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New Mercedes-Benz Ad to Air During the Big Game: “Say the Word” and the World is Yours to Command
31.
January 2019
Stuttgart/Atlanta
Commercial spotlights the all-new A-Class and transformative, industry-leading Mercedes-Benz User Experience (MBUX) interface
JANUARY 31, 2019 (ATLANTA) – Envision a universe with you at the center, calling the shots. What would you do if the whole world followed your every command?
That’s not Big Game fiction, that’s exactly how it feels inside the brand-new A-Class – the high-tech, gateway sedan for the Mercedes-Benz model line with a Manufacturers Suggested Retail Price (MSRP) of $32,500 – making its official introduction during the Big Game at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Sunday, February 3.
The new model features an industry-leading, in-vehicle command center, Mercedes-Benz User Experience (MBUX), pairing natural voice recognition with voice-activated artificial intelligence (AI) technology to seamlessly integrate with today’s multitasking lifestyle. Chilly? Say, “I’m cold.” Mood lighting? Best brunch around? Playlist or podcast? Last night’s football scores? Just say “Hey Mercedes…,” and the vehicle does the rest, along the lines of in-home virtual assistants.
The comedic, star-studded 60-second commercial, “Say the Word,” which will air during the second quarter of the game, features an A-Class owner making his way through his city – exercising omnipotence over everyday dilemmas, sports outcomes ATMs and the fate of iconic pop culture characters – as well as transforming a lofty, operatic crescendo into a rap concert.
The madcap ad features Atlanta-based, award-winning, “Dirty South” rapper/actor Ludacris, PGA champion Rickie Fowler, iconic Looney Tunes characters, film and television legend Lassie© and several more surprises.*
“Put simply, we are changing the way drivers interact with their cars, and we’re starting with our all-new entry-level model. MBUX is a game-changer and we think that once aware of the A-Class price point and technology, a lot of people who hadn’t considered Mercedes or thought owning one was still several years away will want to take a look. And, given that we have some of the highest owner loyalty in the industry, once these new buyers join the brand, they’re likely to stay for quite some time – that’s why we’r e debuting it on one of the biggest stages in the world, ” said Drew Slaven, vice president of marketing for MBUSA.
The A-Class, a stylish five-passenger sedan, will soon arrive at Mercedes-Benz dealerships across the country. Its breakthrough MBUX interface consists of: AI to learn driver preferences and provide customized suggestions based on them, as well as to grasp language and intent to divine answers to spoken queries; augmented reality to superimpose navigation data onto a wide-angle image of the road ahead; and natural language recognition that allows users to speak informally instead of memorizing a roster of commands.
“Say the Word” was created by Merkley+Partners (New York), MBUSA’s lead marketing agency and directed by DGA award-winning Noam Murro, with visual effects by Blacksmith, and cartoon animation by ATK PLN. It is part of a fully integrated marketing initiative which also includes digital campaigns, social media, print and radio executions, collateral, local event activations and community elements. An additional TV spot will debut closer to launch. “Say the Word” can be viewed here with images available to accredited journalists on the MBUSA media website.
*©2019 Classic Media, LLC. LASSIE, associated images and other indicia are trademarks of and copyrighted by Classic Media, LLC. All rights reserved.
LOONEY TUNES and all related characters and elements © & ™ Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (s19)
Press Contact
Ina Schultz
Lifestyle and Brand Communications
ina.schultz@daimler.com
Tel: +49 711 17-76876
Fax: +49 711 17790-62116
Artur Demirci
Manager Lifestyle-, Brand- and Social Media Communications
artur.demirci@daimler.com
Tel: +49 (0) 711 17-77368
Fax: –
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Surprise exit of Tesla CFO unnerves analysts: ‘Significant loss of institutional knowledge’
Watch three Tesla experts debate the electric car maker's mixed earnings report
4 Mins Ago | 01:58
Tesla's announcement that Chief Financial Officer Deepak Ahuja is retiring has unnerved Wall Street's top analysts and overshadowed the company's sales beat in the fourth quarter.
Many viewed the loss of the longtime executive as the most significant in a string of high-profile departures as the electric car manufacturer struggles to retain talent. The company said in September that chief accounting officer Dave Morton was leaving the company after less than a month on the job, while head of human resources Gabrielle Toledano decided last year not to rejoin the company after a leave of absence.
Others chose to highlight Ahuja's unseasoned replacement, Zack Kirkhorn, who will take the financial reins of the $53 billion public company just six years out of business school.
“We see the departure as a significant loss of institutional knowledge, and note that Kirkhorn is a first-time public company CFO,” wrote AB Bernstein analyst Toni Sacconaghi.
To be sure, Tesla reported better sales in the fourth quarter than Wall Street analysts had expected with revenues of $7.23 billion, more than double its $3.29 billion in revenue during the same quarter in 2017. And while profit fell short of projections, the company's stock crept higher immediately following its earnings announcement based on the solid sales numbers and a decent 2019 outlook.
However, the equity quickly declined after CEO Elon Musk announced during the earnings conference call that Ahuja is leaving after almost 11 years at the company. The stock fell 3.7 percent Thursday morning.
Here's what Wall Street analysts thoughts about Deepak Ahuja's departure.
AB Bernstein (Market Perform)
“Surprisingly, Tesla's CFO Deepak Ahuja announced that he was retiring, and would be succeeded by Zack Kirkhorn, Tesla's current VP Finance. We see the departure as a significant loss of institutional knowledge, and note that Kirkhorn is a first-time public company CFO, just six years removed from business school.”
Goldman Sachs (Sell)
“Management announced that CFO Deepak Ahuja would be retiring from his position at the firm in 2019 and would be replaced by Zach Kirkhorn, who joined Tesla nine years ago. Mr. Ahuja had previously left his position as CFO of Tesla in 2015, but returned in early 2017. We believe the changeover may cause some uncertainty for investors as Tesla just saw two consecutive quarters of profitability and positive cash flow, and we see potential for a less stable path forward due to a sequential step-down in deliveries, working capital headwinds and convertible debt payment.”
J.P. Morgan Chase (Underweight)
“We expect investors to react negatively to the replacement of Deepak Ahuja, 56, as CFO with Zack Kirkhorn, 34, Tesla's current Vice President of Finance, given Mr. Ahuja's long automotive industry experience and 11-year tenure as the firm's CFO (across two separate stints), during which he provided relative stability to the firm's finance staff that has otherwise seen a great deal of churn.”
Barclays (Underweight)
“While the call had some positives around cash (largely due to under spending on capex and opex), those were overshadowed by the announcement of departure of the CFO and the absence of an experienced Silicon Valley (much less automotive experienced like ex-CFO Ahuja) vet to replace him. We remain underweight with a $210 price target.”
Morgan Stanley (Equal-weight)
“At the very end of the analyst conference call, Elon Musk announced that CFO Deepak Ahuja was retiring and will be replaced by Zack Kirkhorn who is VP of Finance and has been at the company for 9 years. CFO changes are significant events and we look forward to meeting Mr. Kirkhorn.”
— With reporting by
Michael Bloom
.
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