Shake it Up Baby!

Two weeks of prep and one long day of meeting with the potential client, led to a series of month’s silence while the potential client ‘thought about it.’ Ah - the things that attend the phrase: “We’ll think about it.” Better to say - “Great presentation but we think we are going to go with the dancing bear and banjo player routine.” It’s cleaner for all concerned. I digress.

But … it truly was a moment of the potential client getting some things in order in their house and soon we were engaging marketing and creative strategies.

One of the items the Client had in tow was an asset that held the potential for being beacon or simply old bacon. Something that smelled quite good - I’m sure - on the days it was originally cooked. It was a position phrase, a motif if you would, of their services. A phrase that at some moment found its way to the binding magic of music and soon became a ditty, a jingle that would grab your mind like a field sticker on a sock and hang on to you whether you wanted it to or not. The phrase:

Picky People Pick Hiley Mazda…
Picky People Pick low, low prices…”

It was a jingle that was kitsch from the beginning - sticky, but syrupy so, and with time the dated sound track only underscored the novelty of the sound. Still - even though that sound ID had been off air for years, when someone would meet an employee of Hiley, they might be heard asking…” aren’t you the Picky People Pick Hiley’ jingle. And the employee would respond with a smile or a sigh and say-‘Yes…Yes we are.’

So, it did do its job to gain recognition and memorability.

Accounts and Creative talked and brainstormed and had many good ideas and some great ideas.

After many backs and forths Hello Hiley came to, with the idea of: let’s reintroduce the new and the old shopper to the New Hiley again.

Another phrase that beat around the brainstorm was: Here’s Hiley. The great combination of locator concepts and the answer to:

‘Need a place where a great deal and dynamic service come together? Here’s Hiley!’

And then there was the white elephant in the room. The old jingle of Picky People Pick.

Do we use it again and if so - why? and how?

There was merit in all 3 of the concepts, but there was no getting around the fact that years of the radio spots and tv campaigns had engrained a melody and lyric of ‘Picky People.’ And that’s an asset. One not readily overlooked or set aside.

Quickly - the client and the teams serving them honed in on freshening-up the sound track and the lyric. And from the old and cold of Picky People Pick Hiley came
rnthe simplicity of the phrase: Pick Hiley.

It’s the sort of phrase that doesn't seem to spark with immediate verve but, … surround it with the right visuals and invitations and it takes on life.

Need a new car today? Pick Hiley.

Want to shop vehicles at a family of dealerships? Pick Hiley.

Want a place that is going to get you bought in spite of your credit? Pick Hiley.

And it was a phrase that was a kissing cousin of the old and would work with the music.

The phrase was refreshed and reborn. And with a new sound track that had 3 sonic deliveries in an R&B, summer California vibe, and a Rock version - the magic was complete. Toss in fresh film shoots of the dealerships with happy people interacting with engaging sales teams and you have the adage affirmed.

"What once held fire but has grown old,
Can be rekindled hot from cold.”