• by Karl Greenberg , June 3, 2015

Shell's Houston-based North American unit is launching what it is calling its largest fuel campaign in North America, and one of the largest ever, for the new Shell V-Power NITRO+ premium gasoline. The company says it is investing three times the marketing spend of previous campaigns in recent years for the campaign, which includes an industry-first endorsement by BMW around its 2015 M3 vehicles, and a LiveNation partnership for event activations, and ESPN SportsCenter.

The campaign comprises national events, a national TV commercial, and centers on a cross-country performance and luxury vehicle relay race with Hollywood talent, celebrities and athletes behind the wheels. The TV spot brings in famed CGI shop, London-based Framestore.

The campaign kicked off on Tuesday in Times Square with an experiential exhibition in a service station-themed outdoor venue. The event included a vintage and exotic car display with owners and famous auto collectors, who were there; simulators, where people could drive in a virtual Formula race; a 3D experience with Oculus Rift-powered Gear VR headsets; a “Picture Yourself” activity where participants can see their image on a billboard in Times Square; and the “Unleashed” mobile game, which will prompt players to battle gunk, wear and corrosion Attendees will also have the chance to win a new BMW 320i. 

The TV spot is an animated story about how NITRO+ saves the engine from the triple threat of corrosion, gunk and wear, with the three depicted as monsters. In the spot, a red BMW M3 sports car is chased along a mountain road by a transmogrifying creature made first of corroded junk, then corrosion, then gunk. Just when it seems the immense, spider-like monstrosity is about to crush the car, the vehicle pulls into a lone Shell station. When the monster reaches just after the car, it evanesces. Says Elen Phillips, VP of fuels, sales and marketing: “We wanted a different way to say best total protection, and how to tell an epic type story. So we hired a Hollywood producer, director, and top graphic CGI [agency].” The ad ran on a Times Square big board. 

The relay race began in Times Square, with Carson Daly kicking off the event and driving the first leg in a BMW M3. The relay will head to Chicago and Las Vegas before winding up at Jay Leno's garage in Los Angeles. Also there was Helio Castroneves, driver of the No.3 Shell V-Power Nitro+ Dallara/Honda; Guy Lovett, Ferrari Technology Manager, Shell Global Solutions; Marc Gené, test driver, Formula One, Ferrari GT; and a few Shell and BMW executives, scientists and tech experts.

Phillips tells Marketing Daily that when the relay gets to Chicago, Matt Forte of the Chicago Bears will be one of the people to take the wheel from there. Once in Las Vegas, boxing legend Sugar Ray Leonard will take over, as will Mario Andretti, who is in a Honda corporate ad right now. One of the vehicles, a Dodge Charger, is a dual-engine car that will run Shell’s fuel and a competitor, per Phillips. At the end, in Los Angeles, the company will compare the health and deposit build-up in each engine, per Phillips. The cars will also have GoPros, and video content from the drive will be on Shell’s global site, and on Facebook and Twitter, she said. 

Phillips says Shell's relationship with BMW is similar in scope to the brand's 60-year long partnership with Ferrari around proof of product in racing (Shell is the official fuel of Ferrari F1 racing.) BMW is recommending the V-Power NITRO+ fuel as the best fuel for its M performance cars in its M-Series manuals and on vehicle gas caps, per Phillips.  

The goal, says Phillips, is to pique the interest of people who appreciate high performance. “Premium is growing; there is a larger percent of cars that recommend or require premium gasoline, from 37% in 2011, to 40% in 2012,” she says, adding that there's a challenge in that 80% who buy premium think all fuels are the same. “They know enough to want premium fuel but not enough to go to next level of detail. It's not about a demographic, but behavior. It's thinking about making a deliberate choice and wanting the best gasoline.”