Subaru New “Love” Slogan Captures Essence of New SUV

Subaru of America has released a series of online videos to promote its largest vehicle to date—the new, three-row Ascent SUV.

The new campaign gives a nod to its longtime “Love” positioning, which since 2008 been a key to Subaru’s decade of great success with the new tagline, “Love is now bigger than ever.”

The slogan “hit all the right notes, considering that we’ve been using our ‘Love’ theme for more than ten years now,” Brian Cavallucci, Subaru of America’s national advertising manager, told Forbes.

The 15- and 30-second videos support a major TV campaign that centers on the vehicles large capacity—three rows of seats. The target is Gen X, the generation following the baby boomers and preceding the Millennials.

Alan Bethke, the company’s senior vice president of marketing, says that “love” comes in many forms—“love of the product, love of the brand and love of what Subaru means”—allowing the brand to capture what that “love” means to different segments of consumers.

For example, one of those segments is dog owners, understanding that 60 percent of Subaru owners own a dog.

“We have become more laser—and not shotgun—focused,” Subaru of America spokesman Michael McHale told Automotive News.

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A big push this summer targets another lifestyle segment—consumers who love the great outdoors. Across the country dozens of REI events are underway where Subaru is showing off the 2019 Ascent. It is hosting plenty of activities to draw in new customers while also showing its appreciation for existing owners. At the center of it all is a sweepstakes offering the chance to win one of the new vehicles—equipped with REI gear—giving Subaru the opportunity to collect consumer information for re-marketing.

“Working with REI is to connect with the outdoor lifestyle community,” says Matthew Barber, brand partnership and experiential marketing specialist at Subaru of America. “We have vehicles that enable that [outdoor] lifestyle. We’re able to reach those people in those communities and we want to make sure we can show them our new vehicles and give them a cool experience whether they’re a Subaru owner or REI member. It’s about outdoor lifestyle relationship building and supporting our vehicle launches as well.”