Small is Big with First Buick Encore TV Spot

New ‘Dinosaur’ commercial to air throughout NCAA men’s basketball tournament

DETROIT – When the Buick Encore hits the airwaves with its first TV spot, it will make a big statement about being small. The new luxury small crossover commercial, called “Dinosaur,” debuts this weekend on ESPN.

In the spot, the nimble crossover makes its way through city streets crowded with the oversized “dinosaurs” traditionally perceived as the standard in the luxury segment. The maneuverable Encore has a turning circle of 36.7 feet – almost a foot and a half less than a Mini Countryman – but still seats five or offers as much as 48.4 cubic feet of storage with the rear seats folded.

“There’s a misconception in the luxury car market that the best amenities and technology are limited to larger vehicles,” said Tony DiSalle, vice president of Buick Marketing. “With vehicles like the Encore and Verano, Buick is redefining customers’ expectations with a great combination of content, efficiency and passenger space in a smaller overall package.”

Tippett Studio of Berkeley, Calif., worked with Buick to create the life-like animals rendered in the ad. The company developed the Velociraptors and T-Rex for the 1993 blockbuster, Jurassic Park.

“We have decades of experience imagining how dinosaurs moved when they roamed Earth,” said Phil Tippett, founder of Tippett Studio. “And it’s been exciting to watch the technology evolve. Making those Raptors slide through Jurassic Park’s kitchen required an innovative combination of stop-motion animation and computer graphics. For the Buick commercial, we could do it all on computers, allowing for more life-like muscle movement.”

Encore is the first crossover of its size from Buick. It offers an EPA-estimated 33 mpg on the highway for front-drive models, the best of any crossover from a domestic automaker. Encore is available with features such as a heated steering wheel, rain-sensing wipers and Forward Collision Alert, which uses a camera to analyze traffic ahead. Every Encore comes standard with a seven-inch infotainment screen and IntelliLink connectivity.