“HOW TO BEAT THE GERMANS”: NISSAN HIGHLIGHTS SUPERIOR PERFORMANCE OVER GERMAN RIVALS IN NEW AD CAMPAIGN

• New Nissan advertising challenges rival German manufacturers
• Nissan highlights its performance advantages with promotional stunt
• Print and poster campaign launched using giant BFI IMAX billboard in London

Nissan Motor (GB) Ltd has launched a challenging new series of poster and print adverts to highlight the fact that the Nissan 370Z and the flagship Nissan GT-R have superior performance and yet cost less than their comparable German rivals.

The campaign uses tongue-in-cheek phrases such as “The Winner Hans Down,” “The Germans Came Off Wurst,” “Kaisers Chiefed” and “Deutschland Deutschland Über-Rated” in order to make people question why they would buy German brands when Nissan can offer performance at a more accessible price.

Last week, Nissan brought the advertising to life, taking an Audi TTS manual coupe around the streets of London blazoned with the words: “More expensive, slower and less powerful than a Nissan 370Z.”  It was joined by a Porsche Cayman bearing the slogan: “I dream of being as fast as a Nissan 370Z” on the side. Other cars featured in the advertising campaign include versions of the BMW Z4 as well as the Porsche Boxster and 911*.

The campaign was officially launched on the giant 360-degree 47ft tall BFI IMAX billboard at Waterloo, London, and will continue to appear in key national men’s lifestyle and motoring titles, plus outdoor poster sites across the UK over the next six months.

Talking of the campaign, Steve McLennan, Nissan Marketing Director explains: “It simply challenges the convention of German sportscars being the only benchmark for performance and quality.

“Nissan is confident in the ability of 370Z and GT-R to eclipse our comparable German rivals in terms of outright performance and accessibility and it’s now time to shout about it.”

ENDS

Notes to Editors:

*  The 0-62mph performance of the Nissan 370Z Coupe with manual gearbox (5.3secs) is compared to the manual Audi TTS 2.0 Coupe (5.4secs), BMW Sdrive3.0i (5.8secs) and Porsche Cayman 2.9 (5.8secs).

Prices start at £28,345 for the Nissan 370Z Coupe and £59,945 for the GT-R. The 370Z can accelerate from 0-62mph in just 5.3 seconds, while the GT-R has set a time of 7m 26 seconds around the Nurburgring Nordschleife circuit.

Table showing power, 0-62mph figures and cost of Nissan 370Z Coupe compared with rivals

Table showing power, 0-62mph figures and cost of Nissan 370Z Roadster compared with rivals

Nissan in the UK

• Nissan Sunderland Plant has a workforce of 4,700
• Note, Qashqai and Qashqai+2 are all produced at Sunderland Plant
• UK is Nissan’s biggest market in Europe
• Over 80 per cent of production is exported to 45 markets worldwide
• NMUK has been named as the biggest UK car plant for the past 12 years
• Sunderland Plant won a Queen's Award for Export, the fourth received since the plant opened in 1986
• The plant built its 5 millionth car in June 2008
• Sunderland Plant’s 2009 calendar year volume totalled 338,150 units
• Nissan’s European design centre is located in Paddington, London and employs around 50 people
• Nissan’s European Technical Centre is based in Cranfield,  Bedfordshire and employs around 750 people

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION OR IMAGES GO TO www.nissanpress.co.uk OR CONTACT: