
We’ve talked a little bit about the Smart ForTwo Electric Drive in recent weeks. Mostly, it was about how I sold my Camaro and purchased one. They’re back in your newsfeed because Smart USA has launched a fun and quirky new campaign to get people to go on test rides in their diminutive vehicle.
The campaign is pretty simple in concept. You go to a specially marked location, and send a ‘Yo’, which is based on a new social media platform, to a location-coded user. Smart tries to grab your attention, and get you to try it by asking if you’re ‘Electricurious’. It will then send out a ForTwo Electric Drive to give you a ride if you are. The ad launches into a parody NASA-style control-room spoof at this point, complete with master control room style dialog. A Smart ED is then dispatched to your location to pick you up, and drive you merrily to your destination. It makes for an entertaining view.
Once inside the car, the various users of the cool new campaign can be seen asking all the questions that I typically field on new test rides, the most prominent of which is: “This thing is fully electric?” Yes. It is. That’s why you never hear an engine, and one of the reasons I love my Smart ED to death. The other comment I typically hear on test rides they also cover, which is: “There’s more room in here than I thought!” This makes me think the video is genuine, and doesn’t feature paid actors. I kind of like the genuine touch.
Currently, the campaign is running in San Francisco. Here’s hoping that the new campaign will generate more interest in a really fun and inexpensive little electric car.
What do you think of this new social media fueled campaign?
Sign up for daily news updates from CleanTechnica on email. Or follow us on Google News!
Have a tip for CleanTechnica, want to advertise, or want to suggest a guest for our CleanTech Talk podcast? Contact us here.
Autonomous Drones for Better Farming
I don't like paywalls. You don't like paywalls. Who likes paywalls? Here at CleanTechnica, we implemented a limited paywall for a while, but it always felt wrong — and it was always tough to decide what we should put behind there. In theory, your most exclusive and best content goes behind a paywall. But then fewer people read it! We just don't like paywalls, and so we've decided to ditch ours. Unfortunately, the media business is still a tough, cut-throat business with tiny margins. It's a never-ending Olympic challenge to stay above water or even perhaps — gasp — grow. So ...