Ferrari vs Lamborghini (No, not like that)

Here's the "skinny" on Ferrari advertising - They don't do any- nada, nil, babkes, zilch, zero. Why would they? They sell every car they can build and they have a very healthy and profitable business selling every possible kind of license for others to put the Ferrari brand and logos on their products and sell moving billboards for Ferrari, whether it's caps, or teddy bears or model cars or towels or flags or t-shirts or stereo equipment etc etc. You get the picture.
They even get enormous amounts of sponsorship dollars to run their Formula 1 race team and each time a race is run it's a two hour free "commercial" for Ferrari.

They have managed to build one of the world's best known brands without spending any of their own money.

 

Perhaps in light of 410SA's post you should consider this:

Stay within Ferrari, but research what differentiates the vintage buyers from the new-model buyers. It seems that a lot of people prefer one or the other (only based on seeing the same people consistently post in the same sections of this forum).

I think it might even open up some opportunities for some interesting interviews with members on the board...

Have fun.

 

I don't know, I think it's a very instructive case study as it is. Ferrari is likely the world's most powerful and evocative automotive brand, and as 410SA said they did it without a real marketing/advertising campaign and an incredibly skimpy dealer network (compared to Porsche). There was a great Peter Egan column in R&T a couple months back where he described the waiting room at the factory, and the fact that everyone -- business magnates, movie stars, whoever -- went through there and often had to wait. It's a stunning, counterintuitive exercise in brand building.

If I were writing, I'd focus on the racing heritage, Hollywood connection, etc., that made Ferrari legendary. Everyone from Paul Newman to Steve McQueen to Miles Davis and even a few starlets owned Ferraris. Lambo came along later as a kind of grudge between Ferruccio Lamborghini and Enzo Ferrari. That heritage gets snubbed a lot on car sites, but it is quite real. Even today, there's a stereotype that Lambos are drug-dealer/pimp cars while Ferrari is the blueblood of the neighborhood.

There have been Ferrari ads in the past, and frankly they're nothing special apart from featuring pretty cars.
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Ferrari is the only company I know of nowadays that has people paying THEM to advertise. HAHA.

"Please Mr. Ferrari Man, can I put your prancing stallion on my teddy bear in order to sell more? My store will become a massive advertisement for you! It will be great!"

"Sure, but it will cost $XXXXXX.XX for you to use our logo"

" .......... But...... but..... " (signs cheque anyway)

 

What you and most people that ask this question miss is the difference between Vintage cars and Modern cars and their owners. The 350 and 400 Lambos are awsome machines, and you dont find the gold chain crew owning them. These are cars that anyone would be proud to own with out any steriotype attached. Modern cars have such a jelousy attached to them that I think I will stick to my Toyota van and keep on buying vintage machines.
So apparently you are interested in comparing modern cars. You should make that clear.

 

There have been Ferrari ads in the past, and frankly they're nothing special apart from featuring pretty cars.[/QUOTE]

Wow, thanks for the memories. I had the ads with the red GTB and the QV on my walls growing up. Actually the black and white QV ad was run locally (our local dealers in the 80s were Autohaus, Gaston Andrey, and Ferrari of Newport. Today, none of these dealers carry Ferrari and I believe Gaston Andrey (closed down completely).

Best regards,
Dino

 

I remember an ad for an F40 lease in The Washington Post - could that be right?

 

Here is a great ad from the 1960's with Enzo himself in it.
A copy of the ad is curently for sale on eBay - item #310001299028.
(Usual disclaimer - I have no connection to ad or eBay listing.)
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There was also a great TV ad in the very late 1980s featuring a Testarossa, it was for Goodyear Tires. You would see a TR driving on some road and at the end the car came to a stop and the voice in the background said something like "Every Ferrari TR comes equipped with Goodyear Tires. Why? Because thats how Mr. Ferrari wants it."

 

There was a similar add a few years ago for Bridgestone and the Enzo. (I think it was Bridgestone...)