Created by Sil Ad Malaysia, the print and outdoor campaign highlights the futuristic look of the vehicles, in a bid to demonstrate Nissan's advanced thinking in technology and its ability to adapt and incorporate this thinking into a current model line-up that includes the Cefiro, the newly launched March model and the Sentra.
The brand's overall 'Shift — the future' tagline has been adapted for this campaign to read 'With Nissan, you'll live the future today'. The creative features two striking concept cars — the Nissan Zaroot SUV, which can drive on all types of terrain, and the Pivot, an eco-friendly electricity-powered bubble car. The cars are set against a stark white background to highlight their distinct design features. Sil Ad's creative director and managing director Sa'ad Hussein explained that the latest push is part of a corporate campaign which has been running for the past two years, to continually refresh consumer perception and support individual product ad work. "The creative offers bait to the imagination yet still retains a chunk of credibility as travelling to the moon and total freedom of movement are not simply bouts of science fiction but technologies that may be possible in the future," said Hussein. "Nissan is about shifting the possibilities and exceeding expectations of your driving experience." The English and Bahasa language ads build on a previous series, which was based on the concept of nostalgia and childhood, and are being run in major Malaysian print media including front-page placements.
Competition has escalated in the market, with the lowering of car import tariffs prompting international carmakers to step up their fight for market share. Honda launched a campaign in April for its eighth generation Honda Civic, which it wants to make as a top seller in the mid-range saloon category.
Hussein said that the ads aspire to increase brand loyalty and encourage consumers to switch to Nissan, which has been selling cars in Malaysia for 48 years, from competing brands such as Toyota, Honda, Kia and Hyundai, which have been expanding aggressively.
After its campaign at the end of last year, which used humour to push the latest Centra model, Nissan reported a 3.6 per cent year-on-year increase in sales in the first quarter of 2006.
