Grey-SA breathes new life into Mazda brand

Almost 10 years since Mazda’s iconic Zoom-Zoom campaign was first launched, Mazda in South Africa, in a partnership with Grey-SA, has reinvigorated the concept with an emotive new campaign that harnesses the spirit of the ‘zoom zoom’ idea and breathes new life into the Mazda brand.

The campaign will be used to completely relaunch Mazda. In an incredible coup for the local agency, the ‘zoom zoom’ premise has been localised – Grey-SA was able to apply a global platform hinged upon relevant local insights.

Cath Ireland, Grey Advertising executive creative director, says the thinking behind the campaign was to really bring the ‘zoom zoom’ idea to life, to make it a tangible emotion that people could step into and relate to.

“Zoom- Zoom is the exhilarating rush of energy you feel when driving. For this campaign we wanted to convey that through a confident expression of motion that challenges what people think they know in an uncompromisingly honest, zoomy, ballsy, whoosh your hair back, club you in the face, I don’t know what just happened, but go ahead and do it again kind of way. We wanted to challenge consumers’ perceptions of motion and what they thought they knew about Mazda,” Ireland explains.

“We really wanted the campaign to stand out, and so have employed a number of creative tactics. This includes a very specific tone of voice in the voice over, that’s distinctive and a little cheeky but confident and honest. It’s not a traditional advertising tone so it’s disruptive. Visually the advert is also unconventional in that we’ve used lots of fast-paced cuts where every shot unlocks the joy of motion and the thrill of emotion,” she adds.







“We are excited about this campaign, it is energetic,  with  a  fun feel, that will sets the Mazda brand apart,” says Doreen Mashinini, Mazda marketing manager. “It truly expresses the joyful exuberance of the brand and we believe this campaign will breakthrough. We are confident that it will alter people’s expectations of Mazda while reaffirming the correctness of choice for those who are already Mazda drivers.”



To do that, the creative team conceptualised the launch TVC around the idea of the simplicity with which children experience ‘zoom-zoom’ and the absolute delight this brings. So things like a cardboard box and grassy embankment. It plays on the idea that as adults, we lose that ability to feel ‘zoom- zoom’ – until we get behind the wheel of a Mazda and rediscover the thrill of motion.



The entire creative team, comprising Ireland; creative directors Erin Brooks and Jayson Dicks; and film director Chloe Coetsee, lived the ‘zoom- zoom’ concept themselves during the process. So the shoot, for example, was equally fast-paced, with three ads being completed in just six days. Ireland says everything was assessed against the “zoom -zoom philosophy”.



It is anticipated that  the new campaign will reaffirm existing Mazda fans’ love for the brand and cultivate a whole new generation of ‘zoom- zoom’ followers.



The first execution, a 45” corporate TVC, went live on 08 of June 2011 on SABC, DStv and E.tv. Running simultaneously is a new look and feel print campaign comprising nine print adverts. Retail offerings and online executions will be rolled out in the near future.