To mark the roll-out of its much anticipated addition to the family, Porsche Cars North America this month will unveil a new campaign to introduce the world’s first Porsche four-seat sports car, the Panamera.
“With the Panamera, the most renowned sports car maker in the world is entering a completely new segment of the automotive market, building from the ground up an uncompromising sports car with executive-class accommodations for four,” said David Pryor, VP of marketing, Porsche Cars North America. “To introduce this new model, we’re not only promoting the car itself, but capturing and conveying its unique ‘Porsche DNA’ with a powerful and beautifully executed new marketing campaign.”
To distinguish itself from the competition and appeal to Porsche enthusiasts as well as potential newcomers, the brand is leveraging one of its most valuable assets—heritage and history—to welcome the Panamera to the family and reinforce the Porsche portfolio. The fully integrated “Welcome to the Family” campaign via agency of record Cramer-Krasselt/Chicago will include print, television, website takeovers, mobile, direct mail, dealer materials, an IFC documentary and website with several interactive components.
“The ‘Welcome to the Family’ campaign puts the Panamera in the context of what Porsche has always stood for: a no-compromise devotion to the sports car experience and to values that endure,” said Marshall Ross, EVP/chief creative officer, C-K. “Since the brand is also a constant innovator, this work brings some surprise to the world of automotive advertising story telling. There’s a narrative and a spectacle that should make Porschephiles quiver and anyone who cares at all about cars smile ear to ear.”
The lead television spot, “Family Tree,” brought together 50 iconic production and racing models from Porsche’s storied history, including the 917 driven by Steve McQueen in the movie “Le Mans” and a 356 Gmϋnd Coupe (one of the first Porsche cars ever made), for a high-performance, highly choreographed run through the desert. The cars speed across the landscape, making way for the Panamera and together etching into the sandy terrain a hyper-scaled family tree. Directed by long-time Porsche fan and racer Jeff Zwart of @radicalmedia, the spot begins airing October 15 in the U.S. during the Major League Baseball playoffs and on lifestyle cable networks such CNBC and The Discovery Channel, as well as in Europe, Asia and other markets.
High-impact print and online ads introduce the Panamera as “the product of 60 years of unwavering Porsche philosophy.” Three-page inserts will appear in October issues of magazines such as Wired and Fast Company and sites such as Bloomberg.com, ESPN and Forbes.com will feature home-page takeovers during the month of October. All TV, print, dealer materials, online vignettes, website takeovers and mobile and direct components will direct people to www.porscheusa.com/family (developed with production partner Fantasy Interactive), which boasts an interactive family tree where visitors can share their Porsche stories and photos, exclusive downloads and behind-the-scenes video from the commercial shoot, a personality quiz to discover which “branch” of the Porsche tree admirers fall on and a moving timeline with videos and photos showcasing the brand’s iconic history.
In conjunction with the campaign, Cramer-Krasselt and Porsche teamed with IFC to create a 30-minute documentary, “Welcome to the Family,” and a series of two-minute custom vignettes which will air on IFC and the Sundance Channel. The documentary, produced by and for exclusive air on IFC, offers an in-depth look behind the brand and its passionate followers. It debuts on Thursday, October 15 at 10 pm ET/PT and will then be available on IFC FREE, the network’s video on demand service. The vignettes feature Porsche aficionados, including comedian Jerry Seinfeld and automotive designer Freeman Thomas, detailing their passion for Porsche cars through a narrative that interweaves footage from the documentary with their personal stories. The vignettes will air on IFC and the Sundance Channel and will also be made available online.
