By Melissa Burden
The Detroit News
The world will get to know Cadillac’s all-new 2013 ATS — the luxury brand’s entry in the popular luxury compact segment — in commercials during the Olympics’ opening ceremony July 27 and through an online film series that begins this week.
The General Motors Co. brand will announce today its “Cadillac ATS vs. the World” campaign of commercials, short online films and photography. The campaign takes the new sports sedan on an adventure: 100 corners in three miles through the Atlas Mountains in Morocco; the Monaco Grand Prix course in Monte Carlo; the Guoliang Tunnel Road in China; and to Patagonia, Chile, known as one of the windiest places on earth. The films were directed by documentary filmmaker Joe Berlinger, and rally driver and filmmaker Jeff Zwart.
The rear-wheel drive car, which starts at $33,990, is expected to hit dealership lots next month. It debuted in January in Detroit.
“Completely new from the ground-up, ATS is Cadillac’s bold entry into the most significant segment of the global luxury auto industry,” Don Butler, vice president of Cadillac marketing, said in a statement. “ATS was developed to take on the world’s best sport sedans. So we designed a world challenge for ATS to dramatically demonstrate its all-new purpose-built chassis and advanced technology in a global, cinematic adventure.
“The films demonstrate the performance of the new ATS on a world stage, making it a natural fit for the Olympics.”
As many as nine 30-second television ads, plus a one-minute spot, will air during the Olympics’ opening ceremony and during the 17 days of games. The shorts will start on Youtube.com today.
In May, the Detroit automaker announced it wouldn’t advertise during the 2013 Super Bowl due to increasing costs, but confirmed it was an advertising sponsor with NBC during the Olympics and would air primarily Chevrolet and Cadillac ads.
The “Cadillac ATS vs. the World” series includes more than 40 ads and online video shorts showing the car in global settings and on extreme roads.
The ads spearheaded by Minneapolis-based Fallon agency feature Derek Hill, a champion race driver behind the wheel; the series is hosted by actor and filmmaker Ross Thomas.
GM is hoping for a big success story in the growing luxury-compact sector, the largest luxury class and one that attracts younger buyers. The ATS will compete with the BMW 3 Series, Audi A4, Infiniti G series and the Mercedes-Benz C class. Butler told The Detroit News in April that he expects the ATS to be Cadillac’s top seller.
“From a volume standpoint, the opportunity is enormous,” said Molly Peck, director of Cadillac advertising.
ATS production is scheduled to begin this month at GM’s Lansing Grand River assembly plant, where the ATS is built on the same line as the CTS sedan.
The ATS gets an Environmental Protection Agency rating of 33 mpg highway for the standard 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine.
