Marketing

In Acura’s new campaign, the cars it is trying to sell are nearly secondary to the anime characters it has created — almost. In its attempt to connect with younger generations, the brand has created an anime series-based ad campaign that focuses on the story of Japanese-American girl Chiaki, who is learning how to race

WASHINGTON — Two U.S. House lawmakers who head key subcommittees on oversight and trade criticized Tesla’s recent expansion in Xinjiang, China. “Your misguided expansion into the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region sets a poor example and further empowers the (Chinese government),” said Democrats Bill Pascrell and Earl Blumenauer in a joint letter to Tesla CEO Elon

BMW will advertise in the Super Bowl for the first time in seven years. A U.S. spokesman for the German luxury auto brand confirmed the ad buy but did not share details. BMW last appeared in the game in 2015 with an ad starring Katie Couric and Bryant Gumbel. It flashed back to 1994 when

ATLANTA — Porsche Cars North America has elevated two women to key leadership roles. Ayesha Coker has been named vice president of marketing, the sports car maker said. Coker, 45, succeeds Pedro Mota, who, according to a dealer source, has left to join a Silicon Valley venture capital firm. Previously, Coker led experiential brand marketing,

Laurel Cutler, a trailblazing advertising executive who later became a vice president at Chrysler, died on Nov. 28. She was 94. Cutler was named Chrysler’s first vice president of consumer affairs in 1988. She was tasked with being a futurist who could monitor customer trends, an ability she was known for in the advertising industry,

Audi of America showed that it had more Christmas spirit than the judges on “Wheel of Fortune” who said a contestant paused too long while correctly solving a puzzle. The automaker stepped in amid a social media backlash against the game show’s decision to deny Charlene Rubush an Audi Q3 in the bonus round of

Porsche will invest more than $50 million to build a second driving track at its Atlanta Experience Center — one of two U.S. performance track centers that retailers say are helping connect consumers with the Porsche brand. The new 1.3-mile circuit, which will open in the first quarter of 2023, will be connected to the

Mercedes-Benz removed a video advertisement from a Chinese social media website, state media said, after the clip got swept up in a charged national debate over depictions of Asian-looking features by foreign companies. The video was posted on Mercedes-Benz’s official Weibo account on Saturday and later removed due to public backlash, the Communist Party’s Global

Ferrari has signed a multi-year accord with Swiss technology firm Velas Network to create digital content for its fans. Starting next season, Velas, a provider of digital products and services, will become a partner of Ferrari’s Formula 1 racing team. “In addition, Velas will be Title Sponsor of the Ferrari Esports Series, the online mono-brand

As Joni Mitchell can attest, not everyone wants jolly elves and merry reindeer in their holiday media. Some people want a good Christmas cry. For those looking for a river to skate away on, behold Chevrolet’s “Holiday Ride.” The four-minute version of the ad received 4.8 million page views on YouTube as of Thursday. The

A red flag went up last week as the 2022 season of auto industry trade shows prepares to take stage. Three auto shows in Canada were called off as the rapidly spreading omicron variant spawns a COVID-19 resurgence in Canada and elsewhere. The Montreal International Auto Show, scheduled for January, the Canadian International AutoShow in

ATLANTA — Porsche will invest more than $50 million to build a second driving track at its Atlanta Experience Center, the automaker said Monday. The 1.3-mile circuit, which will open in the first quarter of 2023, will be connected to the current 1.6-mile driver development track at Porsche’s North American headquarters campus next to Hartsfield-Jackson

DETROIT — Ford Motor Co., in partnership with Salesforce, is launching a field service tool for businesses that it hopes will help differentiate its new Ford Pro commercial unit and help generate recurring revenue. The new tool, called Viizr, is meant to provide business owners with software to do everything from digitize work quotes and

Nissan Motor Co. will advertise in the Super Bowl for the first time since 2015 with an ad starring Brie Larson. The 60-second spot will plug the automaker’s forthcoming electric Ariya crossover, as well as the 2023 Nissan Z sports car, Nissan confirmed to Ad Age, an affiliate of Automotive News. Previous to the 2015

Elon Musk wants it known that Apple doesn’t have the market cornered on overpriced accessories. The Tesla CEO urged his Twitter followers to buy the $50 stainless-steel Cyberwhistle shaped like the company’s upcoming Cybertruck electric pickup. He referenced the $19 Polishing Cloth that Apple released this fall. “Blow the whistle on Tesla!” Musk tweeted last

