Porsche and Nissan clash over German-baiting guerrilla ad campaign
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2010/jul/05/porsche-nissan-clash-guerrilla-ads
Sports car marque objects after Nissan uses its logo as part of marketing push claiming superior performance
Porsche has clashed with Nissan over guerrilla marketing activity used as part of an ad campaign attacking the performance of rival sports cars under straplines such as "The Germans Came Off Wurst".
Nissan's campaign, which also attacks BMW and Audi, includes a massive outdoor ad covering London's Imax theatre with the headline "How to beat the Germans".
A UK-wide billboard campaign used straplines including "Kaisers Chiefed" and "The Winner Hans Down", next to information claiming Nissan's sports models outperformed rivals in a series of races around the Nürburgring in Germany.
However, although the outdoor ad campaign was provocative, it was unsubtle guerilla activity at the Goodwood Festival over the weekend that caused Porsche UK executives to lodge a complaint with Nissan and, according to sources, at one point threaten legal action.
Nissan decked out several of its sports cars with the logos of BMW, Audi and Porsche on the side with a classic five bar gate scoring system "etched" next to each brand to show the number of racing victories it had clocked up on the Nurburgring against them.
Porsche executives are understood to have approached Nissan demanding that the activity be stopped, saying that the use of their logo breached copyright.
"The problem arose with them using our Porsche crests," said Andrea Baker, head of public relations at Porsche. "They are our property and we do not give permission to any company to use our crests without our permission. This applies to any company."
She added that while the company had "no issue" with Nissan's wider ad campaign and "had not seen the detail" of the basis of the Nurburgring performance claims, she was "sure we would have a look at it".
Advertising claims can be challenged through the Advertising Standards Authority, which can ban ads if they are found not to be able to be substantiated.
Nissan replaced the Porsche logo with the word Porsche. It is thought that the BMW and Audi logos remained in use on the side of the Nissan sports cars at Goodwood.
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