- Suzuki is relying on canine charm — and a dueling Eskimo couple — to pitch the 2012 Kizashi in its 2012 Super Bowl commercial.
- The Suzuki ad, entitled "Sled," features a team of Siberian Huskies and what the automaker calls "a classic husband-and-wife tale everyone can relate to."
- The Japanese automaker joins Volkswagen in leaning heavily on dogs in its 2012 Super Bowl advertising.
BREA, California — Suzuki on Thursday previewed its 2012 Super Bowl commercial entitled "Sled," which pitches the 2012 Kizashi courtesy of a team of Siberian Huskies and a dueling Eskimo couple.
Suzuki's Sled ad opens with an Eskimo and his dog-sled team riding off into a snowy landscape. Later, a Kizashi reappears with the dogs buckled into the backseat and the Eskimo behind the wheel.
The Eskimo pulls up to his igloo to face an angry wife. "Where's the sled?" she asks in what Suzuki says is native Inuit. The man replies: "I traded it in."
"I think this year's Kizashi spot shares a classic husband and wife tale everyone can relate to," said Rob Siltanen, CEO and chief creative officer of Siltanen & Partners Advertising, which created the ad.
The Japanese automaker joins Volkswagen in leaning heavily on dogs in its Super Bowl advertising. Earlier, VW previewed its Super Bowl commercial via a YouTube video that showed dogs barking the Imperial March from Star Wars.
Dogs have been mainstays in recent Super Bowl advertising, selling everything from Bud Light to Doritos.
Suzuki said it will give away Barkcode tags to the first 1,000 customers to register on www.KizashiKicks.com/sled. The personalized pet ID tags have a scannable 2D code to help find missing pets. With each tag that is ordered, Suzuki will donate $3 dollars to the American Red Cross.
Inside Line says: Dogs, cars and the Super Bowl are a natural fit.
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sleddogaction says:
01:43 PM, 02/04/2012
Love that Suzuki commercial. The sled dogs don't live on the end of chain like most do in Alaska. They also aren't being forced to run in the Iditarod, a race that's terribly cruel to dogs. What happens to dogs during the Iditarod includes death, bloody diarrhea, paralysis, frostbite (where it hurts the most!), bleeding ulcers, lung damage, pneumonia, ruptured discs, viral diseases, kennel cough, broken bones, torn muscles and extreme stress. At least 142 dogs have died in the race, including two dogs who froze to death in the brutally cold winds. FOR MORE FACTS: Sled dog Action Coalition, http://www.helpsleddogs.org.
mau19 says:
07:18 PM, 01/26/2012
The Kizashi is so underrated! Awesome car really.
cz_75 says:
06:49 PM, 01/26/2012
Too bad their dealer network will still suck.
compressor says:
06:26 PM, 01/26/2012
isend2c,
That proves my point. All of the cars you listed come with the base engine. BMW is the only one with a manual option.
The Mazda is nice, but in the same league as a GTI, A3. Neither of which I'd really practical (Though I've owned and loved the old gti-vr6. For some reason it was both smaller than the current but with more trunk room. Go figure. The news ones trunks just don't cut it.)
akitadog says:
03:02 PM, 01/26/2012
Too late. They should have brought over the global Swift YEARS ago, with a hot-hatch version. That would have relaunched them in the US. Now, they're just grasping at straws.
isend2c says:
02:02 PM, 01/26/2012
Practical people have to buy a 328i wagon, Audi Avant or Mazda 3 5-door. Suzuki isn't adding another engine though, so the Kizashi is sticking to it's 185 HP 4-pot.
compressor says:
09:58 AM, 01/26/2012
This is a good looking sedan.
But, people with dogs tend to like wagons (at least I think so). A Kizashi wagon with AWD and a manual trans options would be something I would consider. I'd probably do it if you could get one with ~250 hp, ala Legacy Wagon GT revival.
Sadly, it seems like there are two markets. One for people that just need something to drive. One for people that need something practical. And for some reason, teh auto industry thinks the practical people don't like to have any fun.