Mazda returns to television in bid to fill the showrooms

Mazda is to return to television after a break of nearly four years with its MPV Premacy campaign.

Mazda, which is 33.4 per cent owned by Ford and distributed in this country by MCL Group, is going on air next Monday (May 15) with a £4m media spend over the next six weeks.

A company spokesman said Mazda’s decision to return to TV is based on its determination to draw people into showrooms. He said: “We have no problem with conversion once we get people to look at the cars. Going back to television is part of this awareness-raising push.”

It is also the first television work created for Mazda by ad agency J Walter Thompson since it landed the pan-European business in 1996.

The ad incorporates Mazda’s new global advertising tagline: “Get in. Be moved” which was introduced at the end of last year.

Mazda is still without a UK marketing director following the departure of Chris Owen over a year ago. Marketing consultant Alexei Orlov has been acting as marketing director (MW February 3).

The spokesman said the company was aiming for a two per cent share of UK sales by the end of next year. According to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, Mazda has just over 1.1 per cent share.