In fiercely competitive markets, brands often take directs hits at their rivals to establish their superiority. Brands often come up with witty ideas and an interesting back and forth of ads ensues. Mercedes-Benz and Jaguar had indulged in such an ad war back in 2013.
It began when Mercedes-Benz launched an ad to demonstrate the stability of their new Intelligent Drive Magic Body Control technology. In it, they compared the stability of their cars to the head of a chicken.
3 months down the line, jaguar came up with their ‘Jaguar vs Chicken’ ad to ambush Mercedes-Benz’s ad. They had a similar concept where they demonstrate the stability of a chicken but added a surprise at the end. A jaguar pounces on the chicken, and the message, ‘Magic body control? We prefer cat-like reflexes’.
In just 3 days, Mercedes responded to this ad with a witty poster that shows a jaguar about to collide with a car and a message along with it that says cat-like reflexes aren’t fast enough to stop in time.
This classic feud between the two luxury automobile giants has inspired many other brands to participate in competitive banter with their rivals and is a great example of ad wars done right.
