TBWA\C\D Depicts Hip Moms for Nissan's Quest

NEW YORK To capture the essence of moms who still consider themselves hip, TBWA\Chiat\Day turned to director Anthea Benton in its new campaign for the redesigned Nissan Quest.

The campaign, which broke this week and includes four TV spots, billboards, transit posters, even coffee cup holders, positions the redesigned minivan as spacious but cool. Its modern interior encompasses an oval driver's console, five sky view windows, two DVD screens and collapsible seats.

Benton, whose reel includes European spots for Levi's and Smirnoff, directed two of the spots: "Girls Night Out" and "Moms Have Changed/Loading." In "Girls Night Out," the Quest is filled with thirtysomething women who laugh as they pass around a digital camera and film each other while the minivan rolls down a city street. The action then cuts to the quiet of a den, where two boys are asleep in the arms of their dad, who stares at a wall clock, wondering when his wife will get home.

"Moms Have Changed/Loading" shows a string of women individually loading recreational gear into the back of a Quest, including a kayak, surfboard and saddle. It ends with a male voice saying, "Mom's have changed. Shouldn't the minivan?"

"The idea is it's a modern, sexy van for a modern, sexy mom," said Rob Schwartz, executive creative director at the Playa del Rey, Calif., agency, adding that "there's something honest, authentic and timeless about celebrating" such moms.

The other two spots—"Lighthouse" and "Moms Have Changed/Features"—were directed by Pucho Mentasti. Both Benton and Mentasti are represented by Believe Media in Los Angeles.

The campaign, which is running in Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Miami, Boston and six other major markets, is backed by an estimated $20-30 million budget. The last big push behind Quest was in 1999, when Nissan spent more than $30 million advertising the brand, according to TNS Media Intelligence/CMR.