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MERCEDES-BENZ OF NORTH AMERICA "AMERICANS WON'T BUY IT" LETTER
In the mid 1970s, it wasn't a problem convincing car buyers to consider a diesel automobile. But
back in 1965, the problem seemed insurmountable. Mercedes-Benz of North America had imported
nearly 3,000 19ODs, and with the selling season nearing an end, had sold only 1,237 of them. At
that time, there were only 2,300 diesel fuel stations throughout the U.S. (compared to over
200,000 gasoline stations). The car was extremely noisy, had only four cylinders, and barely
reached 78 miles per hour on the open road. It sold for $4,068 — just $800 less than a Cadillac.
Moreover, Mercedes-Benz would soon introduce the new Model 200 to replace the 190D, and it
was going to sell at a lower price. The challenge of preparing a promotion to quickly move the
1,500 diesels was presented to Ogilvy, Benson & Mather's direct mail group.
Ed McLean, then head of OBM's direct mail group, remembers:
Dealers in both American and foreign cars had entered the traditional clean-up period
before new model introductions in the most overstocked condition in history. By
the time the direct mail package was mailed, big discounting had already started.
But to preserve the Mercedes-Benz image, we had to sell this $4,068 car at full list
price.
Of course, in the tradition of automobile advertising, the first thing the agency did was create an
impressive, full-color brochure. Right? Wrong! In what was perhaps one of the most courageous
moves in direct mail history — particularly for an agency that had just taken on the prestigious
Mercedes-Benz account — they simply mailed a five-page letter signed by Heinz C. Hoppe, CEO
of Mercedes-Benz of North America. But it was far from an ordinary letter: It invited recipients to
test-drive a 190D, and included a classic offer:
I will pay for all fuel, all motor oil, all oil filters, and all lubrications
on the new Mercedes-Benz 190 Diesel for the first 15,000 miles you
drive it.
The letter then utilized this unique offer to emphasize a key selling point — the car's economy:
No other manufacturer of a full-size 4-door sedan in the entire world
could afford to make this offer.
I can make it because the Mercedes-Benz 190 Diesel averages over
30 miles per gallon of diesel fuel — and diesel fuel costs 1/3 less
than gasoline in many states.
In fact, the 190 Diesel regularly saves its owners more than 50 percent
on fuel costs alone.
Interestingly, the budget for the entire direct mail campaign, which had as its objective to sell over
$6 million in cars, was just $100,000. The first mailing went out on July 12, and, before September
1, it sold out all the remaining 1,500 19ODs and produced a substantial increase in sales of other
Mercedes models.
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