Kevin Davis delves back into a wonderful time when Rover ruled the roost, and it was cool to be seen in one...
Here, he takes a look at that memorable launch campaign and comes to the conclusion, that just for once, they got it completely right.
Up where it belonged...
HE 1989 R8 Rover 200 Series was a
Brave New World for Rover. In one fell swoop the Rover 200 made the Ford Escort,
Vauxhall Astra and everything else in the sector seem almost agricultural. The
core of the marketing strategy for the 200 was that of its quality and it was
such that no rival could possibly match it at the time. With this in mind Rover
priced the car several notches above the competition in the hope that buyers
would think of it as more of an aspirational purchase, a cut above its rather
humdrum rivals.
In the above 1989 four-page advert there’s a list of impressive attributes of the 200 GSi, electric windows and sunroof, all alloy 1.4 fuel-injected engines, independent suspension, all for £10,940. Great!
But first turn out of the showroom and you’d be surprised to find that power steering was a rather expensive optional extra – even on the GSi models. ABS? Yes, that’ll be another £895! Nevertheless, a Rover 200 was seen as a classy choice compared to rivals and the halo effect of the Rover 800 (the best selling executive car at the time) had successfully filtered down to the 200 and buyers liked the fact it was wearing a Rover badge.
Classy TV and magazine advertising nailed home that it was a cut above the rest and buying one would place you ‘up where you belong,’ (yes, they did use the song in the TV advert!) Despite early fears by the motoring press that overpricing would cost Rover sales, it was a strategy that worked and the 200 Series was soon in the UK top ten best sellers list. Its showroom appeal helped; one look at the leather lined GSi version and buyers were writing cheques from behind the wheel.
Unfortunately, Rover was unable to keep up the momentum for subsequent launches of new models and by the time the next generation Rover 200 was launched in 1995 the competition had moved on and the new car, despite its funky styling, wasn’t as significant or as warmly welcomed as its predecessor.
Thanks to the success of the R8 200 Series Rover really were up where they belonged. It was launched at exactly the right time and was modern yet familiar in all the right places. It was first without equals.
| Have your say... |  |
Please let us know your thoughts - and let us know what you think of the R8's adversising campaign.
I BOUGHT one
of the first 214s (a 214SLi five-door) soon after launch and then bought another
(a 214 SEi three-door) a few years later. They were both very good cars. The
SLi was kept in my family for over 10 years and 100,000 miles.
I also remember the launch TV advertising for the 200? - a 10 second "teaser" ad was run with Jennifer Warne singing the single line, "Who knows what tomorrow brings ?" (the car itself was unseen). I think the teaser ran for about a week before the car was launched. The full advert was an elopement story with the hero driving a Rover 200 from Hanover Street in Newcastle upon Tyne to the North Yorks moors, rescuing the bride from the isle in the process...
I look back on the early Nineties as being a golden period in Rover's recent history when the company was on the up. I remember Autocar magazine awarding it, "Car Company of the Year" award. Those were the days...
KEVIN W
I WAS reading
Kevin Davis´article about the R8 advertisement and I couldn´t help
to search some old car magazines and find R8 ads.
I send you two ads: the first appeared in spanish magazine "Automovil", in August 1990. The second in german magazine "Auto Bild", in July. As you can see, the classy advertisement was used in Spanish and German campaigns, too.
I agree with Kevin: Rover got it totally right with the R8.
RAFAEL NEIRA
A TRULY great
car that made people believe in the Rover name again. My boss has an Mreg example
that still provides excellent service and still looks good, even if a few dings
and dents have caught it over the years. I often wish the company had kept the
momentum going after the great days of 1989/90, when Rover bucked the trend
of the recession of the time and had a waiting list for its cars.
By the way this car really turned the tables on its rivals. The new Escort was a disaster, the Astra looked old fashioned and even the Volkswagen Golf looked dismal by comparison. The quality of the car shows by the fact there are still thousands on the road today.If only the momentum was kept up through the nineties.
GLEN AYLETT