Renault is using raving rabidds in a series of animated ad (France)

French auto maker, Renault, is using raving rabbids to promote its Grand scenic model on the internet. For information, raving rabid, these virtual video games characters created by Ubisoft, are very popular among internet users since they appeared in short funny documentaries.
Every events, rugby world cup, Euro 2008, or even the latest James bond movie; are an occasion for these special guests to laugh and make jokes. Thus Renault have used these silly characters in its latest TV commercial for the Grand scenic. The video is available on Renaut.fr



Through a series of 7 animated ad of approximately 10 sec, raving rabbids are talking about every vehicle’s components (habitation, technology, safety of the car…) in a humorous way.
This strategy very efficient when it comes to targeting families mostly during crisis, reminds of Twingo online campaign using Simpsons characters.

Pink My Ride: Barbie Gets a Beetle for Her Birthday

To celebrate Barbie's 50th birthday, her friends at Volkswagen parked a custom-made Beetle full-size Dream Car in the driveway of her real-life 3,500-square-foot Dream House in (where else?) Malibu, California.
The already-cute subcompact was Barbified with a motorized vanity in the trunk, a rearview mirror adorned with rhinestones and a Barbie "ponytail" silhouette embroidered on the Katzkin leather seats. Of course, if it's a Barbie Dream Car, it's gotta be pink -- and this thing looks like the undercooked chicken at a Ponderosa restaurant. VW whipped five shades of pink paint into a custom blend for the exterior and covered the engine with what appears to be Pepto-Bismol.
We may never know if Barbie likes her new ride, because girls who look like her don't talk to automotive bloggers. Helping Barbie celebrate were Heidi Klum - that's her in the pic above - Lauren Conrad and a kouple of Kardashians. Sadly for us, they don't talk to automotive bloggers either. The New Beetle is the latest in a long line of Barbie Dream Cars. Our favorites include the Barbie Jeep and the Barbie Corvette (which, as kids, we always wanted to steal from our sisters and paint bright red). It's only fitting that a middle-aged Barbie get a retro remake of a '60s classic. We're glad to see her reducing her carbon footprint driving a smaller car.
Laura Soave, VW's marketing general manager, says Barbie wanted a VW because both she and the Beetle have "made a remarkable impact on pop culture history." We're glad to see that even at 50, Barbie hasn't gained any modesty.

Infiniti Essence Concept Car: The Smell of Leather

We've caught a whiff of Infiniti's latest concept, the Essence, with this annoyingly restricted teaser photo. It's our first glimpse of a new concept car to celebrate the brand's 20th anniversary – and signals a potential move further upmarket, we hear. We'll see the car in full at the 2009 Geneva motor show on 3 March.
The Infiniti Essence show car has been produced in conjunction with fashion house Louis Vuitton, so expect plenty of catwalk cool details and accompanying leather luggage set. Sadly, we have absolutely nothing else to say about the Essence; this photo tells us next to nothing and no other information has been released by cagey Infiniti, which is banking on making a big splash at Geneva.

Land Rover - Live to tell stories, Brazil

With traditional advertising becoming less effective, advertisers and agencies are seeking new ways to capture the target's attention.
Entertainment marketing manage to engage the audience through entertainment and information. In Brazil, Land Rover recently launched a cross-platform partnership with Discovery Channel.

"Live to tell stories" is a serie of documentaries created by Wunderman where a team of adventurers visit remote places in Brazil in a Land Rover Defender.

In the second episode, Daniel Daiber (musician), Gabriel Ba (Quadrini) and Alexandre Schneider (Photographer) are in the Jalapão (TO) and visit the greatest beauties of the region, in a very realistic adventure.

Orange is launching an interactive advertising experiment with Citroën on its channel package: 100,000 household are taking part to it… (France)

The Orange operator recently experienced an interactive advertising campaign on its TV channel through the “Orange Sport Info” IP (TV channel package through the ADSL). Citroën seized the opportunity to promote its C5 model: throughout the advertising spot, a streamer called upon the audience to click on their TV remote to consult an interactive website displaying additional information on the car (pictures, videos on the C5, documentation, car trial enquiries, list of outlets…).
Over 100,000 households subscribed to the Orange TV have experienced this new form of ad. This operation began early November and ended December 14th 2008. This was a test by way of a step, as Orange would like to extend the service to all its Orange TV channels starting from the 1st semester 2009. By accumulating state control, TV channels, Internet website and operator, Orange strengthens each day its ecosystem by avoiding intermediaries to the maximum.

GM to nearly double Russian capacity on high expectations

General Motors believes Russia will become its biggest market in Europe next year.
GM will almost double its car producing capacity in the Russian market when it opens its new $300 million factory in St. Petersburg on Friday.
The plant will add 70,000 units of capacity to the 100,000 already available to GM at joint venture and partner facilities in the country.
It will initially build the Opel Antara and Chevrolet Captiva SUVs. The Chevrolet Cruze lower-medium car will follow at the end of 2009. It will also build the next generation Astra lower-medium car.
"We are fully committed to our Russia growth strategy," said Carl-Peter Forster, president of General Motors Europe, in a statement.
"Russia is poised to become Europe's No. 1 car market for GM as early as 2009. We are the leading non-Russian manufacturer. That's a position we aim to keep."
GM said its sales in Russia increased by 44 percent in the first nine months of 2008, outpacing industry growth of 23 percent and reaching a record total of 256,765 units.
GM's market share has reached a new high of 10.9 percent in Russia, the company said.
In the first nine months of the year, Chevrolet maintained its position as Russia's biggest selling non-domestic brand with sales up 33.5 percent to a total of 175,800 units.
In the same period, Opel was the fastest growing brand in the country with sales up 73 percent to more than 78,000 units.
The new plant, located in Shushary on the outskirts of St. Petersburg, will employ 1700 people.

Citroën gets into leather

Over the weekend, the brand unveiled a new collaboration with Hermès (which must have been pleased with its Bugatti Veyron). The four-door Citroën 2CV par Hermès might lack the Bugatti's raw sex appeal, but it's pretty impressive in its own right: Think leather everything (steering wheel, dashboard, the gear knob) complemented by gray-beige cotton canvas (used to upholster the seats). And sure, now might not seem like the best time to introduce a car collaboration with Hermès, but it's not like you could've afforded this thing when times were good anyway. (Or so we think: Price is TBA.)