Mercedes-Benz Canada’s latest PR initiative is art on wheels.
The luxury automaker commissioned well-known Nova Scotia artist Tom Forrestall to convert his vintage 1980 Mercedes-Benz into a work of art called “A Car for All Seasons.”
With Forrestall’s 35-year-old car in mint condition, the project allowed Mercedes-Benz to tell a “great story” about its Canadian heritage, along with the history of a “great painter who actually owned and drove the car through many seasons,” said Tim Reuss, president and CEO of Mercedes-Benz Canada, in a release.
The idea to paint his car actually came from Forrestall’s long-time friend, Dr. Mary O’Regan, whose late brother Paul O’Regan was president of Halifax-based O’Regan’s Automotive Group. Forrestall and O’Regan then brought the idea to Mercedes-Benz Canada. “We thought, wow, this is such a cool story because it’s about loyalty and longevity,” JoAnne Caza, director of communications at Mercedes-Benz Canada, told Marketing.
For the past six months, Forrestall worked on the painting at O’Regan Automotive’s Halifax dealership, where he’s been a customer for more than three decades. The setup in the showroom gave staff, customers and the general public the opportunity to witness the progression of the work, which was done with automotive paint.
Mercedes-Benz plans to take the mobile work of art to museums and art galleries across Canada. “We want to show it as a work of art because it is a legitimate, very important work of art,” said Caza. “It’s just a different type of canvas.”
