‘Rio’ Campaign for Nissan Wins Honor
It was one of the most impractical--if not improbable--ad campaigns of 1988.
But it was also among the best. And the TV ad campaign for a Nissan truck, which featured a Topanga Canyon couple driving a utility wagon all the way from Chicago to Rio, won top honors at a prestigious ad awards ceremony Thursday night in Chicago. The campaign was created by the Venice ad firm Chiat/Day.
The series of six ads, for the Nissan Pathfinder, won the “Best of ‘88” TV commercial competition, sponsored by the trade magazine Advertising Age. In the series of commercials, the couple drives most of the 6,500 miles and runs into everything from barefoot goat herders in Mexico to native tribesmen in Brazil who had never seen Americans. A second vehicle with a Chiat/Day crew followed to film the couple’s adventures. The purpose of the ad campaign--which was named after the 1947 movie, “Road to Rio”--was to display the versatility of the four-wheel-drive vehicle.
“It was a daring idea that was also engaging,” said Rick Gordon, editorial page editor of Advertising Age, who coordinated the competition. “What’s more, the campaign gave a credible view of the vehicle’s capabilities.” Nissan reports that during the fourth quarter of 1988, when the campaign aired, sales of the $18,000 Pathfinder jumped 17% compared to the same period the year before. The Pathfinder was introduced in 1987.
The ad campaign won from among 2,200 TV commercials considered by a panel of eight Advertising Age senior editors. Last month, both Advertising Age and Adweek named Chiat/Day ad agency of the year.
“We looked at the campaign as a high-class soap opera,” said Jay Chiat, chairman of Chiat/Day, in a telephone interview Thursday from San Francisco, where the agency was holding its annual board meeting. “It feels good to have the work you do considered at the top of its class.”
Just one year ago, Chiat/Day was roundly criticized for an ad campaign for Nissan cars that featured a handful of engineers sitting around a table gabbing about “human engineering.” The campaign was quickly dropped.
But the “Road to Rio” campaign was a big hit with both ad critics and consumers. It cost an estimated $750,000 to make, but because of the unusual circumstances involved in filming, very little of the campaign could be planned. Chiat said despite the success of the campaign, the agency has no intentions of continuing or even updating the campaign this year.
As for the couple that appeared in all the ads--Kurt Anderson, an independent producer and his wife, Martha, a real estate agent--they have become celebrities of sorts. They have appeared at Nissan dealer meetings and various auto shows.
And, yes, they did get to keep their Pathfinder.
