Brand MarketingNEW CAMPAIGNS: MIDWEST Client: Superior Chevrolet and Superior Toyota, Shawnee Mission, Kan.By Adweek Staff|June 30, 1997ShareBy Adweek Staff|June 30, 1997ShareAgency: Muller + Co., Kansas City, Mo. Creative Directors: John Muller and David Marks Art Directors: John Muller and Mark Botsford Copywriters: David Marks and Pat Piper Director: Jim Wheeler Executives at Superior Chevrolet and Superior Toyota told their agency they “were sick of seeing the same old car dealer commercials,” according to copywriter Pat Piper. So, in a series of spots that broke last week in the Kansas City metropolitan area, Muller + Co. plays out the standard fears of car buyers in a comical fashion and then promises Superior dealerships avoid such pitfalls. A woman in pink is shown dancing on stage in one ad, then a man in a powder blue tuxedo emerges singing “My Wild Irish Rose.” Don’t get it? Muller spells it out with a caption that crashes down over the scene: “No Song and Dance.” In another ad, a fisherman drops a worm into the water and pulls it out with an evil cackle. “No bait and switch,” is the message here. A spot for Superior’s Toyota outlet depicts two men dressed in a single plaid sports coat, pitching “sensible cars for insane prices.” The viewer is promised: “No Double Talk.”-Trevor Jensen ______ Client: Morgan Stanley, Dean Witter, Discover & Co., New York Agency: Leo Burnett, Chicago Group Creative Director: Phil Raskin Creative Director: Bob Akers Art Director: Jim Furrh Copywriter: Gary Doyle Executive Producer: David Moore Producer: Craig Wagner Director: Peter Goldschmidt When Morgan Stanley and Dean Witter, Discover & Co. merged on May 31, it was big news on Wall Street. A Leo Burnett TV spot titled “News,” in 60- and 30-second versions, casts that merger as a news event that will have a major impact on the future of the economy and the nation. The commercial features a series of clips from newscasts about financial developments and current events before closing with announcement of the merger. Burnett intends to continually freshen the spot with more recent news references during its run, through July. Print advertisements in business publications carry a similar, news-oriented message.-Scott Hume ______ Client: General Motors’ Oldsmobile division, Lansing, Mich. Agency: Leo Burnett, Chicago Executive Creative Director: Dan Heagy Creative Director: Uta Brantsch Creative Team: Michael Straznickas and Dave Reger Executive Producer: Ron Nelken Producer: Ray Swift Two witty 30-second ads for the all-new Oldsmobile Cutlass, “Cones” and “Freeway,” play up “thoughtful touches” in the sedan’s interior, said Oldsmobile advertising director Mike Sands. The strategy is to show consumers that the Cutlass is the “intelligent choice,” he noted, adding that the spots differ from automotive ads that emphasize price. “A lot of car advertising today talks about value,” Sands said. “And there is an overly [generic] way of doing that and I think consumers can skip right by it. We put a level of sophisticated humor into the commercials that compliments the consumer.” The campaign uses the tagline “Totally rethought.” The two spots are slated to break at the end of July or in early August, once dealerships have an adequate supply of the cars. A GM plant strike halted production of the Cutlass for several weeks and dealer inventory numbers have been low since.-Tanya Gazdik Adweek Adweek