Any company in the modern world works and develops in a competitive environment. In pursuit of their own interests, each of them can go very far. State institutions are closely monitoring these processes.
For example, one way to influence business integrity is through antitrust policy. This is tracked in the requirements of the law for advertising. For example, in Russia and in a number of other CIS countries there is a ban on advertising that mentions or makes a direct reference to a competitive product. Such a move is regarded as unfair advertising, and the customer faces a fine.
But in other countries where the advertising war is not prohibited, brands can “step on the tail” of a competitor as much as they like. Consumers are often involved in the process, and not only fans of these brands, but also completely indifferent people. They are interested in the intellectual-humorous battle itself. To date, the history of advertising has several high-profile stories with wars. And perhaps the most famous is the advertising war between the two leaders of the automotive industry.
Essence of the phenomenon
It is worth recalling right away that PR-only the biggest brands can afford battles. In those countries where the law does not prohibit competitive companies from deploying such large-scale shows, there is only one restriction - you can not spread false information.
If we consider the technology itself, then the advertising war appeals to the following factors:
- Companies try to highlight their strengths against the weaknesses of a competitor.
- Emotionally connecting consumers. It is believed that there are no losers in the advertising battle. An amazing response from the audience, even from the category that is not a direct client of the company, will be provided.
- Heating interest in the brand's technology development process. “If you do not want to lag behind competitors, then be two steps ahead” - a recommendation for modern business in terms of technology. It is not enough just to implement state-of-the-art technologies. After all, they will be useful when consumers find out about it. The advertising war and he althy competition will make this the easiest.
Today, there are several large cases of this format. And all of them belong to Western brands with world names. Let's take a look at some of them.
BMW vs Audi
The whole world knows this story today. Until 2000, the BMW auto industry repeatedly tried to provoke other “colleagues in the shop” into controversy. For example, "Jaguar" and "Mercedes". True, they either did not notice, or could not formulate a worthy answer - the war did not take place.
Only the Audi concern accepted the challenge. In addition, for years he managed to adequately respond toprovocative statements from BMW. The first stage of the controversy began in 2006, when Audi was recognized as the car of the year in South Africa. BMW then congratulated the auto industry on such an honorable nomination and signed as a six-time Consecutive Le Mans winner.
Other players in the automotive industry did not stand aside. For example Subaru. Also in 2006, Subaru released a poster with the text "While BMW and Audi compete in beauty pageants, Subaru won the nomination for the best engine in 2006." Even Bentley decided to comment on this game by posting a sarcastic man with an obscene gesture on his streamers.
Continuation of the story
The story was continued already in 2007 in Russia. After Audi showed an advertisement for a new version of a Russian-language GPS navigator, BMW released an advertisement stating: “While others were translating navigation, we made the best engine in the world.”
In 2009, Audi decided to be the first to challenge and placed an ad with the text "Your move, BMW." The answer was received immediately. A couple of days later, a banner from BMW appeared on the opposite side of the track: "Checkmate".
Year 2011
The advertising war between Audi and BMW again reminded of itself in 2011 in Moscow. The BMW car industry has placed a series of streamers along the Varshavskoye Highway. Stretch marks were with different photos, but with the same slogan, where he calls himself the word "delight". Experts considered this series of ads a ridiculous set of words.
In the same yearThe advertising war between Audi and BMW has reached its climax. In response to serial advertising, Audi decided to pin it short and clear: "Changing your enthusiasm for Audi." And it was not just a reciprocal move, but a real offer. Within a month, it was offered to hand over BMW cars to one of the Audi showrooms in exchange for 50,000 rubles and a new Audi.
BMW vs Mercedes
BMW's advertising wars are not limited to one competitor. Back in 2003, before trolling "Audi", BMW "walked" on another giant of the automotive industry. The year before, the new Mercedes ML had been released. The company's marketers decided to focus on its external beauty and high-speed capabilities. This was realized in the form of a new ML with a zebra coloration riding in the desert. Thus began the advertising war between BMW and Mercedes.
Almost at the same time, BMW is placing a row of tripwires where the leopard-hued MBW X5 is chasing and even approaching the Mercedes. There was no response from Mercedes.
But the advertising war between Mercedes and BMW did not end there. The next line was more than sarcastic: a Mercedes truck carrying several BMW sedans. And the inscription reads: “Mercedes can also be fun,” thus hinting that the best that Mercedes can do is deliver other brands of cars.
Samsung vs LG
In 2013, Samsung planned to launch one of the most popular smartphone models - the Galaxy series. Shortly before the day of the presentation, the company posted a streamer on TimeSquare with the words "Get ready for the new Galaxy". But few people know that the Korean brand LG has been Samsung's most ardent competitor for more than 20 years. This can be seen in the way she carefully places her streamers over the Samsung streamers.
And this time the company did not miss the opportunity. The LG banner copied the whole style of Samsung and offered to buy the LG Optimus G4 now.
And also Apple vs Samsung
Galaxy this time she initiated the trolling. The brand decided to play on the shortcomings of the iPhone 4. Starting in 2010, many iPhone 4 users complained about poor call quality. It was this point that was reflected in the advertising of the new Galaxy. True, not a word of mention and no open attack.
Here, too, the competitors went from words to deeds. In response to those bloggers who complained about the poor quality of iPhones, Samsung sent out their devices for free. In the future, with the release of each new model, Samsung's commercials focused on the competitor's shortcomings.
However, the results of this "battle" turned out to be very serious: instead of Apple marketers, lawyers decided to take on the challenge. They sued Samsung, arguing that the company copied some of their technological and design solutions.
But we must not forget that Apple and Samsung are not only competitors, but also cooperate with each other in the supply of parts. Some iPhone parts are supplied by Samsung. On this basis, Samsung also filed a counterclaim against Apple. But in the endlost. Apple won, which demanded $1 billion from Samsung at first, and then reduced the amount to $550 million.
Coca-Cola vs Pepsi
Another fun "tandem" in the global market has formed between the two leading producers of carbonated drinks. The advertising war between them is about everything: who sells the most drinks, who has the coolest can, who has the most drink in the can, who has the tastiest and who has the most offers. We are talking about Pepsi and Coca-Cola.
Their "graters" date back to the 1930s! In this "battle" the predominant initiator is almost always Pepsi. At the beginning of the 30s of the last century, this company sold its drinks in a volume of 340 ml for 5 cents. Coca-Cola cost the same, only the volume of the bottle was half as much - 170 ml. The Pepsi ad was accompanied by a cheerful song about "why pay more."
The result of this advertising campaign was to increase sales several times. By the way, the competitive policy in terms of the volume of the drink has been preserved to this day: in Russia, for example, Coca-Cola is sold in bottles of 0.5 liters, and Pepsi - 0.6 liters.
Another vibrant competition scene was launched in 1995. The video begins with a cute picture of friendship between Pepsi and Coca-Cola employees, but at one point they got into a fight over a can of Pepsi.
Thus, advertising wars involve not only specialists, but also people who are completely indifferent to their products. Skillful play on the shortcomings of a competitor, a touch of humor and an alternative offer help to increase sales in many ways.times.
