Muscle car for Mercury ; Marauder launch aims to add excitement to aging auto brand.(Brief Article)

Advertising Age, July, 2002 by Halliday, Jean

Ford Motor Co. is hoping its all-new Mercury Marauder high-performance sedan will rev up some excitement for the aging brand.

``The Marauder is going to have a huge halo effect on Mercury,'' said Eric Koehler, assistant brand manager for the car. ``What we're trying to do with Marauder is create interest in American muscle cars.''

The unusual launch, from WPP Group's Y&R Cos., Irvine, Calif., includes infomercials, magazine ads in national auto enthusiast titles, direct mail, Internet ads and test drives as part of an event tour. The only national TV effort is a pair of 30-minute infomercials airing on cable's Speed Channel. They tout the heritage of the model, last made in 1969, and the new car's 302-horsepower engine.

Ford ran one 30-second...

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