Posted by Dale Buss on November 22, 2010 04:00 PM
With snow still scarce around most of the US, it seems a tad early for snow-filled campaigns touting year-end sales extravaganzas on upscale automobiles.
Well, Infiniti, Mercedes-Benz, and Lincoln certainly don’t think so. For at least a week now in some parts of the US, these luxury auto brands and their dealers have been running heavy advertisements for their holiday-themed sales events.
For Lincoln, it’s something called a Wishlist promotion. Infiniti has its Limited Engagement Winter Event. And Mercedes has a Winter Celebration. Most of the TV ads involve snow, Christmas or some combination of the above.
Mercedes, for instance, already has aired one spot showing a Kris Kringle-like figure working on one of its assembly lines, lovingly putting the finishing touches on a vehicle — just as he and his elves do with all the Christmas toys they assemble. Snowflakes swirl somewhere in Mercedes-Benz holiday spots as well.
And then, curiously, the ads already say: “Hurry – offer ends soon.” That actually means the deals extend to the very end of the year and perhaps into January.
A Mercedes-Benz spokeswoman insisted that the brand hadn’t launched its winter-sale advertising any earlier than usual, or at least no earlier than last year. But it sure seems premature.
That may be because these year-end closeouts have been so successful for luxury brands in getting a last spurt of attention and some auxiliary business from holiday cheer and good feeling.
Lexus, of course, was the trailblazer in this promotional genre, bowing many years ago with the heart-tugging image of a new Lexus, wrapped in a big red bow, sitting in Mom’s driveway on Christmas morning.
As surely as Santa Claus, those ads are coming too.
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