These Nissan Canada SUV Ads Are Just Brilliant.
“The audience can totally identify with the heroes in the ad. The reason Canadians buy AWD SUVs is to brave harsh driving conditions; they also take pride in helping fellow drivers who are stuck in them.”
AUTHORS NOTE: I have a bad habit of making fun of ads when I watch TV with my girlfriend. When I first saw the evil snowmen commercial with the Nissan Rogue, my girlfriend turned and said to me, “Wow! What do you think of that?”. To which I replied, “That is case study-worthy material right there.”
If you lived in Canada during winter 2014-2015, then you might have seen these Nissan ads:
Why are these ads so genius?
Here's why.Canadians want to be heroes. Especially in winter.
Canadians drivers are no strangers to extreme driving conditions. We are also known for braving them, but sometimes exaggerating their intensity, which these ads very tastefully depict. Notice how Nissan personifies the extreme driving conditions (snowstorms, pot holes, deep freezes, tree-blocked roads, mud), like villains in an action movie. And the hero? Not the Nissan SUV, but the driver. This is a subtle, yet symbolic difference and a very effective technique. You are a hero (or at least a “Winter Warrior’) when you drive a Nissan SUV.
When you really think about it, this good vs. evil dualism is rather profound. Unlike the typical Hollywood superhero movie, the hero in this case doesn’t have a real superpower to rely on. Rather, Nissan’s intuitive all-wheel-drive system inspires the driver with the confidence to overcome the worst conditions that notorious Canadian winters can throw at them.
“they buy vehicles that can seat up to 7 or 8 just in case they have to rescue people from havoc-wreaking snowmen, or collapsing bridges. Nissan totally hit the mark with this market segment.”
The target audience can totally identify with the heroes in the ad. The reason Canadians buy AWD SUVs is to brave harsh driving conditions; they also take pride in helping fellow drivers who are stuck in them. Although it is rare they need more than 5 seats, they buy vehicles that can seat up to 7 or 8 just in case they have to rescue people from havoc-wreaking snowmen, or collapsing bridges. Nissan totally hit the mark with this market segment.
Show, don't tell.
Did you notice how barely anything is said in the ads? The use of show, don’t tell is another brilliant marketing technique that Nissan uses in these commercials. It is much more engaging and effective to demonstrate product features, advantages, and benefits, than to simply state them. Take the mud scene, for instance. Rather than boringly stating that the Nissan Rogue has a better AWD system than the Honda CRV, why not show it? Better yet, why not show it in an action-packed sequence? Golden.
What do you think?
I could go on, but I think you get the point. These Nissan Canada ads are just brilliant. My guess is that they will win some advertising awards. I would be curious to see how this campaign has impacted their SUV sales. What do you think?
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Meet the author.
Taro Abarbanel-Uemura
Marketing Strategist
Meet Fortified Marketing's founder and lead marketing consultant. Taro loves reading fascinating articles on various marketing-related subjects, just as much as he enjoys writing about them. When he isn’t savouring a latte while working on his newest blog post, he can be found at a coffee shop in Ottawa's Little Italy, or marathoning shows and documentaries on Netflix.