Given the duty of re-launching the Saab name in the States, McCann Worldgroup Detroit’s dedicated unit Team Saab is choosing to highlight the automaker’s classic look as opposed to the last 21 years when the car was manufactured under General Motors.
A year ago, Spyker Cars N.V. purchased Saab from GM for $74 million in cash up front and $320 million worth of shares in Spyker. Since the sale, the Swedish car manufacturer hasn’t been heard from in the U.S. until now. From the ad, we can tell McCann is choosing to target older customers with it’s new campaign, “The Story of Saab.” While it introduces the company’s newest model, the 9-5 Sports Sedan, it downplays any connection to GM, under whom the 9-5 was developed. Instead, it positions Saab as a forward-thinking independent company with the same amount of autonomy it had during its early years of production (roughly 1948-1989).
Who’s going to get excited about this campaign? Previous Saab buyers, that’s who. And, with the work the company dedicated to re-branding its American website, isn’t it time that the U.S. repays the favor and starts reinvesting in outrageously priced luxury cars?