WayneTN

Hey, I agree 100%. I've seen much better pics and ad's right here on the Forum. They should hire you guys. This car sells itself if they would only let it.

WayneTN

NISSAN ADVERTISING EXECUTIVES IF YOU ARE OUT THERE READ THIS


It was a great intro to see glimpses of the car--antisipation--(sorry if spelling is wrong) --but now they need to step up the campaign and show the car driving on the street and hugging turns so that the people waiting for the car can see that.

The ongoing joke my wife and I have is that they can't show the car in motion due to the trans problems and suspension noises.

Da Gimp

Actually I hope they stop showing ads altogether. The less Zs there are the better. I know they would sell enough without advertising to keep the product line alive. But I don't want to see Zs the same way I see mustangs.

rouxeny

On an interesting note, at the Bob Sharp show, the owner of the dealership questioned both Dimka and I about the effectiveness of the ads. Turns out he plays some part in the ad campaign. We both said that the ads aren't bad, but they're not doing their job. Nobody knows what the car is. We mentioned some points, specifically.... It'd be nice to have some commercials with the car in motion. Some heritage bits would be nice too. I thought something along the lines of showing a smiling owner of a 240Z, then one of a 280, then the 300's, then a 350 with the tagline something like "A legend returns." I also mentioned the interest in a GI Joe and Barbie version.

He mentioned that Nissan was trying to create a fresh start and that they weren't interested in utilizing the history that the Z has. I can't believe that, imagine if Porsche decided to "start over" with the 911. He also said that the current still images would eventually be available for purchase.

Hopefully, I'll manage to continue a correspondence with him, very friendly, very interested in the Z.

esk01998

Nissan is making the exact same mistake it did with Infiniti when it first debuted. They had all those commercials refering to Zen and all these abstract things and showed very little of the car.

Despite having a good car in the Q40, it never caught up to the LS400 in the Japanese luxury imports.

That video Z is "Lust then Love" (or something like that) would make an awesome commercial.

Well, I guess it's better if more people don't buy the Z. It just makes it more rare for those of us who have one/getting one.

z350z

The original Infiniti ad campaign was quite controversial because for the first while they never showed the car at all, just scenes of nature. It was such a striking departure (and turned out to be such a flop) that I remember Jay Leno making a joke that these ads didn't sell many cars, but "sales of rocks and trees are up 50%". I thought that was pretty funny at the time.

Moral of the story: artistic stylistic crap might win awards for the ad companies and provide creative fulfilment for the people who make them, but they don't sell as well as common-sense show-the-damn-cars ads! Maybe they served to intrigue people, but now it's time to show off the product.

nbdyfcnsqnc

I partially agree, but you have to keep in mind that the TV ads serve a different purpose that doesn't concern most of us here. The Z is not just a car; it's an advertizing campaign that Nissan expects to return them to profitability.

Such ads are supposed to initiate people who know little or nothing about Z's or any car, and further brands like "Nissan" and "Z" so they will feel better about buying Altimas and Pathfinders too. Only a small percentage of the cars Nissan sells is a Z, so they leverage it.

If the ads talked about engines and handling, they'd fall mostly on deaf ears. But if they say things like "buy a Z to join a family" or "fit in" and show quick teaser shots of the sexy curves, more people are driven to take action and eventually purchase a Nissan.

The dealerships really appreciate having a Z in their showrooms too, to the point where they increase the price to keep it there longer. Sure they make a couple thousand more on the Zs that way, but they make many times that by increasing the appeal of nearby cars and foot traffic. "Sit in this thing, [customer name]. It's $40k and in great demand, but it's got basically the same engine as that [car name] you're buying for half the price."

And that's the major reason the Z shares its engine with other cars. Some think it's about economies of scale. That too. But Nissan could throw in a better and unique 400 HP engine, charge $5-10k more, and most of us would still buy it, right? I would.