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Client: Cadillac
Creative Agency: Arc Worldwide

Following the success of the "Cadillac Under 5" campaign and the launch of the V-Series cars (three cars that go from 0 mph to 60 mph in less than 5 seconds), Cadillac wanted to continue to raise awareness with a younger audience, and a tie-in with Xbox console gaming emerged as a dramatic way to reach those consumers. Play, the gaming division of Publicis, brokered a relationship with Microsoft. Cadillac became the first advertiser to sponsor an expansion pack within the Xbox 360 game Project Gotham Racing 3 (PGR3) featuring the three V-Series vehicles.

The downloadable expansion pack allows gamers to drive the V-Series vehicles within PGR3, experiencing all of the power, handling and engineering characteristics of the real cars in the Xbox gaming environment. Arc was tasked to create an online presence for the release of the expansion pack. We wanted to create excitement and buzz, and to shift perceptions of Cadillac as an old and slow brand commonly associated with your grandfather to a young, fast, performance-oriented brand. Arc created a microsite where users can find out about the expansion pack and the "Cadillac Elite Player Status" gamer picture. Arc also wanted the website to demonstrate the youthful dynamism of the video game experience to those who either don't have an Xbox live connection or who aren't gamers.

The finished site features four sections. The "Vehicles" section spotlighted the V-Series Collection models (XLR-V, STS-V, CTS-V). Here, we wanted to shift perceptions by changing the vocabulary people use to describe Cadillacs. We wanted to focus on the performance characteristics experienced in the video game rather than the old-fashioned selling points of comfort and luxury. The cars are shown racing on Germany's Nürburging Full F1 Circuit, both a track in the game and the track on which the real vehicles were actually tested. Users can also explore under the hoods of the vehicles through engineering overlays.

The "V-Series in PGR3" section explains where and how to download the expansion pack. It also provides an overview of the "Cadillac Elite Player Status" gamer picture-- an exclusive reward that users can add to their gamer profile by finishing with a top-100 race time on the Nürburging Full F1 Circuit.

The "Trailer" section contains an exciting, fast-paced :49 video of racing footage from the game, cut and scored with original music. Arc developed both the music and the site's sound design, created with audio samples from real Cadillac vehicles.

The "Downloads" section provides digital premiums in the form of wallpapers and screensavers. There are many other collectibles, using the video game metaphor of easter eggs, hidden throughout the site.

Overall, this was a great opportunity to partner with Play and Leo Burnett to provide a truly integrated campaign-and it has been an overwhelming success. In the first month, gamers worldwide downloaded the V-Series Expansion Pack more than 150,000 times and logged 7,600 hours of racing with Cadillac V-Series cars. The vseriescollection.com microsite was extremely popular, with more than 169,000 page views, 58,000 visits and an average time of 2.27 minutes spent on the website. And free publicity from the game editors' websites reached millions of consumers a month.
-- Tim Irvine, SVP and group creative director, Arc Worldwide and David Hartt, creative director, Arc Worldwide

The site works in several levels: the creative campaign can speak to adults who are familiar with the elegant Cadillac brand while aiming to communicate with the younger generation. These younger consumers are the video game players, and tying in the Cadillac brand, new cars and Xbox was a well-executed idea. The design of the creative is sleek, hip and fast, which resonates with the sporty image of the Cadillac racing cars. The site is loaded with features, from interactivity to viral components -- tell a friend -- to some cool downloads. I especially enjoyed the realistic animation of the V-series and all the detailed specs attached to each model.

With the high quality of the video, I actually had some trouble figuring out if it was real cars that were filmed or if it was animated. The trailer wins on that aspect alone. And just before I was going to suggest a mobile component, I found that you can download the trailer to a handheld mobile video playing device. Cadillac is not just a luxury cruising car-- it's a fast, dynamic, fashionable brand. The creative site carries that motif and targets its audience, whether they are a 16-year-old or a 60-year-old.
-- Roger Park, news editor, iMedia Connection

Years ago, I remember my grandfather buying a Cadillac, and I remember him lumbering down the road, with a line of cars impatiently following in his 10 MPH wake. Though that image still plays through my head, it's about to be permanently shattered by the website for the V-Series' connection with PGR3.

From a branding standpoint, engaging video gamers is a smart move to "youth-a-nize" the Cadillac consumer. The slick, smoothly animated racing footage features very realistic motion. It gives users a great view of the vehicles' overall look and potential for speed and race-caliber handling. And while they're at it, they can check out the specs of each of the three V-Series vehicles.

I do wish the vehicle specs would stay on the screen a bit longer-by the time I realized there were things I could click on (like the little blips that open up to display wallpapers and other downloads), they had raced off. And I'm not sure I get what the timeline-type feature is meant to do (clicking on them seems to play the same video that was running anyway), but for the gaming set, these things are negligible. They are going to come away with a heightened perception of the Cadillac's cool factor.
-- Jodi Harris, editor, Driving Interactive