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In ads for the 2010 Buick LaCrosse,

the year is pronounced “twenty ten”

because the sound is “different,

modern and progressive,” according

to the director of advertising for the

brand.

ADVERTISING

2010 to Come in Plain and Fancy VersionsBy STUART ELLIOTT

Published: November 2, 2009

IN less than two months, a new year will arrive, along with a new

decade. Each year in the current decade has been spoken the long

way, as in “two thousand nine,” rather than the short way, as in

“twenty oh nine” (or even “twenty ought nine”).

In 2010, however, another option will

present itself, echoing how people

referred to years starting in the

second decade of the 20th century:

“twenty ten,” just like “nineteen ten,”

rather than “two thousand ten.”

Most people will have a couple of months to consider how

they will refer to next year — but not the automakers,

because a model year runs from Oct. 1 through Sept. 30.

So for Ford, General Motors, Honda, Toyota and the like,

it is already 2010.

In print, online, in direct mail and in e-mail messages,

2010 is, well, 2010. But in television and radio

commercials, announcers must say the year aloud. What

are they doing so far?

A count of two dozen spots shows that most are referring

to the new model year as “two thousand ten.” Fewer are opting for “twenty ten.”

A fair number sidestep the question by using phrases like “the new” or “the all-new.”

Some are omitting the year on the sound track and superimposing it onscreen, unspoken.

•

In interviews, executives from automakers and agencies offered reasons for their choices.

The decision was not a coin toss, said Team One Advertising in El Segundo, Calif., a unit

of the Publicis Groupe that is the agency for the Lexus division of the Toyota Motor

Company. Announcers in commercials for the 2010 Lexus models call them

two-thousand-ten cars.

“It wasn’t really a ‘potato, potahto’ moment for us,” Jon Pearce, group creative director at

Team One, wrote in an e-mail message. “I think we naturally took to two thousand ten

because it felt better on the ear than twenty ten.”

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McDowellHighlightThe New York Times is a good source for current events. The Media & Advertising section is especially credible because Madison Avenue is the "birthplace" of the advertising industry. (http://www.answers.com/topic/madison-avenue)

facHighlightMarketers typically incorporate consumers' language and values into their advertising. This practice improves the ad's chances of being noticed and understood by the targeted consumer.

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McDowellHighlight"Spot" means a unit of time (usually 30 or 60 seconds) during which a commercial message is broadcast. (http://www.encyclo.co.uk/define/Advertising%20spot)

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McDowellSticky NoteSometimes more practical concerns drive marketing decision making.Television and radio commercials are "broadcast promotion" options.Television is useful medium for promoting cars because sound and movement can be used to get attention and communicate the experience of driving the vehicle.

McDowellSticky NoteThis opinion reflects an awareness of the consumer's experience when listening to the commercial.

“Twenty ten feels a little slick, a little self-consciously futuristic,” Mr. Pearce said, and

“there’s nothing worse than trying to position — or reposition, for that matter — yourself

with forced lingo.”

Another reason for two thousand ten is that it is “the logical follow-up to two thousand

nine,” he added. “It has a natural-sounding importance to it, which is appropriate when

you’re selling $60,000 luxury vehicles.”

The company’s Toyota line is also going with two thousand ten, said Erin Poole, a

spokeswoman for Toyota’s agency, the Los Angeles office of Saatchi & Saatchi, also part

of Publicis.

Saying twenty ten is “too colloquial,” Ms. Poole said, and two thousand ten is “more

formal.”

Cadillac is joining Lexus and Toyota on the two-thousand-ten side of the fence, in

commercials for the 2010 Cadillac SRX.

The move was “was a client decision,” Tracy Brady, a spokeswoman for Modernista,

Cadillac’s creative agency in Boston, wrote in an e-mail message. Referring to the

co-founder and executive creative director at Modernista, Lance Jensen, she added: “Or

as Lance put it, ‘Because the client said so.’ ”

(If that seems cheeky, it may be because Cadillac recently placed its creative account in

review and Modernista decided not to take part.)

Among other commercials siding with Cadillac, Lexus and Toyota are spots for the Ford

Fusion; the Lincoln MKS, sold by Ford’s Lincoln Mercury division; the Mitsubishi

Lancer, sold by Mitsubishi Motors North America; and American Honda Motor cars sold

by dealers in the New York Long Island Honda dealers association.

•

The most notable brand taking the opposite tack is another General Motors nameplate,

Buick. Commercials for the Buick LaCrosse refer to twenty ten rather than two thousand

ten.

The reason, said Steve Rosenblum, director for advertising and promotion for the Buick

and GMC lines at G.M., is that twenty ten sounds “different, modern and progressive,

which is very appropriate for the new Buick.”

“It’s also a quicker, more intuitive read” for an announcer, he wrote in an e-mail message,

“when time is at a premium.” The Buick agency is Leo Burnett, part of the Publicis

Groupe.

One brand staying neutral in the debate is Audi, part of Volkswagen of America. “Take

the A5 for a test drive today,” announcers in commercials say, as the words “2010 Audi

A5” are superimposed onscreen.

“Internally, we’re playing fast and loose and tossing around twenty ten,” Paul Venables,

creative director at the Audi agency, Venables Bell & Partners in San Francisco, wrote in

an e-mail message. “We live on the edge like that.”

“But when we create marketing for the civilian world, we’re more likely to button our top

button, tie our tie and say two thousand ten,” he added, tongue still firmly in cheek.

“Or better yet,” Mr. Venables concluded, “maybe we should just ‘super’ the thing,”

meaning superimpose the date onscreen without saying it.

For some brands, the discussion is moot. The models sold by Porsche Cars North

America are not identified with a model year, said Michael Baer, senior vice president

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McDowellSticky Note"Positioning" and "repositioning" are important terms from our course. On page 203 of our text (3/e), product positioning is defined as "the place an offering occupies in consumers' minds on important attributes relative to competitive products." Product repositioning is defined as, "changing the place an offering occupies in a consumer's mind relative to competitive products."

McDowellSticky NoteIn our text (3/e) on page 203, this example of a positioning statement is offered: "For upscale American families who desire a carefree driving experience, Volvo is a premium-priced automobile that offers the utmost in safety and dependability." Do you see why a luxury vehicle brand would care to use words that have "natural-sounding importance" and sound "more formal"?

McDowellSticky NoteSometimes ad agencies simply implement decisions that are made by the client.

McDowellSticky NoteHere's another example of using language to express the positioning statement for a brand of automobile. See http://www.autoblog.com/2009/07/16/first-drive-2010-buick-lacrosse-looks-to-breathe-life-into-old/ for a story about Buick's 2010 competitive strategy. GM plans to, "refashion the brand as a serious competitor to Acura, Lexus, and Volvo."

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Next Article in Business (35 of 48) »A version of this article appeared in print on November 3, 2009, on

page B7 of the New York edition.

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and group account director at its agency, Cramer-Krasselt in Chicago.

Similarly, said Donna Boland, a spokeswoman at Mercedes-Benz USA, “we rarely say the

year in commercials” and instead superimpose it onscreen.

“We like to use the creative for as long as we can,” she wrote in an e-mail message, “and

it’s far more efficient to strip out the year in the visual than to redo the voice-over.”

What lies ahead as the next decade proceeds? Well, in commercials now on TV for the

coming movie “2012,” a voice is heard saying, “Two thousand twelve.”

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