Hertz continued its ‘Let’s Go Moments’ campaign in May with a fresh set of TV and online spots featuring NFL super star Tom Brady and audio ads sound tracked by musician Ryan Tedder which seek to make the vehicle rental brand feel more human.
Hertz’s campaign aims to engage people whose vacations and family visits were disrupted by the pandemic and whose gas/petrol money doesn’t go as far as it used to.
The car rental company’s latest marketing burst, which seeks to keep its messaging consistent as it drives towards an electric future, sees Brady mock his own football un-retirement based around the idea that the multiple Super Bowl winning quarterback was retired for less time than it took Hertz to create the new set of spots.
The campaign is based around a set of spots starring the three-time NFL MVP, five-time Super Bowl MVP and seven-time Super Bowl champion who announced his retirement on 1 February only to announce a surprise return to Tampa Back Buccaneers on 13 March.
Created in harness with Hertz’ agency partner Shadow Lion, one ad sees 44-year-old Brady ask an actor to imagine he’s been in the same job for 22 years and then retired on a whim, before heading off on a road trip and then return to work after realising that all he needed was a holiday.
Other spots in the semi-improvised series see Brady appear alongside actress/comedian/writer and Hertz ad co-star Alyssa Limperis as the two are shot sitting side-by-side as they charge their rental cars: one sees Limperis trumpeting the merits of the Hertz theme music as it plays through shared earbuds.
Indeed, to pick up relatable actions, mannerisms and thoughts from authentic Hertz employees staffers, Limperis spent time at the car rental brand’s Tampa office.
Limperis, who is originally from Massachusetts and used to go with her dad to watch Brady play for the New England Patriots, plays a company employee role in Hertz ads not dissimilar from ‘Jake from State Farm’, ‘Lily from AT&T’ and ‘Flo From Progressive’.
Brady and Limperis are joined in Hertz’s campaign by music from singer, songwriter and producer Ryan Tedder which bookends each ad. Former OneRepublic vocalist Tedder’s aim for the brand audio was to create an ‘infectious melody that wove the campaign’s core statement into the music via sound which evokes a sensory and emotional response which listeners could immediately identify with Hertz.
The ads all use the brand’s umbrella tagline ‘Let’s Go’ and were created by agencies Shadow Lion, Blue Memo and FKQ. They rolled out in various cuts from 30-, 16- and 7-second versions from 19 May and included ‘Charging Deep Thoughts’, ‘Remember Boston’, ‘Futbol’, ‘Spy’, ‘Kids These Days’, ‘Music’, ‘On Set’ and ‘Hertz App’.
“The ‘Let’s Go Moments’ campaign as a whole has driven a strong lift for our brand, inclusive of our innovative fleet offerings and our partnership with Tom Brady,” explained Hertz SVP of Marketing Slye. “As we were preparing for Part 2 of our Brady campaign, the news broke about his retirement and un-retirement. We realized very quickly that this storyline was an engaging way to tell a ‘Let’s Go’ story.”
“Consistency is huge for us,” added Slye. “We can believe we are repeating the same [message], but the consumer lives in a world where there are so many forms of advertising grabbing their attention. Due to the overwhelming amount of content targeting these consumers, it is vital that we show up in a consistently relevant manner and, hopefully, with engaging content that they want to see more of.”
“The lack of fuel emissions is great,” added Brady at the campaign launch. “It’s just the fact that you can drive home, plug it in, you never have to go to the gas station, and you’re contributing to making the planet a little bit healthier.”
”In particular, the spots where we are seated in the chairs, we just had a blast: We couldn’t get through the first one without breaking every time we looked at each other,” added Limperis. “Everything I threw at him, he threw back and it was one of the most fun days I’ve ever had on set. At a certain point I started talking in a Boston accent and he didn’t skip a beat in talking to me in one as well.”
“The key to creating a solid audio brand is not just having a unique melody but also a catchphrase that captures the spirit of the brand,” explained Tedder. “Very few companies go that extra step to add a catchphrase or lyric. Having those phrases takes it beyond just a catchy ditty and reinforces the ethos and spirit of the brand.”
Comment
According to the campaign PR, when Brady himself saw the potential end of his career and the Buccaneers saw a quick change of tack for the NFL Draft, Hertz’s marketing boss Eoghan Slye saw a fresh set of ‘Let’s Go Moment’ spots building on November 2021’s ‘Ahead Of The Game’ which also featured Brady.
These came after Hertz emerged from bankruptcy as the brand announced it would buy 100,000 Tesla Model 3s to add to its fleet.
Since his retirement and un-retirement, it was also revealed that Brady has been guaranteed a $375m expert analysis role at Fox Sports once he does retire.
Leave a comment
You must be logged in to post a comment.