2011/11/09

Mercedes-Benz kicks off launch campaign for its new sports tourer: The new B-Class – the safest car around for young families

DAIMLER AG - Life for young families is full of surprises, so the new B-Class is the perfect companion – "For what's coming up". This is the campaign message with which Mercedes-Benz is launching its new premium sports tourer, which will be at dealerships from 19 November. The campaign will run until Christmas in print, online and on TV. It focuses on the numerous safety systems that make the compact premium sports tourer the safest car in its class – with a particular emphasis on COLLISION PREVENTION ASSIST. The new B-Class is the only vehicle in the compact car segment to feature this radar-based system, which helps to prevent rear-end collisions in all road and traffic conditions.

"The B-Class sets a new benchmark in its class for safety, spaciousness, comfort and efficiency, making it the ideal car for young families", commented Anders Sundt Jensen, Head of Brand Communications for Mercedes-Benz Cars. "And this is what led us to develop a campaign that is specifically tailored to the everyday lives and experiences of this target group."

"The most common accident in the B-Class: making a mess"

The commercial, 45-second and 30-second versions of which can be seen on TV between 7 November and 31 December, takes a tongue-in-cheek look at the significance of the COLLISION PREVENTION ASSIST system in terms of road safety 
( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PoVF4FexEI8 ). The driver of a B‑Class is distracted by a boy with a blindfold over his eyes, who is running about on the pavement while eating an ice cream. Because of this, the driver fails to see another child crossing the road in front of him. Fortunately, nothing escapes the eagle eye of the safety system. It signals the alert in plenty of time and intervenes to provide extra braking assistance. All ends well – except that the boy with the ice cream runs into a pillar.

A similarly humorous treatment is used to communicate COLLISION PREVENTION ASSIST in printed advertisements – also with the message: "The most common accident in the B-Class: making a mess". Altogether, between 26 October and 23 December, six different advertisements will appear, using a series of four motifs. As well as further safety features, these have as their themes the flexible space and frugal fuel consumption of the new B-Class. The vehicle itself is shown in polar silver metallic paintwork against a backdrop representative of an urban street scene. In addition, the campaign includes an interactive web special, which has already been online since 25 August wherein users become acquainted with the highlights of the new B‑Class. The online activities are accompanied by three pre-roll ads on numerous platforms.