If you’ve been following our Car Industry Strikes Back series over the past few years, you’ll have seen car companies ridiculing other transport forms or lathering themselves up in a greenwashing frenzy. It’s usually a roll-your-eyes, comical experience. Nissan Denmark, however, have outdone themselves. They’re banging the drums for their new Qashqai model here in Denmark. It started last year on September 4, 2013 when Nissan hosted a “café” in the centre of Copenhagen, letting people take the Qashqai for a test drive. In the middle of the day. In the City of Cyclists and near our many pedestrian streets and a main metro station. Kieran Toms, who is interning with Copenhagenize Design Co. at the moment, reported from the front lines. He popped into the “café” with a friend. Kieran, being a modern young man from the UK, doesn’t have a driving licence, but his friend took Nissan up on the offer of a test drive. The Nissanite who accompained him extoled the virtues of the car and especially the acceleration. Unfortuntely, they were paralysed in traffic - while hundreds and hundreds of bicycle users rolled part, oblivious to the wonders of last century mobility. Acceleration consisted of crawling ten metres at a time down the streets. Involuntary humour from Nissan. Now Nissan are ramping up their campaign for their car. The film, above, starts with the classic car industry shot of a car alone on a road - like THAT ever happens in a city. The text fades in declaring the Qashqui to be The Ultimate Urban Experience. Which, in reality in Copenhagen, is staring out the window at the rear end of some other car whilst citizens ride bicycles or walk past you. Then they declare they’re “Unlocking Copenhagen” for a weekend in March and they’ve enlisted a minor Danish celebrity Mads Christensen (self-proclaimed biggest braggart in Denmark). He tells us that he’ll be the keymaster for unlocking the city, driving around in a Qashqai and challenging the city. Something about all your questions will be answered as they “zig-zag” around the city in March. Totally vague. The film features clips of Copenhagen, including loads of people riding their bicycles, unaffected by Nissan’s marketing prowess. Yeah. Whatever.
Remember to wave or ring your bell at Nissan and the Braggart when you see them stuck in traffic on the weekend of March 6-8, 2014. Compared to the other examples of Car Industry Strikes Back, this one is hilarious and rather lame.
