"The Super Bowl, like Cadillac is the embodiment and spirit of American success," said Jay Spenchian, Cadillac director of marketing. "The Super Bowl is the ideal venue to engage and showcase the Cadillac portfolio to consumers."
Following are highlights of Cadillac's Super Bowl XXXIX game-day marketing plans:
* A new 60-second commercial, "Barrels," will debut during the second quarter of the Feb. 6 game broadcast on FOX. The commercial highlights the powerful performance and acceleration of the new V-Series family of high performance vehicles (CTS-V, STS-V, XLR-V) emphasizing their ability to accelerate from 0 to 60 m.p.h. in under 5 seconds. The "Barrels" spot serves as a visual metaphor communicating the power, precision and drama of the V-Series vehicles. One 60-second spot featuring XLR will air in the post-game show along with a 30-second version of "Barrels."
* Cadillac will also have five-second commercials both during and after the game focusing on the V-Series acceleration and performance capability. One five-second commercial titled "That Fast" will run in-game and three five-second commercials tagged "Don't Blink", "Introducing" and "That was a Cadillac" will run post-game. This unique use of the TV medium was achieved through converting animated billboards into commercial time, so that the ads only run for 5 seconds--the time it takes for a Cadillac V-Series vehicle to go from 0 to 60 m.p.h.
"Through 5-second commercials, we are not only showcasing performance, but we're also capturing the sheer speed of Cadillac's latest line-up in a way consumers can actually experience in real time," said Mark Tutssel, Deputy Chief Creative Officer of Leo Burnett Worldwide. "We're truly bringing the product benefit to life via the medium in which we're communicating to viewers."
Chemistri Detroit, Cadillac's advertising agency of record, created the brand's Super Bowl commercials.
* Cadillac will be presenting sponsor of the Super Bowl MVP Award that airs immediately after the game, with the game's most valuable player receiving a trophy and given keys by Terry Bradshaw for the Cadillac of his choice.
* The third annual Cadillac Celebrity Grand Prix will again be held at this year's Super Bowl. The celebrity go-kart race will benefit the first, second and third place winners with donations to their favorite charities. Last year's participants included Jimmy Fallon, Paris and Nikki Hilton, Jimmy Kimmel, David Arquette, Ice Cube, Terrell Owens, Anthony Anderson and several others.
* Cadillac has teamed with MGM and the upcoming film "Be Cool" challenging consumers to create a five-second film. The Cadillac Under 5 Contest and corresponding website CadillacUnder5.com will begin accepting submissions between the Feb.6 game day and Feb. 17. The top five submissions will be selected by "Be Cool" director F. Gary Gray as well as by cast members John Travolta, Christina Milian and Cedric the Entertainer. One winner will be selected in five competing categories; action/adventure, drama, comedy, mystery and biography and sent to the London premiere of "Be Cool". One grand prize winner will have their movie shown as part of a Cadillac commercial on national television and receive a new 2005 CTS-V high performance sedan.
In addition to game-day activities, Cadillac will have a presence in the days and weeks leading up to the game. Highlights include:
* A fleet of approximately 400 Cadillac Escalades, Escalade ESVs, SRXs will be provided to the NFL for use the week of the games. A fleet of Escalades will also be on hand for use by VIPS.
* A Cadillac-sponsored "Defining Moments" Super Bowl display will be located in The Avenues mall in Jacksonville from Jan.20 to Feb.6. The display will include Cadillac vehicles and other Super Bowl MVP items.
* Cadillac will sponsor a display tent at the NFL Experience, the NFL's interactive theme park and pre-game parties housed within the Jacksonville, Fla. JEA Park. Cadillac's display will focus on its sponsorship of the MVP Award and its race team as well as showcasing the Cadillac racing vehicle.