Chevrolet promotes small cars to young Canadians
By Adnews Staff
General Motors Canada has begun a new national campaign for the Chevrolet brand. The campaign, which will run nationally until the end of the year, promotes the brand’s line of small cars to young urban Canadians. The ads promote the Aveo, Cobalt, HHR and Optra. The creative uses a spokescharacter called Johnny who appears in situations made to resemble the after-school specials of the 1970s to 90s. The four 30-second television commercials each begin with an on-camera announcer who introduces a scene in which Johnny is sitting in a car while confronted by a moral decision. The four ads are called “Peer Pressure,” “Saying No,” “Bad Influences” and “Principles.” After making the decision, the character and the announcer give each other a thumbs-up sign. This image is also used elsewhere in the campaign. These other elements include a billboard and eight print ads that will run nationally in urban weeklies including Georgia Straight, Fast Forward, See, Eye Weekly, Now, The Coast, 24 Hours, Dose, Metro and Weekly Scoop. Transit advertising and washroom videoboards will also be used. Extended versions of the TV commercials will run in Famous Players cinemas nationally for 12 weeks beginning at the end of May. The ads direct viewers one of two websites, Johnny.ca or GoJacques.ca, which contain video of the characters from the television ads interacting with six small Chevrolet cars. The campaign was developed by MacLaren McCann. Media planning was handled by M2 Universal. “Canadians between the ages of 18 and 30 are an important audience for marketers and retailers alike, but are often a challenge to reach and influence,” said Richard Phillips, group account director at MacLaren McCann. “To counter the perception that Chevrolet is for older people and therefore not relevant to their lifestyle, our creative team sought to position Chevrolet as the choice that challenges conformity.”