As an active member of Gen Y, I felt I should weigh in on two recent car campaigns that target the same demographic – me. And honestly, I couldn't resist the chance to pit Mercedes-Benz and Scion against one another. Mercedes-Benz and Scion? Beyond a common industry, the images I have of these two types of cars couldn't be more distinct. So who should get the most love from the 19-35 year-old age group?

While Scion has had its sights set on the hipper, younger driver for at least five years and fittingly relied on guerilla tactics to get Gen Y’s attention, Mercedes hasn't been associated with the youth movement since Janis Joplin warbled about getting one from a divine benefactor. And of course that product placement was dripping with irony. Seriously. I mentioned the "Generation Benz" campaign to a friend and the response was, "What next? Cadillac?" And yet, after taking a harder look at both strategies it isn’t as obvious who will win this battle of the brands.

For all its bells and whistles, the first episode of "Fists of Oblivion" Scion's Coppola-directed (Roman Coppola, that is) live-action nine-part puppet show left me feeling more confused than anything else. The part I struggled with the most? The lack of humor. Or even what might be called the attempt at humor. The spot's parody of the typical kung-fu film began and ended with the puppets themselves. The tone was deadpan. But not in a good way. AdAge says that "Coppola's irreverent style" is supposed to keep Scion's core customers "young, mostly male and web-savvy" coming back to the site for more. It's obviously no longer required that an ad contain the product it’s pitching, it seems like the spot didn't even wink towards the car. From my perspective, the connection between the puppet cop with a grudge to settle and the gas-saving vehicle (other than its being embedded on the site) was lost.

Mercedes-Benz, on the other hand, has taken a decidedly more grown-up approach to their target audience by inviting an exclusive group of Gen Y consumers to www.generationbenz.com, a password-protected website. MediaPost (reg. required) reports that the site is an attempt to mine the select Gen Y sample for insight towards their "attitudes, lifestyle and brand preferences" through questionnaires, polls and live chats. Ultimately, the company "hopes to get a new group of consumers into the brand and shape the brand for the future." Sure, it doesn't have the wow factor involved in a puppet production, but it's a pretty smart game plan. During these trying times when it comes to making a big financial decision like buying a new car, we want facts not farce. It's unclear what incentives the company has promised participants for their contributions. But if they're able to draw out honest opinions about what twentysomethings want from their next car and then apply them accordingly, they will have done well. Sounds like a win-win situation.

Categorized under: Advertising, Youth Marketing

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