Dacia Urges George Osborne to Show He's Putting his Money Where His Mouth Is

March 19, 2014: Dacia, Britain’s fastest-growing car manufacturer, is urgingGeorge Osborne to show he’s putting his money where his mouth is when he delivers the Budget this week. How? By considering the UK’s most affordable new car, Sandero, as his official means of chauffeur-driven transport.

As part of a wide-ranging marketing campaign to underline its “smart buy” ethos, “shockingly affordable” Dacia has written an ‘open letter’ to the Chancellor in today’s national press. Addressed “Dear George”, the tongue-in-cheek copy suggests that the Dacia Sandero, which costs from just £5,995, a fraction of the cost of his current ministerial car, is the perfect car for him in the current economic climate, as “it’s solid, simple and doesn’t come with any frivolous extras”.

The letter ends with the line “What better way to say we’re all in this together?”

As part of the ‘Dear George’ campaign, created by Publicis, the brand will also be communicating with Mr. Osborne via Twitter at the hashtag #DearGeorge. Related tweets for the Chancellor will appear alongside reactive tweets for ongoing discussions around the Budget. In the lead up to the Budget being delivered at lunchtime today, the brand will be tweeting lines such as: “#DearGeorge Dacia cars are cleverly designed to avoid unnecessary spending. Sound familiar?”

Dacia owners, fans and the wider public are all being invited to engage with the campaign by tweeting using the #DearGeorge hashtag. They will also be asked on Twitter whether they would like the Chancellor to consider driving the UK’s most affordable car and to vote on the issue on the campaign web page at dacia.co.uk/deargeorge.

The campaign launches on Wednesday 19th March online, on Twitter and in national press.

Edward Preston, Dacia Brand Communications Manager, said: “The Dear George campaign perfectly sums up Dacia’s belief in “eliminating the unnecessary”. It’s light-hearted, but nevertheless, there’s is a sound financial message behind it. If Mr Osbourne would like to test drive a Sandero, or speak to one of our highly-trained Dacia sales personnel to discuss potential car financing options, we would be only too delighted to hear from him.”

Andy Bird, Publicis executive creative director, said: “'What better way for Dacia to celebrate Budget day than asking George Osborne to ‘do the maths’ by simply purchasing the totally non frivolous Dacia Sandero, and to really put his money where his mouth is in these austere times.”