Nissan Takes Controversial UK Ad Campaign to the Next Level

Recently we reported that Porsche was none-too-pleased with Nissan's new and aggressive marketing campaign in the UK, eventually challenging the legality of the ads because they used Porsche's logo without authorization. That's not what's really bugging Porsche though, as Nissan put up billboards with slogans like "The Winner Hans Down," and another with a simulated "kill count", similar to a WWII fighter plane, showing how many "kills" the Nissan vehicles have recorded on the Nurburgring. Yikes.

Well if you thought that was a bit much (actually the WWII reference is probably a LOT much), Nissan has now taken its campaign to the next level, with a guerrilla
marketing stunt where a team drove a Nissan 370Z, Audi TTS and Porsche Cayman through the streets on London. On the side of the Cayman are the words, "I dream of being as fast as a Nissan 370Z," while the Audi's decal reads, "More expensive, slower and less powerful than a Nissan 370Z."

And Nissan isn't making any apologies. Steve McLennan, Nissan Marketing Director in the UK commented that the ads are simply designed to challenge, "the convention of German sportscars being the only benchmark for performance and quality."

"Nissan is confident in the ability of 370Z and GT-R to eclipse our comparable German rivals in terms of outright performance and accessibility and it's now time to shout about it."

If the goal of an ad is to get noticed, then Nissan's marketing company is certainly doing its job.

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