"Luxury Is More Than Looks" Campaign
This commercial was inspired by my own experience of learning how to drive, as well as trying to teach my younger (and overly confident) sister how to drive. We both learned how to drive in my mom's car, the GLE SUV, and thanks to many of these features, have avoided more accidents than we're willing to admit.
Aside from these experiences, I realized that most Mercedes Benz commercials highlight the luxury side of their vehicles, however, few promote their extensive safety features. Other brands, such as Volvo, Subaru, or Toyota, make a point of demonstrating to consumers that they are the safest choices, so I felt it was time for Mercedes to expand their image. Of course Mercedes is still a luxury brand, but I believe an entirely new market could be reached by appealing to families through the promotion of safety features.
Setting/Background:
The “Luxury is More Than Looks” campaign highlights Mercedes-Benz’s newest safety technology, including…
Pre-Safe Technology: warns drivers of imminent accident; prepares for collisions by tightening seatbelts, closing sunroof & windows, adjusting front head restraints
Pre-Safe Break & Distronic Plus Technology: alerts driver of potential collision and automatically applies breaks
Night View Assist Plus: adjusts LED headlight brightness and uses a special camera and infrared beams to sense objects on the road at night
Active Lane Keeping Assist and Active Blind Spot Monitoring: alerts driver when drifting by beeping & vibrating steering wheel; alerts driver of cars in blindspot by way of red light on side mirrors & beeping if driver tries to merge lanes
Adaptive High Beam Assist: senses other cars on the road to automatically raise/lower head beams when needed (maximizes vision at all times without disturbing approaching vehicles)
The “Luxury is More Than Looks” campaign consists of a series of 4 commercials which feature a mother and a teenage daughter. In keeping the same actors, audiences are encouraged to recognize these characters over time — similar to the ways in which State Farm and Progressive have popularized Jake and Flo, respectively — which will, ideally, make the campaign easily recognizable, and ultimately more memorable.
3 of these commercials feature near accidents which occur while the mother is teaching her daughter how to drive
2 of these commercials feature the daughter driving alone (presumably after recently receiving her driver’s license)
This campaign is intended to shift the public’s perception of Mercedes’-Benz by highlighting its incredibly advanced safety features, thus emphasizing that “luxury” encompasses far more than aesthetics.
Commercial 1:
A mother and daughter are driving on a highway while the camera is filming the car head-on. The daughter is about to merge left, unable to see the car in her blindspot (which viewers can clearly see themselves). As she starts to switch lanes, the Active Lane Keeping Assist and Active Blind Spot Monitoring kick in, and a beeping noise sounds. The camera flips to the inside of the car, displaying the vibrating steering wheel, as well as a red warning symbol on the dashboard alerting her of the potential collision. The teenager looks to the sideview mirror on her left to see the red triangle indicating a car in her blindspot. Through the mirror, the hidden car is blurred in the distance, but becomes more clearly visible as it speeds up. The narrator begins…
“Luxury is more than looks.”
As the car in the blindspot continues to speed up, the camera flips to a dash cam perspective, filming the car as it drives past the mother and daughter. The scene blurs and the Mercedes-Benz logo appears as the narrator speaks…
“The Mercedes Benz GLE SUV, rated First in Class for Highway Safety. Mercedes-Benz. The best, or nothing.”
— END —
Commercial 2:
A mother and daughter are driving along a desolate road at night (being filmed head-on) when a deer jumps out from behind a cluster of trees / bushes on the right hand side of the road (camera switches to driver’s perspective). Both the mother and daughter are heard shrieking in fear, however, Mercedes’ Night View Assist and Pre-Safe Break Technology kick in (camera switches to close up of the tires stopping in a matter of seconds), automatically stopping the car before an accident occurs. The camera switches back to focus on the deer staring directly into the car’s headlights, before it continues crossing the street. The camera switches back to the mother and daughter who breathe a simultaneous sigh of relief. After a short pause, the camera shot switches to film the car from behind, and the daughter slowly resumes driving. The camera remains in position, and as the car disappears into the distance a narrator begins speaking and the Mercedes-Benz logo appears…
“Luxury is more than looks. Mercedes Benz. The best, or nothing.”
— END —
Commercial 3:
A teenage girl, wearing a school uniform and backpack slung over one shoulder, runs out of the front door of her house as her mom trails behind her. The camera pans from the doorstep to the driveway, where a silver GLE SUV is be waiting. As she approaches the car, she unlocks it (demonstrated by her pointing the keys at the car and a short beeping noise) The narrator will speak…
“We know what we put into our cars…”
The daughter opens the driver’s side door, throwing her backpack onto the passenger seat, and climbs in. As she gets situated, buckling her seatbelt (which will tighten automatically) and starting the car (engine will sound), the mother stands at the front steps of the house, nervously watching her daughter. The narrator continues…
"…is almost as important as what you put into yours”
Finally ready, the daughter excitedly yells “bye, mom!” and her mother responds with “be safe, honey!” The camera follows the car as it pulls down the driveway, and the narrator continues…
"Awarded the ‘Top Safety Pick+’ by the Institute of Highway Safety, the GLE SUV can let you breathe a little easier.”
As the car drives off down the road, the camera pans back to the mother at the top of the driveway, cautiously waving goodbye. The scene blurs slightly, the Mercedes’ logo appears, and narrator speaks again…
Because luxury is more than looks. Mercedes Benz. The best, or nothing.”
— END —
Commercial 4:
A daughter is driving alone down a residential road, captured head-on by the camera. There is music playing loudly in the background (the noise will be muffled when the camera shot is taken from outside of the car, as compared to the clearer sound when the shot is filmed from inside the car — signifying that the music is coming from the radio). The girl is dancing and singing while driving, obviously distracted, when suddenly a car stops short in front of her (camera flips to aerial view, showing that the car in front stopped short because a soccer ball rolled into the street). The camera switches to a close-up of the tires stopping automatically, then switches to the inside of the car (filming from the left side) showing the daughter jolt forward when the car stops, then showing a close up of the seatbelt tightening automatically to keep her from flying too far forward. As the car is stopping, the narrator speaks…
"We’re there to protect them…”
Startled, but safe, the daughter rests back in her seat, deeply sighing in relief. As she begins to calm down, the radio screen lights up and begins ringing — it’s an incoming call from 'Mom'. The narrator continues…
"…whenever you can’t be.”
Relieved, the daughter smiles and picks up as if nothing has happened: “Hey mom, what’s up?” The camera switches to a rear, aerial view, showing the car driving away. As she’s driving off, the narrator speaks again…
"Because luxury is more than looks.”
The camera continues to rise on a downward facing angle, giving a broader aerial view as the car drives away. A few seconds later, the Mercedes-Benz logo appears and the narrator concludes by saying…
"Mercedes-Benz. The best, or nothing.”
— END —