Vauxhall ads to push Net sales service

Vauxhall has overhauled its advertising strategy and produced a campaign highlighting its innovations in the car market, including selling vehicles direct over the Internet.

In the past the car manufacturer has focused on individual car models.

The TV campaign, which breaks this week, stars comedian Griff Rhys-Jones, the face of the car company’s future ads .

Two ads will advertise the Website for the first time and the third in the series will highlight the dual fuel capacity of Vauxhall’s vehicles.

Vauxhall says the ads are the launch-pad for a humorous theme to all its advertising.

Marketing operations director Andy Jones says: “It makes them more likeable and therefore more memorable. Our biggest problem has been our lack of consistency.”

The ads were created by Vauxhall’s agency Lowe Howard-Spink and media was bought by Western International Media.

Last November Vauxhall, which spends over £83m a year on advertising, launched the Website www.vauxhall.co.uk to sell vehicles directly to consumers.

Cars sold on the site offer customers a discount of £1,000 and carry a dot.com badge.

Jones declined to say how many cars Vauxhall has sold over the Web, saying the company would release official figures by the end of the month.

The move by Vauxhall makes it the first motor manufacturer to sell cars directly on the Internet and the first to advertise the service.