Advertising

DEARBORN, Mich., June 24, 2008– Taking a significant leap from the traditional 30- and 60-second broadcast advertising model, luxury automaker Lincoln is delivering a first this week with the national television launch of a three-minute movie featuring the all-new 2009 Lincoln MKS.

2009 Lincoln MKS

Highlights:
* New ad campaign presents the all-new 2009 Lincoln MKS and is an industry-first, featuring a three-minute movie commercial scheduled to debut during the Black Entertainment Television Awards pre-show today.
* Partner 30- and 15-second spots will air on select television stations beginning today.

“Not a spot … but a film”

Turin, June 13, 2008 -- For the launch of the model that will mark its return to the most important European car segment, Lancia chose to interpret the positioning of the Lancia Delta by combining the personality of Richard Gere and a story that is particularly close to his lifestyle and the values he upholds within one advertising spot.

Lancia Delta Launch Ad

This is not a product story but a political poem about peace. The advert does not promote technical values but human values. The day of brochure adverts is over and Lancia has been conversant in the new language for some time.

June 11, 2008, Cypress, Calif. -- Mitsubishi Motors North America (MMNA) today announced Traffic to be its new advertising agency of record. The announcement comes after a comprehensive agency review involving numerous top advertising agencies.

"The creativity of all the finalists was remarkable," said Dan Kuhnert, executive vice president of sales and marketing. "They all demonstrated insight into the Mitsubishi brand, and had great ideas. However Traffic presents a keen understanding of how to leverage the strengths of our brand and the 'importance of now' which is extremely relevant in today's auto industry."

Seven-time Grammy winning artist Alanis Morissette has partnered with Mercedes-Benz and its “Mixed Tape” online music magazine for “Underneath,” the first video/single from her highly anticipated new album Flavors of Entanglement (Maverick/Reprise Records). Alanis, a strong supporter of environmental causes and organizations, chose the fuel-efficient Mercedes-Benz E320 BlueTEC for the music clip.

Alanis Morissette Partners With Mercedes-Benz And “Mixed Tape” For New “Underneath” Video

The new 2009 Ford Flex's unique, multi-faceted marketing campaign launches this weekend

DEARBORN, Mich., June 6, 2008 - The new 2009 Ford Flex's unique, multi-faceted marketing campaign launches this weekend, with multi-media outreach that reflects the distinctive personality of Ford's newest crossover vehicle.

2009 Ford Flex

Highlights:
* The new 2009 Ford Flex marketing campaign launches this weekend with creative executions as unique as the vehicle itself.
* Ford teamed up with award-winning director Mark Romanek and up-and-coming musical artist Santogold to create television ads that celebrate Flex's individuality.

May 30, 2008 -- “4x4 outside, Renault inside”, the baseline for both ad campaigns, underlines the vehicle’s genuine off-road qualities while enhancing the customer purchase, be it rational (choosing Renault for its ingeniousness and renowned minivan expertise) or emotional (choosing the brand for the values it represents: friendliness and open-mindedness).

2008 Renault Koleos

Highlights:
- With Koleos, Renault is expressing its uniqueness and providing a fresh take on a vehicle segment that is new to the brand.
- Two international ad campaigns targeting different customers have been created to promote Renault’s first 4x4 crossover.

BRENTWOOD, Essex, May 20, 2008 – The TV commercial for Ford's new crossover vehicle, the 2008 Ford Kuga, will be aired for the first time on 21 May to one of the largest TV audiences of the year. Estimated to attract around 15 million viewers, the UEFA Champions League final between Chelsea and Manchester United on Wednesday, 21 May is the chosen spot. The new commercial will be shown at 20.32 on ITV and SKY Sports following the half-time whistle.

New Ford Kuga Screen Grab from UK TV Commercial.

Called "Blank Canvas," the Ford Kuga commercial is the latest in a series of memorable campaigns produced by Ford's ad agency, Ogilvy. The theme is about design and why things look the way they do.

Flower Road. Too many flowers can be a bad thing

May 7, 2008 -- The 4.2 class of Saint Aubin en Bray’s College Les Fontainettes in northern France has won the 2008 “Express Yourself!” competition following an exciting final including seven middle school classes from all over France. In all, more than 34,000 students learnt about road safety in France this year.

Exciting final
At Atelier Renault on the Champs-Elysées on May 7, 2008, the seven finalist classes in the “Express Yourself!” competition presented their projects with brio to a jury of communication professionals from the fields of road safety and advertising.

After deliberation, the jury awarded this year’s prize to the 4.2 class of Saint Aubin en Bray’s College Les Fontainettes.

BMW of North America Banking on Dynamic Hologram of World's First Sports Activity Coupe to Reach Target Consumers in Financial Community

Woodcliff Lake, NJ, April 29, 2008 -- BMW of North America and its advertising agency GSD&M Idea City are rolling out a 3-D virtual vehicle tour to herald the arrival of the first-ever BMW X6. Going direct to target consumers with a hologram of the vehicle, the world's first sports activity coupe will be featured in prominent buildings in New York City's financial district over a four-week period.

DEARBORN, Mich., April 28, 2008 – Before she was approached to participate in Ford’s “Town-to-Town, Friend-to-Friend” campaign, Christine Wall thought the only thing the company made was trucks. She had never even heard of the Ford Edge.

2008 Ford Edge

Highlights:
* Ford approached competitive vehicle owners in Marietta, Ga., and Windsor, Calif., earlier this year, asking them to drive a Ford for a week and then pass it on to a friend to try.
* Windsor campaign participant Christine Wall was so smitten with her test-drive in the Ford Edge that she sold her fairly new Civic to buy an Edge of her own.

