Think of a vehicle that most reminds you of a laundry detergent. The more unusual, the better. Imagine it wrapped up in promotional creative, cruising city blocks. What you've got there is an eye-bulging, neck-craning mobile events tool, towing tremendous branding power.

It's not a sight you would have seen even just a few years ago. Amid all the dull, look-alike vehicles that fill the roads, since the late '90s automakers have also begun producing some of the most exciting and distinctive models in decades, such as the new Beetle from Volkswagen, the Hummer from General Motors and–the flavour of the moment–the PT Cruiser from DaimlerChrysler. That's created an opening for marketers. And they've responded: zeroing in on these vehicles to transform a humdrum necessity for a promotional event, the means of transportation, into a mobile promo hit.

Lily Lister of Venture Group in Calgary, with a trailer used at western rodeos and cycling races to promote Sunlight's "Go Ahead. Get Dirty" campaign

"When you need to raise visibility and create interest, a billboard just isn't the same as a moving mechanical contraption that evokes a set of feelings," says Robert Fisher, professor of marketing, communications at Richard Ivey School of Business at the University of Western Ontario in London. "The effect is communication of a brand that breaks through the clutter."

The Hummer and PT Cruiser may be the novel promotions vehicles of late, but some marketers are finding that even less-exciting models can be effective ways to build their brand–provided you apply enough imagination to the paint job. Unilever has made optimum use of just a trailer and set of vans for the past two years in its on-the-road "Go Ahead. Get Dirty" promotion for Sunlight laundry detergent in the West. It has worked because of the choice of events and the strong, visual creative masking of the vehicles.

When research for Unilever's almost three-year-old Sunlight repositioning showed the brand's market share lagged in the West, the brand team at Unilever's Canadian head office in Toronto decided to better leverage the national advertising. The company needed to reach consumers' hearts, which is why it was attracted to a program so grassroots, says Lily Lister, director of PR and the Sunlight event organizer at Venture Group in Calgary. Venture Group arranged to use vans for Unilever's sponsorship tour of cycling races, and a trailer to host the broadcast of rodeos during the summer of 1999 and 2000 in Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and B.C.

Lister says Venture took Toronto-based Ammirati Puris' highly successful "Go Ahead. Get Dirty" positioning for Sunlight physically to the consumer. So they chose lifestyle venues where mucking around is unavoidable to make a presence and distribute samples using the vehicles. Unilever plans to extend the promotions a third year, says Lister, possibly adding soccer events to the lineup.

While a limited budget ruled out using a more eye-catching vehicle than a van, Unilever's promotional creative makes up for it. Giant detailed wraps feature cyclists and cowboys who have clearly gone ahead and gotten dirty. Lister adds that the choice of vehicle also came down to issues of practicality. The vans have to transport cyclists and their gear as well as Sunlight samples, and traverse some rugged terrain.

When possible, events marketers are choosing vehicles that connect on an emotional level to the same kind of consumer who's attracted to the event itself. All the better if the marketer can spot an elusive link between their brand and the vehicle's.

"You want to choose a vehicle that has a natural fit," says Tony Chapman, president of Capital C, a promotion marketing company in Toronto. For example, if it's a men's shaver, consider a Porsche because it is clean, sleek and has sex appeal. If it's Levi's, consider a motorcycle. If it's Mountain Dew, use a Jeep. Travel insurance? Look to a Winnebago.

Pepsi-Cola Canada capitalized on the launch of the new Volkswagen Beetle when it introduced its soft drink, Mug root beer, around the same time in the spring of 1998. John Grant, director of marketing, non-carbonated beverages at Pepsi in Mississauga, Ont., says the company chose the Beetle because "it was old-fashioned, and had a retro, authentic iconic image that fit well with our Mug's formulation."

Teen site Youtopia.com used Hummers on a promo tour (right), while Pepsi tied into the new Bug to launch Mug root beer (far right)

As far as a vehicle can be an extension of a brand and have impact, marketers may also consider digging up classics for promotions. Roy Roedger, president of Second Dimension International in Toronto, says he located a classic, original 1968 Mustang Fastback for client Mr. Sub's 30th anniversary promotion in November 1998. It meshed with the event's nostalgic theme, he adds.

