Getting to the heartland of 4WD

By ALASTAIR SLOANE

Toyota realised it first, back when it used larrikin New Zealand author Barry Crump to plug its Hilux commercials.

Advertising for vehicles aimed at the rural market had to have a rural ingredient, a story, a yarn.

No use hiring a soap opera star with soft hands to tell a cocky in the King Country how tough the Hilux was.

Crump got the message across perfectly, drawing on a roll-your-own cigarette while scaring the bejasus out his his sidekick Scotty.

Toyota has sold thousands of Hilux models on the strength of his advertisements.

The industry still talks out the success of the Crump campaign. Hilux is still Crump, years after his death. Hilux is still the best-selling commercial. The "Bugger" campaign helped it stay at the top. Again it was centred on a farm, the country's heartland.

Compare the Crump and Bugger campaigns with the one Holden has used over the past couple of years for the commercial Rodeo.

Holden hired New Zealand race driver Greg Murphy to plug the vehicle. Murphy got into his race overalls and took shortcut around a racetrack in a diesel model.

There was a young woman with him. He said the Rodeo was "tough but." Aussies end sentences with "but." New Zealanders might say "eh."

Holden is understood to be shooting a new commercial for the new Rodeo, this time with a typical New Zealand rural theme.

Mazda is about to air a new campaign for its commercial Bounty using hunting and fishing host Geoff Thomas.

A Mazda spokesperson says the Thomas campaign has "worked well" for the carmaker.

"The new series will be filmed in New Zealand and overseas. Geoff will endorse the Bounty and Tribute."

Ford has stuck to a New Zealand theme for its Courier campaign, using a few blokes with high-pitched voices around a barbecue.

Nissan's campaign for the Navarra is aimed mostly at press. "We want to show the strengths of the Navarra," said marketing head Peter Merrie. "Things like its three tonnes of tow is a key selling point."



Caption1: WORKHORSES: The Mazda Bounty (left) and (below) the Nissan Navarra, the

most powerful diesel 4WD commercial ute.


Head1: Targeting rural market

Sidebar1:

Body1: From page 9.

The 3-litre Navarra is the most powerful commercial ute on the market. It has a braked towing capacity of 3000kg against 2.5 and 2.2 for most other rivals.

Its engine produces 110kW, against the best-selling Hilux's 85kW. Both vehicles develop 315Nm of torque.

Mitsubishi has borrowed the theme from the Crump campaign in television advertisements for its updated 94kW/294Nm Triton commercial. The ads were filmed in the King Country using mostly a mix of local people singing the late Jim Croce's hit Slim.

Mitsubishi paid much money to EMI Music for the rights.

"We listened to a lot of tunes but Slim was different,"says Mitsubishi marketing manager Ross Cameron.

"The advertisement needed a melody and the song fits really well."

Cameron said most 4WD diesel one tonne utes are sold to rural buyers. "Look at the sales figures. The bulk of them go to heartland New Zealand.

"Showing a vehicle going though its paces on a farm gives it credibility.

"Advertisements that don't position the vehicle as a credible choice won't be successful."

Cameron says response to the Triton commercial has been "phenomenal."

"We sold out of the first shipment of Tritons on the strength of it."