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Nissan Takes on Big Domestic Truck Builders

by Staff
October 15, 2003
2 min to read


When Diane Allen and her team at Nissan Design America were told to create Nissan's first full-size truck, their marching orders were to "do it big, do it authentic and make it look different." But their creation, the hulking Nissan Titan, won't be marketed with a three-word tagline to rival "Built Ford Tough" or Chevy's "Like a Rock," according to an Associated Press (AP) report. Make no mistake, though, about whose bumpers the Titan will aim for when it rumbles off Nissan's new Mississippi plant next week, AP said. Nissan officials say the Titan was designed to get Ford, GM and Dodge big-truck loyalists to at least take the Nissan challenger for a spin, according to AP. Nissan will launch an in-your-face television ad blitz Monday, with four 15-second spots featuring full-screen white letters on a black background shouting hefty towing, horsepower and torque statistics. "We want to prove we can be at the poker game, so you got to show you've got the goods," said Rob Schwartz, executive creative director of the California-based Nissan agency that created the Titan's ad campaign, AP reported. Art Spinella, president of CNW Marketing/Research in Bandon, Ore, predicted the Titan will ignite a fierce battle at the local dealer level. "Wherever a Nissan store puts on a 'Come and take a look at Titan' promotion, you will see Ford and Chevy sales and more advertising in local markets to drown out Nissan," Spinella said.

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