Interesting Ad campaigns by Rolls Royce over the years 1906 to 2006
Since 1904 Rolls-Royce has created instantly recognizable motor cars that have made the marquee an enduring icon all over the world. It has been able to create powerful inspirational brand value in the consumers’ mindset with popular taglines attached with its brand such as ‘Like nothing else on earth’ and ‘Trusted to deliver excellence’. The brand has been projected as a classic vehicle with very high value and hence is a customized automobile that is tailor-made to suit the needs of its owner. After a little experimentation Rolls-Royce has finally adopted a selective marketing policy for its vehicles. Its promotional tools include a display at high profile gatherings, premium hotels and exclusive auto-expos. Rolls Royce caters to a very exclusive and niche market and depends heavily on word of mouth advertising from satisfied clients who unwittingly becomes its brand ambassadors and hence marketing agents.
The most interesting Ad campaign by Rolls Royce has to be the decade (1958- 1962) David Ogilvy took over the brands’ advertising. Before Ogilvy, Rolls-Royce simply declared themselves "the best car in the world" but when Ogilvy came on board, he focused on proving that statement. Instead of starting with the headline "The best car in the world", Ogilvy incorporated it into the deck copy or opening paragraph, often using it to describe the car vs. calling it a "Rolls-Royce". In a few ads, he turned it into a question "what makes Rolls-Royce the best car in the world?" which lead to a list of facts he compiled to convince you of that statement.
Rolls-Royce's budget was a measly $50,000 but Ogilvy worked with it creatively and came up with what has to be one of the most celebrated headlines in the history of advertising – “At 60 miles an hour the loudest noise in this new Rolls- Royce comes from the electric clock”. This piece of advertising only ran in 2 publications, The New Yorker and New York Times but resulted in 500% increase in sales the following year.
This ad did more than sell a lot of Rolls-Royce cars; in a way, it sold a profession and since then there has been no turning back. The only marketing strategy Rolls Royce needed after that was to maintain the quality of their product and let the consumers do the marketing.