Pepsi actually refurbished and wrapped 25 vintage Beetles as well as a few of the new ones for the "Mug Bug" promotion, which ran again in the summer of 1999. Because Mug was targeted at teens and the Beetle is perceived as a cool car, it was the perfect choice of vehicles, says Grant.

"We wanted to get around to as many events as possible and we were trying to extend the (Mug) brand's persona, which made sampling all the more effective," he says. "I think the car promotion was the cornerstone of the whole launch."

Shoppers Drug Mart was going for impact when it chose two never-seen-before-in-Canada stretch Hummers for a national tour promoting the launch of its loyalty program, Optimum, last fall.

Neil Everett, senior VP marketing and communications at Shoppers Drug Mart in Toronto, says the Hummers suited the program's launch style. "We wanted the effect of sweeping down on cities in a military fashion." The Hummer is actually a military vehicle, most recognized for its use by U.S. forces in the Gulf War.

It certainly wasn't the most practical or inexpensive choice, though, as manoeuvring the $160,000, 30-foot vehicles through narrow lanes in older districts of cities revealed. However, experienced drivers were hired for the tour, and the maintenance plan was carefully thought out.

A stretch Hummer used in Shoppers' Optimum card launch created the effect of sweeping down on cities in a military fashion

The effect on the public was invaluable, says Everett, adding that it attracted enormous publicity. The Hummers racked up press coverage amounting to virtually one hour's worth of TV news, he says. "It made the front page of at least 20 major daily newspapers. It paid for itself more than 10 times over."

It's hard to believe, but already some people interviewed for this story say that the Hummer and PT Cruiser are "so overdone." That may be a reflection of the marketing industry's ceaseless quest for the new, since no doubt millions of Canadians have yet to lay eyes on either vehicle on a street. Until the next best thing comes along–and the automakers have some pretty interesting designs in the works–there is still demand for these vehicles as promo tools.

Unfortunately, the more popular the vehicle, the less interested automotive marketers are in taking advantage of cross-promotion, it seems. DaimlerChrysler does not market the PT Cruiser for use in cross-promotional events, says Pearl Davies, brand manager for Chrysler Jeep in Windsor, Ont. She adds that marketers who have used the PT Cruiser have simply had to purchase the vehicles from dealerships like any other consumer.

Paul Gitlin, president of Promotions in Motion in Markham, Ont., says that GM doesn't promote the Hummer to marketers for promotional purposes either. Gitlin arranged the stretch Hummers and handled the logistics of the Hummer tour for Shoppers. Ottawa-based teen loyalty Web site,Youtopia.com, relied on "normal" size Hummers (which are just over 15 feet long) for a 55-city North American-wide promotional tour that followed spokesperson Britney Spears on her concert trail. Gitlin, who arranged the vehicles, says the idea was to attract attention and sign up new site members. He adds that because Hummers are so rare and expensive, it's not easy to land one for promotional use.

When a new vehicle release isn't expected to be so overwhelming, auto marketers welcome co-promotional opportunities. "It depends on how much we need others to market us versus the draw of the vehicle," says Davies. For the upcoming release of the Sebring sedan and convertible, for example, Davies agreed to provide a convertible to Maxell Canada in Vaughan, Ont., as a giveaway in a Maxell contest aimed at boosting awareness of its video cassette brand. Davies felt the brands played well off each other.

Eleanor Reynolds, marketing manager at Maxell, says she hit up DaimlerChrysler because the car is hot and about to be released, and the open-top image plays well off Maxell's brand image of the man in the chair with his hair blowing back.

Despite the growing popularity of PT Cruisers, and General Motors' plans to create a consumer-friendly Hummer H2 version, marketers needn't worry about running out of novel vehicles any time soon. Chapman predicts that over the next few years we are going to see a whole lot more interesting, unusual vehicles emerge, especially retro versions. Roedger adds that a number of vehicles are currently being reinvented, included MGs and Triumphs. Hmm, what brands do they most remind you of...?