Finding EV momentum
Across the automotive industry, EVs have not met bullish predictions made a few years ago, as buyers remain skittish about so-called range anxiety and the higher prices commanded by lots of electric vehicle models.
But Cadillac has enjoyed strong demand for the Lyriq—U.S. sales more than tripled last year to 28,402 vehicles, according to Automotive News. With the other models now joining its fleet, Cadillac will have a full complement of EVs at various price points, ranging from the Optiq, which starts at around $54,000 with shipping, to the Escalade IQ, which is priced as high as $150,000, according to Automotive News.
Cadillac has previously set a goal to have an all-electric vehicle portfolio by 2030, but the timeline could be fluid.
Read more about GM’s ad spending from Ad Age Datacenter
When it comes to marketing its new EVs, Cadillac is not overplaying their electric power; the new ad is almost exclusively lifestyle-focused, for instance.
“We don’t really talk about them as EVs,” Mueller said. “We talk about them as great cars.” Marketers, he added, tend to “over-segment.” But “people just want the latest greatest car, and we’re going to find, over time that’s going to be more and more EVs, because that’s where the innovation lies. But at no point do Melissa and I talk about like the EV campaign or the entrance of EV into our range. It’s just like we got more great cars to sell.”
Cadillac began hyping the Escalade IQ in 2023 with a campaign from then-lead agency Leo Burnett that included a Times Square takeover and copy lines such as, “You can’t reinvent the wheel, but you can reimagine it.” The effort was intended to prep the market for the electric version of the Escalade, a nameplate long established in pop culture, ranging from mentions in rap lyrics to placements in movies and video games.
The Cadillac brand has been more broadly flicking at its place as a status symbol with the line “Be Iconic” across multiple campaigns for its models. While that line will not be in the new campaign, it will still be used in other consumer-facing materials, Grady Dias said.