Mercedes - which struggled with the French government this summer to be able to sell cars using a coolant other than that permitted by EU regulations, and is lagging behind its German competitors in the Chinese market (in 2012, its sales increased by only 4%, while Audi and BMW progressed by 32% and 41%) - had to also deal with media communication problems in the U.S. and Germany.
- Wishing to enhance and highlight its service department, the brand posted a video on the web entitled, "Your Best". It features a car highlighting the men from Mercedes who take (very good) care of it – in the form of a song accompanied by fixed images. The text of the song is filled with phrases that have … several connotations (the Anglo-Saxons call it "double entendre”) and strong erotic undertones. U.S. Internet users proved to be puritanical – the negative onslaught it received on the net caused Mercedes to quickly withdraw the video.
I suggest you view the short version and the long version of this video: From the viewpoint of Europe, the idea was humorous, the song catchy, and in the form of an aesthetically pleasing cartoon strip... - The students from a German school of cinema - as part of a competition, “First Steps”, sponsored in part by Mercedes - created an explosive spot where a Class C model, driving on the outskirts of a small village in the late 19th century, avoids two little girls playing on the street (thanks to its braking technology), but then knocks down a little boy - the young Adolf Hitler! One sees a rapid shot of the holocaust in the film. The punch line: "Detect dangers before they come up”. The students explain their motivation saying, "Mercedes sells its cars on smart technology which prevents accidents. We wanted to pose the question of what might happen if technology had a soul”.
Pub Mercedes (Collision Prevention Assist) by Spi0n
In both cases the brand shied away: it said that the video on service was not an official video of the brand but an initiative of its "service department". As for the students’ video, it displays a screen that says the spot has no affiliation with Mercedez Benz (non-authorized).
What do you think?
