Lincoln Motor Company says “Hello Again” in Full Page Newspaper Ads to Re-launch Brand
The print execution ran on December 3, 2012.
Lincoln was originally called the Lincoln Motor Company in 1922, when Edsel Ford signed the agreement purchasing the company from its founder Henry Leland. During its early years, Edsel worked with numerous custom-body suppliers to make Lincoln one of the most distinctive luxury brands in the industry, with motorcars that were urbane, sleek and elegant – the epitome of understated luxury.
By reintroducing "The Lincoln Motor Company," the campaign captures the founding principles of the company and brings them forward to a new generation of progressive luxury buyers.
The newspaper print announcement features two all-type treatments. The first begins with the provocation, "Does the World Need Another Luxury Car?" debuting on Dec. 3, followed by "Hello. Again" debuting on Dec. 10. Both emphasize the values that once made Lincoln the leader in luxury automobiles and how these same values will be the key to its future development. These ads feature no images. A white, minimalist page with black typeface emphasizes simplicity in design.
There's a lot of marketing bullshit out there.
Brands claiming a comeback through flashy twittergram-social-time-machine strategies to give the illusion of modernity. While every execution has its time and place, we decided that for our very first announcement as a new brand we'd zig into a more traditional approach. Not because we're Luddites, because we're a brand who respects individuality and personal connection. And what could be more personal than a simple, confident letter, created for audiences that still appreciate the written word?
December, 3, 2012.
"Today we are announcing a new beginning for a brand that has been part of our company and the American fabric more than 90 years," said Ford Motor Company CEO Alan Mulally. "The new Lincoln brand will be defined by great new luxury vehicles, such as the new MKZ, that feature quality, unique style with substance and innovative technology.
The 2013 Lincoln MKZ was the first of four Lincoln vehicles in a four year span created to appeal to the new age of luxury consumers whom quickly emerged as a powerful economic force. Called progressive luxury consumers, they were responsible for nearly 25 percent of all luxury vehicle sales in America. Affluent individuals who no longer purchase to maintain an image for others, but instead seek fresh new alternatives that appeal to them because they found a truly unique choice.
One month into the campaign, Business Insider revealed that the re-launch efforts from Lincoln had been working. According to a YouGov BrandIndex study, “Of American adults who plan to buy a car in the next year, 18% of respondents had seen recent Lincoln advertising”. More importantly, the positive impression of the Lincoln brand rose from just 4% pre-launch, up to 20% on December 14.
