Sir Jim Ratcliffe is a busy bee. The Ineos billionaire (Ineos is the old BP industrial chemicals business) is attempting to revive Manchester United (he owns a minority share) and this week sees the global launch of the Ineos Grenadier, his rival to Land Rover’s celebrated Defender.
Wonderhood Studios is in the ad chair with its Wonderhood Makers handling global social strategy, community management and engagement and brand identity through Wonderhood Design. WPP’s Wavemaker is handling media. The Grenadier, they say, is “Built for More.”
Ineos Automotive CEO Lynn Calder says: “The Grenadier has already been embraced by off-road adventurers and enthusiasts, so we are excited to now introduce our 4X4 to a wider global audience. We are the first European OEM (original equipment manufacturer) to launch at scale this century, so we took our time to ensure production, build quality and a global after sales network was in place before we took this step. Like the Grenadier, we’re ready to take on the world.”
Does the world need another 4×4? The Grenadier was first thought of when it looked as though Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) was going to ditch the original but they decided to bring it back as a pretty upscale version of the venerable workhorse. The Grenadier doesn’t come cheap either but some Range Rovers sell for Ferrari prices these days. Suspect you’ll see more of these on the private school run than hacking across a bog but there you go.
Positioned here as a challenge to well-heeled couch potatoes everywhere, which is a more original thought than you get in most car advertising.
MAA creative scale: 7.5.
