Who: Fountain Tire with FCB Canada for creative, and Guru Communications for media.
What: The fall campaign for the auto repair shop, promoting its year-old Digital Vehicle Report. It’s part of the brand’s “We’re on this road together” positioning.
When & Where: The campaign is in market now in traditional and digital media, running across what the company describes as “all major touch-points.”
Why: Since most customers don’t know a manifold from a muffler, they’re often forced to take what their mechanic tells them at face value. That’s why Fountain Tire introduced the Digital Vehicle Report, which turns “mechanic speak” into an at-a-glance overview of the things that need attention. The goal is to increase consideration by demonstrating trust and transparency relative to its competitors.
How: The lead spot continues Fountain Tire’s longstanding use of humour in its brand work. This time, it shows a man talking with his mechanic, trying to comprehend as he talks about things like a “throttle body actuator” (turns out that’s a real thing) and running an OBD (also real).
“While I’m under there, I’m gonna have to look at the-” the mechanic starts to say, only for the customer to cut him off: “Bottom. Bottom part. Under bottom,” he says in a futile attempt to demonstrate that he knows what he’s talking about.
“People don’t like to feel they’re lacking in knowledge, so they just kind of always agree [with their mechanic],” said Tim Welsh, vice-president, managing director at FCB. “We thought that taking a humorous approach to that… showing a guy who looks confused but trying to play along, was a nice angle to take. If we went heavy-handed or tried to be too serious about it, I don’t think it would give people the sense that the Fountain Tire team is approachable.”
And we quote: “Trust and transparency are at the core of our business. We want our customers to make informed decisions about their vehicle and this tool empowers them to do the right thing.” — Denise Gohl-Eacrett, director brand and customer experience, Fountain Tire