“Family Tree” TV Credits:
Title: “Family Tree”
Agency: Cramer-Krasselt/Chicago
Chief Creative Officer: Marshall Ross
Associate Creative Director: Rick Hamann
Copywriter: Gary Doyle; Rick Hamann
Art Director: Matt Spett; Luke Partridge
VP/Director of Broadcast Production: Sergio Lopez
Production Company: @Radical Media
Director: Jeff Zwart
Post Production: Asylum
Visual Effects Supervisor: Tim Davies
Executive Producer: Michael Pardee
Producer: Mark Kurtz
Coordinator: Jennie Burnett
Bidding Producer: Michael Hanley
CG Supervisor: Zach Tucker
Compositor(s): Jonathan Hicks, Tim Bird, Tim Davies
Lead Technical Designer: Jeff Willette
Lead Modeler: Greg Stuhl
Modeler(s): Toshihiro Sakamaki, Josh Robinson, Lersak Bunuparadah, Chad Fehmie
Animator(s): Samir Lyons, Michael Warner, Michael Shelton
Texture/Tracker: Ryan Reeb
Texture: John Hart
Tracker(s): Eddie Offermann, Michael Lori, Lauren Van Houten, Michael Maker, Tom Stanton, Ian Doss, Danny Garcia, Apirak Kamjan
Lighter(s): Aaron Vest, Austin Das, Sean Durnan
Effects Animator: Jens Zalzala
Lead Roto: Elissa Bello
Roto(s): Hugo Dominuez, Laura Murillo, Daniel Linger, Jason Bidwell, Stephanie Ide, Scott Baxter, Midori Witsken, Mark Duckworth, Zac Chowdhury, Huey Carroll, Chris Cortese, Bethany Pederson Onstad
Matte Painter: Tim Clark
IFC Documentary Credits
Title: “Welcome to the Family”
Agency: Cramer-Krasselt/Chicago
Chief Creative Officer: Marshall Ross
Creative Director/Copywriter: Gary Doyle
VP/Director of Broadcast Production: Sergio Lopez
Production Company: Labour
Director: Ryan Dunn and Wyeth Hansen
“Welcome to the Family” Website Credits www.porscheusa.com/family
Agency: Cramer-Krasselt/Chicago
Chief Creative Officer: Marshall Ross
Associate Creative Director: Rick Hamann
Copywriter: Julian Timberlake; Rick Hamann
Art Director: Nathan Thompson; Markandeya Sendan; Luke Partridge
Producer: Nicolas Harr
Development Partner: Fantasy Interactive
VP/Account Supervisor: Valerie Di Tommaso
About Porsche Cars North America, Inc.
Porsche Cars North America, Inc. (PCNA), based in Atlanta, Ga., is the exclusive importer of Porsche sports cars and sport utility vehicles for the United States. It is a wholly owned, indirect subsidiary of Dr. Ing.h.c. F. Porsche AG. PCNA employs approximately 180 people who provide Porsche vehicles, parts, service, marketing and training for its 202 dealers. The dealers, in turn, provide Porsche owners with best-in-class service. Throughout its 60-year history, Porsche has developed numerous technologies that have advanced vehicle performance, improved safety and spurred environmental innovations within the automotive industry. The company continues to celebrate its heritage by adding to its long list of motorsports victories dating back to its first 24 Hours of Le Mans class win in 1951. Today, with more than 28,000 victories, Porsche is recognized as the world’s most successful marque in sports car racing. PCNA, which imports the iconic 911 series, the Boxster and Cayman sports cars and Cayenne sport utility vehicles for the U.S., strives to maintain a standard of excellence, commitment and distinction synonymous with its brand.
About Cramer-Krasselt
Rapidly growing Cramer-Krasselt is the third-largest independent marketing and communications agency in the U.S., with billings nearing $1 billion. An Advertising Age “Agency to Watch” two years running, C-K has grown by nearly 50 percent since 2006. C-K is frequently recognized for its insight-driven creativity—spanning advertising, direct, interactive, promotions and public relations—that helps clients change the conversation within their category. Headquartered in Chicago with offices in New York, Milwaukee and Phoenix, it represents major brands across virtually every industry, including: AirTran Airways, Benjamin Moore, Bissell, BRP (including Ski-Doo and Sea-Doo brands), Burlington Coat Factory, CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield, Corona Extra, Edward Jones, H. J. Heinz Co., Johnsonville Sausage, Levitra, Porsche Cars North America, Sealy, Rayovac and TransUnion’s TrueCredit.com. For more information, visit Cramer-Krasselt at www.c-k.com.