Volkswagen Group of America is using Amazon shipping boxes to put virtual butts in the virtual seats of its new Taos subcompact crossover this holiday season. It’s rewarding participants with three months of premium music streaming for virtually going along for the ride. The German automaker last week revealed its Web-based augmented reality campaign to

Volkswagen Group of America said it will use the sides of Amazon boxes this holiday season to put virtual butts in the virtual seats of its new Taos subcompact crossover, and reward participants with three months of premium music streaming for virtually going along for the ride. The German automaker revealed its new Web-based augmented

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ appearance at a Honda dealership in Brandon, Fla., to sign legislation prohibiting COVID-19 vaccine mandates was widely seen as a nod to a euphemistic insult of President Joe Biden. But the head of the dealership group that owns Brandon Honda says he made “zero connection” in advance of the Republican governor’s

Mazda has a new “pride point” in the U.S. with its Huntsville, Ala., plant, which will start producing the made- for-America CX-50 crossover in January, Mazda North America CEO Jeff Guyton told Automotive News. After ending U.S. manufacturing nearly a decade ago as part of Mazda’s breakup with Ford Motor Co., the Japanese automaker hopes

DETROIT — Stellantis is dishing out rewards to drivers through a smartphone app that also serves as an exploratory tool into new revenue streams. The Stellantis Miles app is incentivizing travel of all kinds, whether driving, using ride-sharing services, biking or just taking a jog. The accrued miles can be redeemed at Stellantis dealerships for

The Dodge brand’s path to its electric future is trying to appeal honestly and accurately with two distinct camps: consumers who are excited about the brand’s EV push and naysayers who fear the muscle-car brand is abandoning its identity. Tim Kuniskis, the brand’s CEO, is using digital marketing to appeal to both groups. Dodge’s two-year

Around 2016, Street Volkswagen ran a radio advertisement to drum up business for its sales and service departments. In the commercial, the dealership in Amarillo, Texas, offered to help consumers buy a vehicle they spotted elsewhere or transport a vehicle from out of town, owner John Luciano said. A few people took the store up

Tesla Inc. looks to be coming under increasing pressure in China with two government entities firing off missives about the company’s behavior and treatment of its customers in a single day. The trouble started early on Tuesday when China’s state-run Xinhua news agency released a piece that said the quality of Tesla’s EVs must meet

I wrote last week about how — or even whether — franchised dealerships should counter messaging that their business model is outdated in advertisements from online used-vehicle sellers such as Carvana and Vroom. One reason that images such as the one portrayed in Vroom’s Super Bowl commercial — a car salesman threatening a would-be customer

Filmmaker Chris Paine drove his EV1 for only about five years — that is, before General Motors hauled it away in a controversial mass takeback of all its leased EV1s that had been on the road. That’s when Paine and several other EV1 advocates and environmentalists who weren’t given the option to buy the EV1

The Nissan GT-R is renowned worldwide as the Japanese brand’s top-tier image car, a 600-hp mean machine with a hand-built engine, stratospheric sticker and legions of rabid fans. Now, Nissan’s fast car is also selling fast food. As of last week, McDonald’s Japan has been packing a toy version of the GT-R into its Happy

A little more than a year ago, Ken Garff Automotive Group in Utah was planning to highlight its brand values in a training campaign aimed at its 4,500 employees. Then the world changed. The COVID-19 pandemic led to the death of Chairman Bob Garff in March 2020 and gave staffers a different lens through which

The pandemic turned some automotive ads into real family affairs. Automakers have turned to a predictable blueprint over the years when pitching utility vehicles and minivans: bustling children in the back seat and happy parents up front taking them on an adventure. In normal times, those were all actors only pretending to be related, but

After pausing its long-running Civic Tour in 2019, Honda was set to bring it back last year with the kind of big-name music star that has headlined the multicity tour for years. But Honda had to cancel the 2020 event as the pandemic struck, robbing the automaker of a valuable marketing tool to reach young

A Vermont ski resort that planned to host one of four Ford Bronco Off-Roadeo driving schools around the U.S. backed out last week after an outcry from nearby residents. The Woodstock Inn & Resort had proposed adapting a 189-acre ski area known as Suicide Six into an off-road course during the summer. Ford Motor Co.