Drivetime on the web?

This week Mitsubishi will be the latest car-maker to launch a model online instead of on TV.

Forget the all-singing-and-dancing primetime TV advertising extravaganza, the internet is becoming the medium of choice for canny car brands eager to make their mark. For proof look no further than Mitsubishi, the latest manufacturer to challenge advertising convention by launching a new model online. The campaign - for the European launch of the Lancer Evolution VIII sports car, or "Evo" - goes live this week. The latest in a series of bold and innovative online car campaigns, it's also set to give the rest of adland a timely wake-up call.

At first glance, Mitsubishi's launch marketing strategy for the Evo - developed by advertising agency StrawberryFrog - sounds a contradictory one: "a secret campaign" to prompt interest by generating a sense of mystery. An online film depicting a man's encounter with a strange new cult (the cult of the Evo, it turns out) has been produced. The film is now being "seeded" - in other words, discreetly placed among various online communities of car enthusiasts.

This will be followed in two months' time by a more conventional online strategy with online media bought to further distribute the film; print advertising in specialist car and lifestyle magazines will then run later in the year. Meanwhile, Mitsubishi has also created a new games website on which visitors can play a number of cutting-edge driver simulation and racing games.

Read the article: www.media.guardian.co.uk