I need some feedback on this print ad in the latest Road and Track.
It is for a class assignment and I would like to do some field research.

Can you comment on:

what you liked about the ad.
if it caught your attention
is it creative?

What would you do to make it better?

Thanks.



I know, it isn't an S2000 ad but there wasn't one in this month's issue.

 

Danny,

I like it! Clearly it gets the point through. Here's what caught my attention initially:

Choice of words. Selling a car means appealing to people's senses and emotions, not logic. (why else would someone buy a $150,000+ car?) That said, key words like "instantaneous acceleration", "fluid all-wheel drive" and "unrelenting" stick right out of the page, and convey the message to me that I have to have this car. It will make me feel good.

Also, perhaps your scan is decieving, and I haven't seen the ad myself, but it looks as though it was printed in black and white. If so, I think this choice of technique is a suitable one, in that it portrays an overall feeling of sombre. Clearly, this owner has gone on holidays, leaving his coveted 911 at some airport parkade, and now will be stuck with some econo-box rental for the duration of his trip. Very sad; and the colour scheme, in my opinion at least, speaks to this overtone.

What would I change? Well, I'm no marketing guru, but for the benefit of the lay-person, I fail to see, anywhere on that ad, a Porsche logo. Some people are very visual, and as we all know, brand recognition is key. You and I would know it's a Porsche when we see the ad, but what about the recently made millionaire, looking to spend his loot on a hot sportscar, but knows nothing of the market? I would suggest that highlighting the word "Porsche" in some place other than the body of the text, or at least placing a discreet logo somewhere in the ad might not be so unreasonable.

Just my initial observations. Sounds like a great project. Have fun!

Asif

 

Thanks Asif,

Great feedback.

The Porsche logo is actually on the bottom right of the page that got cropped off, but that is a good point to remind people of the brand.
I agree with what you said. and I might change it a bit to include somewhere that "not everyone can come home to a Porsche" and go on to describe the feeling.


Anyone else?

 

Only car guys would notice this but see how he/she parked it on level 7 of the parkade...far away from everyone else so the owner wouldn't get any door dings etc. And the menacing luggage/shopping cart not too far away that we all fear when we park in large mall lots.

 

good comment Harvey. I noticed the luggage cart as well but not the level. Images of shopping carts came to mind.

Also, if there were skid marks leading up to the parking stall, it might further suggest the spirited nature of car and driver.

 

I like how it targets the business man or the type of person that would buy a porsche C4S, (executive/ceo that has to fly out for a business trip) and leave it at the airport, go drive some crap rental then come home and be like "Damn I'm balla enough to own a wicked ass car, all rentals suck compared to my Porsche" That's really the message that comes across to me.

The phrase "No Substitute" totally sells me if I had the $$$$$$ to buy one of these as well. To me it means once I buy it, there's basically nothing that would compare to it on an overall level and it's basically what I want to strive to buy. Porsche hires a very smart marketing team for sure.

Lastly the Silver car stands out when the rest of the background is very mono coloured as they call it, grayscale background makes the Porsche pop for sure. Level 7 and the Car stand out right away. So the message is clear. The rear of a 911 is 100% distinguishable to almost everyone, even people who aren't car nuts. I assume they use the rear end because honestly to people the rear of a Porsche for them stands out more than a front to the everyday man.

I miss marketing classes, I wish I was still in school

 

I recall when first seeing the ad that it didn't ring true for me for a couple of reasons...back when I had a 911, the LAST thing I would ever do was leave it at the airport when I was on a biz trip. Hell, I wouldn't even leave the S2k at the airport out of concern some bonehead would slam his minivan door into the side of it rushing to catch a plane. And call me crazy, but I like trying out different rental cars...I'd never buy a Mustang GT or a Magnum, but it's interesting to try them out for a few days if only to reinforce how truly bad the American manufacturers are at building cars (although Toyotas and Kias and even Volvos are fairly common at some rental car counters these days). So whoever that particular ad was targeting, it sure wasn't me.

Porsche has some clever ad guys working for them, but the creative that focuses on Porsche as an "elite" brand really rubs me the wrong way. Although this ad talks in general terms about performance, it's pretty fluffy...in my experience all cars accelerate pretty much instantaneously when the throttle is opened (the question is, at what rate does it build speed), pretty much everyone's AWD is "fluid", and telling me how many Gs it pulls would be more revealing and truthful than saying its roadholding capability is "relentless" (at some point it does relent, just like every other car, and loses traction). Given that the audience is R&T readers, getting a bit more specific (read technical) in the ad copy wouldn't be inappropriate. This kind of ad seems better suited to a non-automotive men's magazine, such as GQ, or Men's Health, or a general interest financial or news magaine.

Following through on the airport garage theme, I think the ad would have been better if the 911 was parked way off in a corner but at a slight angle in the stall hinting that it was parked quickly...a layer of dust on the back window indicates the car has been there a couple of weeks, with the words DRIVE ME written in the dust the way dirty cars often have WASH ME. The rest of the copy could read: With 355hp on tap, getting to the airport might be the most memorable part of the trip.

FWIW, the best Porsche ad I've ever seen is a 30-second spot where a young kid sitting in his classroom sees a new 997 coming down the street through the window...after school he rides his bike to the Porsche dealership, and the sales guy lets him get behind the wheel in the showroom...there's the usual unmemorable voiceover, but at the end of the ad, the kid asks for the salesman's business card and says "Thanks...see you in about 20 years."

 

I missed the message of the ad completely and only scanned it. My impression is that it has something to do with travel, car rental and a 911. An ad for 911 rentals at the airport? I would have passed it over without notice had I not been asked to look at it. I hope that's not to harsh, just my honest feedback if it had passed my desk at work or something.