"The more we sell the more credits we get"
http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/cars/2014/08/21/kia-hamsters-sexy-soul-ev/14315511/ Geek-chic hamsters tout Kia Soul EV on video awards James R. Healey August 21, 2014 [images / Kia http://www.gannett-cdn.com/-mm-/4a439cf3268b9c65a8c6c6cae54af72eb141cf53/c=1850-0-7843-4482&r=x404&c=534x401/local/-/media/USATODAY/USATODAY/2014/08/20/1408576798000-MY15-Soul-PR-Hero-Image.jpg MY15 Soul PR Hero Image http://videos.usatoday.net/Brightcove2/29906170001/2014/08/29906170001_3741336447001_vs-53f54e65e4b03ee4afd8a3f8-782203293001.jpg video flash Kia taps into "geek chic" to promote new electric Soul on MTV Video Music Awards ] ... Kia brings back its hamsters in a big ad push for the Soul EV, an electric vehicle that might serve only as an eco statement and sell neither widely nor in big numbers. The hamster characters have hawked the small, boxy gasoline-power Soul [ice] well enough since its 2009 introduction that it's the brand's second-best-selling U.S. model. The critters haven't been featured in the South Korean automaker's broadcast ads since the 2013 "totally transformed" campaign, in which they became fitness buffs to launch the second-generation Soul. Starting on the MTV network's Video Music Awards show Sunday (9 ET/8 CT), the creatures return in unexpectedly sexy fashion in a 60-second spot. Two geekish hamsters working in the lab to transform a gasoline Soul into an EV manage to create a leggy female hamster, as well. Smitten, they dash to the pet store, buy more hamsters and use their new-found technology to convert them into sexy dancers. The ad taps into "geek chic," says Michael Sprague, executive vice president in charge of Kia's marketing and advertising in the U.S. And the spot uses new music by Maroon5, aimed, he says, at the same modern, young crowd that exults geeks. The song in the ad, "Animals," can be downloaded free, starting 12:01 a.m. ET Friday, at Kia.com, by the first 200,000 who show up, Sprague said. "The Soul EV is lifting the entire brand," Sprague said. "It will serve as the focus of our Clean Mobility campaign." He said ... consumers said ... we weren't offering an electric vehicle. So now we're offering an electric vehicle." The ... electric Soul -- was unveiled at the Chicago auto show in February ... Officially Soul EV, going on sale in this quarter for an as-yet-unannounced price, is Kia's "first-ever mass-marketed electric vehicle." Realistically, it might never become a mass-market machine. "Our initial strategy is to launch in California, then Oregon, then move to the East Coast, New York, Maryland, so on. Then we will assess the demand across the country," Sprague says. It's been typical of automakers to offer EVs in states requiring them, to amass "zero emission" clean-air credits. The commitment has been similar to Kia's -- if sales are strong, the cars go nationwide. That almost never happens. Kia forecasts a real-world driving range of 80 to 100 miles, similar to claims by other all-electric models. Benchmark mass-market plug-in electric in the U.S. is the Nissan Leaf, widely promoted and distributed. It snags about 2,000 buyers a month. Sprague won't say if the car will make a profit. Most electrics don't. In fact, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles CEO Sergio Marchionne said earlier this year that he hoped nobody bought the company's Fiat 500e battery car "because every time I sell one it costs me $14,000." Sprague: "We're taking the long-term view on this. The more we sell the more credits we get.". [© usatoday.com] ... [video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZYWHsOeDf3M 2015 Kia Soul EV Hamster Commercial Featuring “Animals “ by Maroon 5 – MTV VMAs Kia Motors America Aug 21, 2014 Check out the Kia Hamsters’ fully charged 2015 Soul EV and get a preview of the Maroon 5 new song, “Animals” featured in the 2014 MTV VMAs. Suspenders? Check. Hi-tech lasers? Check. Holograms and dancing Hamsters? Double check. Get ready to geek out with the Hamsters as they create Kia’s first electric car—the all-new Soul EV. With all that electricity flowing, there just might be a few surprises along the way… Experience the 2015 Soul EV. Fully charged. #KiaSoul Learn more about what makes the all-new 2015 Kia Soul awesome at http://www.kia.com/us/en/vehicle/soul... and compare it against top electric cars with the electric car comparison infographic http://www.kia.com/us/en/content/comp... Show us your hamster dance: #HamstarDance ] ... https://www.facebook.com/kiasoul/photos/a.10150573217815458.383628.44367980457/10152231228690458/?type=1 Kia Soul Cover Photo ... http://www.mtv.com/ontv/vma/ For all EVLN posts use: http://electric-vehicle-discussion-list.413529.n4.nabble.com/template/NamlServlet.jtp?macro=search_page&node=413529&query=evln&sort=date http://thenewswheel.com/2015-kia-soul-ev-theres-app/ 2015 Kia Soul EV> There’s A Free iPad App for That http://green.autoblog.com/2014/08/15/renovo-coupe-electric-supercar-500-hp-for-just-529000-video/ $529k Renovo Coupe 500HP e-supercar (video) r:100mi 0-60mph:3.4s ... http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2726320/New-electric-American-supercar-classic-style-aims-quicker-charge.html http://www.businessinsider.in/CREDIT-SUISSE-Electric-Vehicles-Are-Better-Than-Internal-Combustion-Engines-The-Public-Just-Doesnt-Know-It-Yet/articleshow/40283284.cms EVs Are Better Than ice - The Public Just Doesn't Know It Yet http://www.gizmag.com/barak-electric-bike-conversion-kit/33306/ Barak e-bicycle conversion-kit brings the voltage to any front wheel ... https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1354698863/barak-electric-bicycle-conversion-kit-electrify-yo http://www.kelownacapnews.com/news/271120551.html BC Hydro installing 30 L3 Quick EV charging stations + EVLN: Norweign Boozed-up Segwaying DUI-arrests in Norway & Minnesota {brucedp.150m.com} -- View this message in context: http://electric-vehicle-discussion-list.413529.n4.nabble.com/EVLN-Geek-chic-hamsters-tout-Kia-Soul-EV-on-MTV-video-awards-tp4671134.html Sent from the Electric Vehicle Discussion List mailing list archive at Nabble.com. _______________________________________________ UNSUBSCRIBE: http://www.evdl.org/help/index.html#usub http://lists.evdl.org/listinfo.cgi/ev-evdl.org For EV drag racing discussion, please use NEDRA (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NEDRA)
