carsales launches new ‘Everything You Auto Know’ brand platform via BMF
carsales loves cars – shamelessly so… and has launched its new brand repositioning via BMF to reinforce its market leadership via Everything You Auto Know.
carsales partnered with BMF to bring its knowledge and passion for the automotive category to life with a creative flare set to resonate with all Australians and start to shift the reputation of Australia’s most trusted place to buy and sell to be the go-to for everything cars.
The first phase of this campaign launched nationally last night with carsales’ new TVC “Grandma’s Hands.”
Says Kellie Cordner, chief marketing officer, carsales: “With our category expertise, product innovation and brand trust, carsales is uniquely placed to empower Australians to have a positive experience when buying, selling and owning a car.
“We are acutely aware of the trepidation many Australians feel when buying a high value item with an often low base of knowledge and we have set our 600+ staff to rally to the call to make the buying, selling and owning of cars hassle free, so we can all get that joy and freedom that having a set of wheels offers. We have exciting plans to continue to innovate in the category and felt now is the right time to start to shift the reputation and positioning of Australia’s #1 for cars.
“Market dynamics and consumer expectations are constantly changing and it’s important for us to evolve our brand in line with this. We’ve enjoyed working with BMF and are excited to reinforce our unique position in the market as Everything You Auto Know, in a big way. As a brand platform we think it’s simple and can hold both emotional and rational messages to help further showcase much of what we do.
Adds Cordner: “BMF’s creative lens has helped take our brand to the next level and create more meaningful and memorable connections through a multi-channel campaign that will run across Print, TV, OOH, Radio and premium digital environments across all of Australia both in metro & regional.”
User-friendly, efficient and stress-free, carsales gives people the knowledge and tools they need to make informed decisions about their cars – whether buying, selling, owning or even dreaming.
Says Douglas Hamilton, creative director, BMF: “While carsales is known for buying and selling cars, it’s their deep knowledge of all things automotive that stands them apart. This campaign positions them as the one stop shop for all your auto questions. Solving your worries so you’re free to enjoy the upside of car ownership. Like airsurfing to a classic Bill Withers track.”
‘Grandma’s Hands’ evokes a natural and authentic feeling of ‘Grandma’ living her best life as a confident, free spirit who exudes confidence. The concept for the ’Grandma’s Hands’ ad was essentially born out of the original Bill Withers track – iconic, memorable and soulful. The choice of music was key in establishing the feeling state and emotion of the ad.
Whether Aussies are experts or rookies, searching on a desktop or app, and planning around a budget or ready for something more luxurious, carsales is for everyone.
To round up the launch, carsales’ newly created manifesto highlights its brand positioning as Everything You Auto Know.
Client: carsales
Chief Marketing Officer: Kellie Cordner
General Manager, Group Marketing: Rebecca Rizzo
General Manager, Consumer Marketing: Priya Kanniappan
Senior Marketing Manager: Anthony Potenza
Digital Marketing Manager: Caitlin Retell
Creative Agency: BMF
Chief Creative Officer: Alex Derwin
Creative Director: Douglas Hamilton
Chief Strategy Officer: Christina Aventi
Senior Strategy Planner: Josef Wimberger
General Manager: Paul Coles
Group Account Director: Edward Hughes
Account Director: Denniz Post
Head of TV: Jenny Lee-Archer
Production Company: Scoundrel
Director: Tom Noakes
Producer: Morgan Benson-Taylor
Executive Producer: Adrian Shapiro
Art Director: Alex Holmes
Cinematographer: James Brown
Offline Editor: Adam Wills
Post Production: Blockhead
Colourist: Fergus Rotherham
Online Artist: Stu Cadzow
Post Producer: Charlotte Plowman
Music: Level Two / ‘Grandma’s Hands’ by Bill Withers
Sound House: Rumble Studios
Engineer: Tone Aston
Sound Producer: Michael Gee
Media agency: Rapid Media
Managing Director: Vaughan O’Connor
Account Director: Kate Turner
Senior Account Manager: Charlotte Jackson
23 Comments
I saw this ad ridiculed online before I’d even seen the ad.
It even states on carsales.com.au that it is illegal to what your spot portrays.
https://www.carsales.com.au/editorial/details/australias-most-obscure-road-rules-105238/
Platform = pun that has no relevence to what car carsales does
Idea = non-existent
Execution = looks like a chicken neck flapping in the wind
Nice and simple.
real nice
Thought that was NSFW for a moment.
Still confused though as to what it all means when I’m buying a car?
Bore-fest
Thought it was for KFC when saw on air
Of what you said in the pr release translates to this campaign.
This is… not good.
…that’s so Fu*$ing weird. Not my cup of tea.
I was waiting for the “I DONT CARE” and KFC logo to appear.
What a stupid ad.
PS: Today I sold a classic car on Carsales for three times what I paid for it 8 years ago. It took 3 days from when the ad went up. And I had at least two other buyers champing at the bit. Admittedly, it’s a beautiful car in excellent condition. And the ad was well-written (of course!) With comprehensive photos.
I really can’t understand the strategy for this stupid, stupid commercial when there must be a hundred better strats and a thousand better ads for this great product.
Completely woeful. WTF happened?
Grandma’s not driving the car, someone else is.
I really appreciate the bold bits of copy throughout the print manifesto to make sure I understand everything
It’s different and grabs your attention.
Does anyone else care that it’s not Grandma’s car? So that carefree feeling that you’re loosely trying to tie to owning a new car doesn’t make any sense at all. She may as well be taking an Uber.
The ad itself is engaging and feels fresh.
The end line doesn’t make sense with ‘auto’ jammed in there, would have been better with just ‘oughta’.
The line is probably the only good thing about this and ‘auto’ makes complete sense if your iq is above 50. The TV execution is just too random and as no doubt a producer mentioned above, promoting an illegal act – which goes against ‘everything you auto know’.
This is great- fresh – i like it. Immediately evoked what we’ve done since we’re a kid in a car
Amateurs, they ‘auto’ know better when it comes to basic road rule checks. Feel for the poor bastard that missed that one, cue the bus.
Whoever approved this one ‘auto’ know better…not just because it’s non compliant… but no one wants to that much dwell time with a tacky old mani. Awkward.