---

Saab Announces New Brand Campaign

21 August 1997

Saab Announces New Brand Campaign

    NORCROSS, Ga., Aug. 21 -- Saab owners have understood the
beauty of Saab's intelligent engineering for five decades.  Now Saab wants to
let everyone else in on their secret.  The messenger is Saab's new brand
campaign, scheduled to debut nationally with outdoor, print and broadcast
spots in early September.  The message?  "It's very simple," said John Orth,
vp, sales and marketing, Saab Cars USA, Inc.  "We are going to start telling
consumers exactly why half a century of unconventional thinking has resulted
in better cars."
    Developed by Saab's advertising agency partner, Richmond, Virginia-based
The Martin Agency, the Saab campaign takes the "unconventional" theme
established by the previous "Find Your Own Road" campaign to its next level.
Instead of focusing on the type of individual who chooses a Saab, the new
campaign aggressively shifts the focus from driver to car, focusing on key
product features and the heritage behind them.  And, it does so with gloves
off.
    "The campaign is definitely designed to have a provocative, aggressive
tone -- but never without a hint of wit and charm," explained Kerry Feuerman,
executive vp and creative group director, The Martin Agency.  "Every ad
reminds the consumer about the two Saab features most on people's mind when
they buy a car: safety and performance.  There is also a clear element of
entertainment, but never at the expense of the car's substance."
    An example of the campaign's tongue-in-cheek tonality is evident in one of
the first national print ads to debut.  Paying homage to Saab's decades of
real-world safety testing and the company's long tradition of voluntary crash
testing, the ad's headline reads:  "If there were elephants in Sweden, we'd
have a safety test for that, too."  A photo inset on the top-right of the ad
page includes a photo of a moose -- alluding to the company's industry-unique
moose collision test.  The moose test, which is just one of the 21 crash tests
Saab performs during development of a car, involves a head-on crash with a
700 lb. steel cable moose dummy.  Because there are nearly 34,000 wildlife
accidents in Sweden every year, the ability to withstand the incredible force
of such an impact is built into every Saab.
    Feuerman emphasizes that the advertising work is designed to evoke some of
the strong emotions you feel when driving a Saab.  "Powerful photography is a
key element -- every Saab is photographed or filmed in motion, and each image
communicates mystery, styling and performance."
    Like the print executions, the first television spot to debut is a study
in motion and mystery -- with a sophisticated sense of humor.  It spotlights
the pure performance prowess and fun-to-drive quotient of the Saab 900
Convertible.  A couple, soaking up the brilliant sunshine while enjoying a
sequence of winding mountain roads in their Saab 900 Convertible, isn't
deterred by the encroaching, ominous shadows -- cast by the setting sun.  As
the shadows threaten to overtake the car, the Saab driver simply downshifts,
and courtesy of turbocharged performance, jets out of nightfall in pursuit of
the sun.  The voice-over simply states: "The convertible top lets you enjoy
the sun.  The turbocharged engine lets you enjoy it longer."
    Later work, according to Feuerman, will also begin integrating a nod of
appreciation to a part of Saab history that influenced Saab's early design and
engineering philosophy -- its roots as an aircraft manufacturer.
    In addition to supporting the current Saab 900 and 9000 product line, and
the launch of the company's all-new Saab 9-5 luxury sedan in the spring of
1998, the new brand campaign is designed to position Saab for what will be its
most product-intensive period in its 50-year history.  "The Saab 9-5 is really
a new beginning for Saab," affirmed John Orth.  "After its spring 1998 launch,
we'll continue with several aggressive new product introductions right through
the turn of the century.  It's therefore especially important to us that
consumers fully understand the scope of the Saab brand offer, and why our cars
are a better alternative to the competition -- instead of simply being a niche
brand."
    And that, Orth said, is why the new campaign is single-minded about the
synthesis of performance and safety in every Saab, and the heritage of
unconventional thinking behind it.  "Let's face it," said Orth, "there are
many safe cars on the market.  There are equally as many performance cars on
the market.  But there is absolutely no reason why a customer would have to
sacrifice one attribute for the other.  Saab is the one choice that gives you
the best of both -- all from a company that has a compelling story to tell."

SOURCE  Saab Cars USA