Vauxhall exploits World Cup qualifier farce with tongue-in-cheek ad

By Ben Bold, marketingmagazine.co.uk, Thursday, 18 October 2012 10:01AM

Vauxhall has capitalised on the farrago surrounding Tuesday's rained-off England v Poland World Cup qualifier by bragging that its Cascada model's roof can close in 19 seconds and screening the ads on LED screens in Warsaw stadium during yesterday's rescheduled match.

Vauxhall Cascada: promoted during the England v Poland match in Warsaw

The England team lead sponsor moved quickly on Wednesday to commission the new LED advertising package that carried the message, "The Cascada – A roof that can close in 19 seconds".

The copy was a tongue-in-cheek jibe at Polish organisers, who had failed to close the Warsaw stadium's retractable roof earlier in the week, leading to a waterlogged pitch and a cancelled fixture.

Peter Hope, Vauxhall’s marketing director, said: "We always like to be proactive and tie together our car launches with our football sponsorship portfolio.

"This is a light-hearted campaign in which we can extol the virtues of the Cascada to a television audience of millions."

Vauxhall’s Cascada is a premium range "topper", which has a roof that can close in 19 seconds. It is due to launch in the first quarter of 2013.

This article was first published on marketingmagazine.co.uk