ABSTRACT
Shortly after the Exxon Mobil merger, the new company based in Irving, Texas, announced plans to promote its four key brands-Exxon, Mobil, Esso and General-with a global television advertising campaign. 1 Global campaigns were not new to the company. Exxon’s 1965 Esso tiger campaign, “Put a tiger in your tank,” was launched in the United States, Europe and the Far East. 2 However, the new campaign was aimed at 100 countries at a cost of $150 million. Five hours of film footage were developed centrally to be accessed by the company’s various national subsidiaries. Up to six different casts stood by to act out essentially the same story line-with a few variations. The same scene could be shot with a Japanese man, a sub-Saharan African, a Northern European or a Southern European. Actors varied the hand they used in a scene depicting eating. (In some cultures, food is customarily eaten only with the right hand.) A voice-over told the same story in 25 different languages. Centralized production saved considerable production costs for Exxon Mobil and helped ensure that television spots would be consistent and of similar quality around the world. It also meant substantial business for the agency-in this case, Omnicon Group’s DDB Worldwide-that landed the job. Not everyone agreed that centralization of advertising was a good idea. The CEO of a rival agency, Bcom3 Group’s Leo Burnett Worldwide, noted that brands at different stages around the world require different messages and advertising campaigns. 3
International marketers face an important question: Should advertising campaigns be local or global? The first part of this chapter is organized around key factors that impact this decision. The chapter continues with a discussion of the major issues relating to media choices and campaign implementation.
