WCRS launches pounds 5m Freelander campaign

Land Rover is launching its new Freelander Four-Wheel Drive with a

global campaign designed to add a touch of humour to the monotonous

performance statistics often rolled out to advertise off-road

vehicles.

The global campaign, which will spend pounds 5 million in the UK during

the first quarter of 1998, aims to tap into Land Rover’s off-road

heritage, while also emphasising its on-road handling. It is the first

major work for the client from WCRS, which became Land Rover’s agency in

March after a controversial switch from Bates Dorland.

As the smallest in Land Rover’s stable, the Freelander will compete with

Toyota’s RAV4 and Honda’s CRV, both aimed at the fast-growing market for

smaller recreational vehicles.

Using vibrant colours and a striking soundtrack composed by Amber Music,

seven television commercials will run in conjunction with five different

press executions around the world. Each uses humour to make its

point.

One commercial explores the ’problem’ of choosing the colour of your

Freelander - caked in ice on an Arctic trek (white) or smothered in dust

after a desert jaunt (orange). Another discusses the benefits of the

Freelander’s fuel conservation measures, and then pans out to reveal a

Freelander drifting down a river on a raft.

A similarly light-hearted approach pervades the press work, which was

photographed in South Africa by Max Forsythe. ’Good in traffic’

proclaims one ad, which shows the vehicle cruising along a plain

surrounded by zebras.

’Seats five’ says another, featuring a Freelander parked in the

wilderness with five monkeys seated comfortably on its bodywork.

The campaign, which was written by Nick Kidney and art directed by Kevin

Stark, breaks in the UK on 1 January. Media was planned by WCRS and

bought by Zenith.

All films, which vary in length between 15 and 35 seconds, were shot in

the US by Vaughan Arnell through Godman Films.

This article was first published on Campaign