Who: Cadillac Canada with Isobar Canada for strategy, creative and production, Perfect Pear Communications for PR.
What: “Cadillac Range Un-Anxiety,” a more than three-hour video (3:31:02 to be exact) promoting the Lyriq, the luxury automaker’s new entry in the fast-growing EV category. It joins a curious subset of entertainment called “Slow TV,” where routine everyday activities—like a nearly 10-hour train trip—are shown in their entirety in real time.
When & Where: The campaign launched last week on Cadillac’s YouTube channel, complemented by social content and PR. There’s currently no paid media support, although Cadillac’s marketing and communications manager, Elphie Galanakis, said the company might consider some social boosting.
“Now that we’re getting some traction and engagement and some chatter around it, we definitely want to use it from a paid perspective,” said Galanakis. “Whatever we do [from a brand perspective] we share with our dealers… and if they want to put money behind it, they’re welcome to.”
Why: The video is specifically intended to address the fear of “range anxiety”—the worry that an EV’s charge might run out prior to reaching a driver’s destination (or the next charging station).
Cadillac has been experimenting with long-form videos in international markets for several years now, although this one is decidedly unconventional and highly specific in its messaging.
“We know that range anxiety and lack of charging infrastructure is definitely a top concern [for prospective customers],” said Galanakis, who said that Cadillac’s brand team is also partnering with its EV team on additional content designed to ease those consumer fears.
Made-in-Canada marketing: Canadian automakers tend to rely heavily on library content and international creative, particularly for pre-production models like the Lyriq, but Cadillac has put forward some made-in-Canada marketing solutions over the past year—including last year’s campaign featuring tennis star Bianca Andreescu that is currently working in tandem with the long-form video.
How: The video takes viewers on a real-time 350-kilometre drive through the B.C. mountains, accompanied by a chill-wave soundtrack featuring nature-inspired music. “It’s all about ambiance and relaxing, soothing tones,” said Galanakis, who personally vetted dozens of music selections.
The Lyriq itself wasn’t even used in the creation of the video, since there is currently only one pre-production model in existence—currently in the automaker’s Cadillac Live studio in Toronto for virtual online tours. “The idea was to simulate the [range] of the Lyriq on a full charge,” said Galanakis. “The focus wasn’t on the specs or the inside of the vehicle.”
And we quote: “We had to come up with some creative ways of making people aware of our new EV,” said Galanakis. “This concept was brought forward by our agency and we jumped on it. We thought ‘Is this boring?’ and ‘Do people actually watch this?’ but the landscape can be very beautiful.”
