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A Class crisis.
Before the modified Baby-Benz entered the market,
Daimler-Benz’s chairman Jürgen Schrempp was
one of the people to absolve the Moose-Test in order to
assure customers of the safety of the improved car. In
addition, Mercedes hired the same drivers who had
originally flipped the car over and created an uproar
over possible safety problems. And they invited other
journalists and experts who had either tipped or flipped
it to re-take the test as well. Robert Collin, the Swede
who first discovered the Baby-Benz’s instability, was
given a private demonstration to ensure that he was
convinced that Mercedes had corrected a problem that
he had claimed to be obvious. Besides him, Niki Lauda,
the former Formula One champion, was called to test
the car. The public relations manager at Mercedes-
Benz, Singapore, Clara Ang gave two reasons for
choosing Niki Lauda as one test person: “First, as a
former Formula One champion many times over, Mr.
Lauda is an expert in car handling. Second, he is an authority
on car safety in Europe.’’16 Both drivers as well
as the other journalists and experts declared that the
new car was clearly different from the old one, and that
it had passed the Moose-Test comfortably and without
any difficulties.
The New Advertising Campaign
After these tests had been conducted, Mercedes proudly
announced on December 10, 1997, that its new A-Class
had passed the Moose-Test three days ago without hurting
one single imaginary moose. In a one-day advertising
blitz, the company published ads saying “A-Class Passes
the Moose-Test” in 180 German newspapers and on the
country’s biggest television networks. “The fact is, we
made a mistake,’’ Mercedes said in the newspaper advertisement.
“But we have fixed it and we have learned our
lesson.’’ The ads showed pictures of the Baby-Benz not
16“Journalists who exposed Baby-Benz’s flaw now endorses it,’’
(Singapore) (December 27, 1997), p.10.
Case 17: Daimler–Benz AG: The A-Class and the “Moose-Test” • 17-9
17“Positively Boris,’’ The Daily Telegraph (February 28, 1998),
p.26.
18Tennis ace pitches “Baby-Benz,’’ The Detroit News (February
25, 1998), p.B3.
flipping over and explained the design changes the company
contented had improved the car’s stability. Besides
that, the ads listed the times and channels on which the
test would be replayed in television commercials that
same evening and urged readers to turn these channels.
The campaign was unusual in both its self-depreciating
tone and in its short duration, since the advertisements
ran for only one day and were then followed by more
conventional advertising in the following months. A
spokesman for Mercedes refused to announce how much
the company had spent on the new campaign, but said
that it had been financed from the original advertising
budget laid out for the A-Class.
The newly created advertisements were based on
the theme of learning from mistakes. One poster showed
the German tennis star Boris Becker suffering a succession
of falls and setbacks before winning a championship.
He declared: “I have often learned more from
my defeats than from my success,’’17 and “Strong is who
makes no mistakes.18 Stronger, he, who learns from his
mistakes.’’ Boris Becker had had his share of comebacks
during his tennis career, and Mercedes obviously hoped
that some of his magic and popularity he enjoyed not
only in his home country, but all over the world, would
also affect the A-Class’s cracked reputation.
So, the million-dollar question now is, has the bad
publicity the Baby-Benz initially received been overturned
by the modified campaign and the hiring of such
popular people as Niki Lauda, Boris Becker and also
Robert Collin? Automobile experts concluded that the
company had done everything it could in a short time
period to salvage the A-Class. According to them, Mercedes
had to swiftly and directly address consumer concerns
about safety, and the new effort was about as direct
as they came.
IMPLICATIONS OF THE MOOSE-TEST:
THE WINNERS AND LOSERS
Daimler–Benz not only lost about DM300 million of
additional costs for the technical modifications of the
A-Class in 1997 and 1998, but also dropped their reputation
in standing that could cost the company some tens
of millions of dollars.
A-Class was the big favorite for the “Car of the year
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