Mercedes marketers plan to WOOP it up

Edward Lapham is the executive editor of Automotive News. .

Edward Lapham | | Automotive News / November 2, 2006 - 10:28 am -- The saying "You can sell a young man's car to an old man, but you can't sell an old man's car to a young man" seems true enough.

It may also be true if you make the statement politically correct and substitute "person" for "man." After all, you do see a lot of old people of both genders driving around in Scions and Honda Elements.

That concept drives a lot of automotive marketing as carmakers try to attract young buyers. But catering to the young isn't a slam dunk, as Oldsmobile proved with its "It's not your father's Oldsmobile" slogan.

You still need the product, the image and the attitude.

So as a backup plan, brands such as Buick and Mercury have hooked up with AARP to reach the older set when they can't lure enough kids into their dealerships. That's OK. Old folks need wheels, too.

But now Mercedes-Benz is making an effort to attract older buyers in Europe. Of course, Mercedes doesn't want just any oldster. Mercedes wants "WOOPies," which stands for Well-Off Older People.

Mercedes marketing types in Stuttgart figured out that baby boomers are aging and that some have money to spend. The average age of a Mercedes buyer in Europe is about 55.

That's why Mercedes has switched its marketing tone. Now the emphasis is on traditional values and reliability rather than sportiness.

According to Automotive News Europe, DaimlerChrysler CEO Dieter Zetsche -- himself a baby boomer -- is counting on the campaign to win back buyers who left because of reliability issues with the E class.

If the cars also happen to be sporty and appeal to younger buyers, Mercedes will have found an interesting way to sell young vehicles to more old people.

It could work - if the ads are written in a big enough typeface.