Turin 15 April 2008 -- This slogan launched an original advertising campaign for Fiat Automobiles which underlines the way every Fiat car encapsulates all the values that have contributed to the unanimously-acclaimed success of the new Fiat 500.

The campaign was created by the Turin office of Leo Burnett Italia Group and is intended for international consumption as evidenced by the plans for a Europe-wide TV, press and radio campaign. In particular, a TV commercial with an epic flavour, filmed on a Moroccan salt lake on the border with Algeria has now been airing for a few days. The film is directed by Alexander Paul and opens with some Fiat models on a sensational drive through a sun-baked desert. The soundtrack to the action is the timeless melody "Everybody needs Somebody".

Ford Employees Are ‘Drive One’ Stars As Ford Touts Its Lead In Quality, Safety, ‘Green’ And Smart Technologies

DEARBORN, Mich., April 7, 2008 – Ford employees will be the stars this week on American Idol, as the company introduces a new and far-reaching marketing initiative called “Drive One” to underscore to consumers its leadership in quality, safety, “green” and smart technologies.

Highlights:
* Ford introducing comprehensive new marketing platform called “Drive One”
* Effort showcases Ford’s leadership in quality, safety, “green” and smart technologies
* Ford employees to star in TV and web advertising, which begins Tuesday during American Idol

April 2008 -- Fernando Alonso is back at Renault, once again racing for Renault F1 Team. With its "We all feel something special when we buy a new car” baseline, the new international ad campaign has a mischievous, easy-going feel, underlined by the use of the song “Cheek to Cheek”, by Fred Astaire for the TV commercial. In the ad, Fernando Alonso is getting ready to leave his hotel but is waylaid by a series of chance encounters. Throughout them all, he retains the attitude of a true gentleman and the winning smile of a man who has it all. He finally leaves the hotel in his Renault Mégane F1 Team, looking happy and satisfied.

Highlights:
• Renault is celebrating the return of Fernando Alonso and the success of Renault
Mégane with an international advertising campaign

FOUNTAIN VALLEY, Calif., 03/31/2008 -- Hyundai Motor America (HMA) earned the highest ranking for consumer recall with its “Big Duh” year-end sales event advertising spots according to IAG Research, the TV ad effectiveness and program engagement company. IAG ranked auto commercials that viewers remembered most and liked best from November 1, 2007, to January 26, 2008.

“Recall is one of the most important indicators of a campaign’s effectiveness,” said Joel Ewanick, vice president of Marketing for Hyundai Motor America. “This campaign is friendly, approachable and pokes fun at traditional car sales event advertising, which are all characteristics that contributed to its success.”

NEW YORK, 03/24/2008 -- Hyundai Motor America (HMA) earns accolades from IAG Research for the “Most Effective New Nameplate Launch Campaign” for a Hyundai Veracruz ad that compares the exciting SUV with the Lexus RX 350. IAG Research, the TV ad effectiveness and program engagement company, presented the Second Annual IAG Automotive Advertising Awards recently at the 2008 New York International Auto Show (NYIAS).

FOUNTAIN VALLEY, Calif., 02/18/2008 -- Hyundai’s Super Bowl advertisements did the best job of boosting brand opinion according to two leading marketing research firms. The Nielsen Online MegaPanel Survey, post-game study showed that 43 percent of respondents had improved their opinion of the Hyundai brand – the highest of any automotive advertiser. In addition, in comScore’s 2008 Super Bowl post-game survey, Hyundai garnered a 45 percent increase in net brand improvement, the highest figure of any Super Bowl advertiser.

February 4, 2008 -- 20th Century Fox L&M, Renault and Publicis signed an agreement on September 19, 2007 on using the characters from “The Simpsons” to promote New Renault Kangoo. This is the first time Renault has worked with Fox L&M, one of the leading licensing and merchandising companies globally.

2008 Renault Kangoo with The Simpsons

Highlights:
• An original partnership imagined by Publicis Conseil: 20th Century Fox L&M and Renault
• An original ad campaign: the Simpsons leave the world of the series to explore the real world
• New 2008 Renault Kangoo, the ultimate family car, can take anything – even the ultimate family - the Simpsons

IRVINE, Calif., February 4, 2008 –– Kelley Blue Book (kbb.com), the leading provider of new and used vehicle information will be the first of the major third-party automotive Web sites to offer video advertising opportunities to dealers on its Web site kbb.com, which reaches more than 13 million unique visitors each month. For the first time, dealers can participate in a targeted video advertising program on one of the top new-vehicle shopping destinations specifically targeting in-market car-buyers in their metro area.

2/1/2008, New York/Leipzig -- In this year’s International Film & Video Awards of the New York Festivals, Porsche Leipzig GmbH’s image film “World of Emotions” was awarded the Gold Medal in the category of industrial productions. The advertising agency Klaus E. Küster (KEK), Frankfurt, Germany, which created the screenplay and the film concept, won out against competition from several hundred international agencies. RedOrange Filmproduktion GmbH, Stuttgart, performed the shooting.

Luxury Automotive Leader to Present the Alicia Keys "As I Am" Tour

January 31, 2008 - Phoenix, AZ - Lexus has partnered with Grammy award-winning, multi-platinum recording artist Alicia Keys, bringing together the passionate artistry of Keys with Lexus' pursuit of perfection. The luxury automaker will support the 32-city, U.S. Lexus Presents the Alicia Keys "As I Am" Tour, kicking off in Hampton, VA on April 18th and concluding at the legendary Madison Square Garden in New York City on June 18th.