Acura body structure ad would do more for Smart
Watching the PGA Memorial Tournament, I saw a beautiful ad for Acura to show off the safety of their ACE body structure. I apologize, but it is not on the web as I right this to share. In a setting that looked more like an art gallery than a safety lab, they pulled a stripped Acura MDX frame into what looked like a giant piece of stained hardwood. The details of this advertisement were brillianty used to promote the upscale nature of the brand, as does the context of the ad being played during a golf tournament. Using high speed camers (or maybe computer graphics) they showed how the frame absorbed energy in the front section, but was perfectly rigid in the cabin.
The interesting thing about this ad is that it would be much more effective for Mercedes Benz owned Smart. Don’t get me wrong, this will sell vehicles for Acura, but it would sell a lot of Smart cars. But if a similar ad was made for Smart to abolish the worry about a very small car being unsafe in a crash. The Smart ForTwo is designed to make the the occupant feel like they are surrounded by protective frame, but why they don’t use an ad campaign to dispel this notion. I was faced with this perception when I purchased my Mini Cooper; people would perpetually tell me that they would love to have a small car but they wouldn’t feel safe. Why not abolish this notion, Mercedes Benz?
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By Colin Finkle. Colin Finkle is an award winning industrial designer who works with large multinational brands everyday designing retail displays for FX Displays in Toronto, Canada. He is the principle designer at Firebrand Creative. He also writes for AMD’s FireUser.com blog.
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