The landscape format and the see-through polylope with the tagline 'powerfully economical' grabbed my attention. But on closer inspection, it seems that everyone involved took the thought a little too literally. The gate-fold format and the split headline signals that the time-honoured 'best of both worlds' approach is lurking beneath. The crude, WordArt-style typography on the cover is also enough to put any designer in a tailspin.
True to form, 'excitingly responsible' follows, with a drab shot of the car; on the left side against a background of a winding mountain road, on the right in a sad supermarket car park at dawn. The spread's 'flamboyantly frugal' theme shows another dull car, half in front of the futuristically-clad Birmingham Bullring, and half in front of a desolate-looking petrol station. I realise this is about contrasts, but I didn't need to be brought screechingly down to earth.
Had the car been shown in a sexier light, this may have worked. As it is, the poor quality of the art direction and conceptual photography makes the Saab 9-3 TTiD about as appealing as an Austin Maestro.
Agency: Draftfcb.
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