The fully electric Chevrolet Volt made its first appearance outside the U.S. today, as General Motors, in partnership with Ontario Power Generation (OPG) and the provincial government, launched a campaign to tell consumers that the electric car is almost a reality.
Both the car and the campaign were unveiled at a Toronto press conference this morning. Though the Volt brand name is not actually used in the advertising, the car is featured in most executions. Its sleek exterior lights are the main visual element of the campaign, which features TV, radio, print, online and out-of-home elements. Online advertising refers to “GM’s new electric car” and a throw to GM’s GreenByDesign.gm.ca website, while one billboard simply features the headline “Soon you’ll fill’er up at the plug” on top of the Volt, with small OPG and GM logos underneath.
The message is twofold: electric cars are “not sci-fi,” and OPG will be play a bigger role in how commuters get to work.
“We think the next 100 years are going to be defined by new and important questions like ‘Who’s going to reinvent the car?’ ” said David Patterson, vice-president of corporate and environmental affairs at General Motors Canada.
“We as drivers are going to have new options in terms of the ways we fuel our vehicles…and the Chevrolet Volt extended-range electric car is going to be a big part of that.”
Most of the ads mention that the cars can be powered by OPG’s renewable energy sources such as solar, wind, hydroelectric and nuclear. Consumers are also directed to OPG.com, where the debut television ad can be viewed.
“It’s an awareness campaign,” said Chuck Pautler, vice-president public affairs at OPG. “General Motors is moving forward to bring cleaner technology to the transportation sector, just as our company is moving forward to bring cleaner electricity to the people of Ontario.”
GM is currently the only car maker partnered with OPG, but Pautler said it is not an exclusive arrangement. “We’d be delighted to collaborate with any other car manufacturers in Ontario. GM is the manufacturer bringing product to market first.”
The campaign was created by Partners + Edell, OPG’s agency of record, which began strategy and creative discussions with its client last August.
“We want people to feel good about nuclear as a solution to some of our environmental problems,” said Dennis Edell, the agency’s president. “In order to do that, we show people how it works in the system. It runs day in, day out, in the middle of the night. People come home and plug into nuclear. They project themselves into the future where coal will no longer be part of the mix.”
Edell added that print ads will appear in women-focused magazines such as Canadian Living and
The campaign’s province-wide media buy totalled more than $1.5 million.
