cameras and created an intense, sophisticated look that lives up to the new car. Custom-designed music was chosen to complement the drama of the spots. "Since we created a movie-look, we thought it fitting to put the ads to 'movie-score' music," Topolewski said. The music helps intensify the viewer's emotional response to the driving action. Four different 30-second commercials debut in April. They are titled "Charades," "All Thumbs," "Guy/Girl" and "Hiccups." The "Charades" and "Guy/Girl" spots have both 60- and 30-second versions. All of the spots convey that the fundamental feeling one gets from a Pontiac is "Fuel for the Soul." In "Charades" three men play a game where one is mysteriously blindfolded and rides in the back seat of a Grand Prix while the driver rushes through a dark, foreboding environment. The blindfolded man is trying to guess what movie chase scene the driving feels like. He guesses, only to be told by the driver "Wrong. French Connection." A man and his sons are taking the Grand Prix for a spin in "All Thumbs." The boys are feverishly using their thumbs to play their hand-held computer games; their father uses his thumbs similarly to shift the TAPshift paddles. With his driving prowess, the father gives his kids a lesson in the thrill of driving and at the end, the car stops and the father simply declares, "I win." In "Hiccups" two men are taking a Grand Prix through twisting turns and near sudden drop-offs on a mountain road. They hope the rousing performance will rid the passenger of his hiccups. Finally, the driver asks him "Hiccups gone?" The setting is a bright, open and uninhabited desert in "Guy/Girl." A woman is taking an exhilarating drive in the Grand Prix; pushing the car in turning maneuvers and kicking up a spiral of dust in her wake. At the end, as she exits the car she extends her walking stick; the viewer realizes she is blind as the words "Fuel for the Soul" appear, emphasizing that everyone can feel the spirit of great driving. "The commercials are meant to do what the car will do - surprise people," said Richer. "The Grand Prix is a radically upgraded performance machine, and it appears more expensive than the viewer might expect from a Pontiac, although it is not." He says "we believe they'll be equally surprised if they test-drive the car themselves, and hopefully the ads will inspire them to do just that." Print ads will deepen the Grand Prix product story and appear in April in national magazines, including Entertainment Weekly, Sports Illustrated, People, Time, ESPN and Rolling Stone. The three print ads maintain the established "Fuel for the Soul" look -- with one car in each ad against a stylized, monochromatic backdrop. Minimal text, only a brief headline and a few key points accompany the photograph. The 2004 Grand Prix began arriving in dealerships this month. More information on the car can be found at media.gm.com. Pontiac is a division of General Motors Corporation. The division markets the Vibe, Sunfire, Grand Am, Grand Prix, Aztek, Montana and Bonneville - and will bring back the legendary GTO later this year. General Motors (NYSE: GM), the world's largest vehicle manufacturer, designs, builds and markets cars and trucks worldwide, and has been the global automotive sales leader since 1931. More information on GM can be found at www.gm.com. Editors Note: Screen grabs from the television commercials, print ads and photographs of Mark-Hans Richer and Gary Topolewski are available at media.gm.com.
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