Enter Subaru.
Subaru has chosen a tongue-and-cheek approach to prove that their Legacy is anything but vanilla. Their website touts the launch of a brand new car called .... Legacy? No, not exactly.
The new auto is called Mediocrity, a car that is defined as not extraordinary, but extra-ordinary. The announcer issues a challenge, "I dare you to look at this car and find something that stands out." Marily Reiter, Senior Vice President, Worldwide Product Development, declares: "Doors? Check. Windows? Check. Steering Wheel? Check. Bells and whistles? Not on my watch." The site also invites participation from those that visit, allowing them to build their own car, painting it in various shades of beige, medium crumb and stale biscuit, harkening back to the days of Henry Ford when consumers were invited to select any color of automobile they wanted ... as long as it was black.
As you are exploring this website, you find yourself wondering who the sponsor is behind this incredibly professional, yet comical, marketing effort.
Looking up at the URL will lead you to the path of enlightenment. Or clicking on the arrow which reads "or click here if you don't subscribe to these principles at all" will take you into the Subaru Legacy site which promises to help you fight mediocrity.
Overall, I really like this campaign because of its intrigue and its declaration of independence from mediocrity.
My only concern is that you have to dig a bit to find where this campaign is leading and once you leave mediocrity behind and enter the Subaru site, there is nothing linking the spoofed campaign to the car. It left me a little sad. I went from being thoroughly entertained to just viewing another boring car ad.
In my mind, Subaru and their agency demonstrated some brilliant thinking with the launch of Mediocrity. But, unfortunately, I think they missed the mark on closing the loop on their final delivery.
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