News

Prague, 3 March 2008 – The Benzina company has launched a new advertising campaign to introduce and promote the brand of the premium Benzina plus filling stations and the services they offer. The creative concept of the campaign is based on the first successful flight made by Ing. Jan Kašpar from Pardubice to Prague in 1911. The character of this aviator appears in all three TV spots that are part of the campaign. The TV campaign will be supported also by big boards along motorways and 1st class roads and by advertisements in dailies and selected society magazines. The slogan of the campaign is “We are changing with time”.

"Through this campaign we would like to link up to the tradition of the Czech brand and at the same time tell customers that we have taken the long-overdue step forward and are now able to stand up to the competition and in some regards even overtake it," says Veronika Vlášková, marketing manager of Benzina, who is responsible for the campaign project.

Each of the TV campaign spots introduces one of the basic pillars that make up the Benzina plus brand - premium Verva fuel, an offer of refreshments and good quality service. Viewers will learn from the serene TV spots about the newly converted Benzina plus filling stations. They will be informed about the top-class car wash systems, they will be able to look inside a Benzina plus station, visit a catering section with its wide ranging offer of high quality coffee and tasty crunchy sandwiches. All three spots are, of course, focused also on the promotion of the Benzina plus brand as such.

The print campaign will include a gift for readers. Some periodicals will contain a free coffee voucher or a member card with a pre-attached stamp, with which Benzina customers, once they fill in the whole card, will be able to receive interesting gifts. March will be the month of the start of a new promotion campaign during which cuddly toys, toy car models and small sport bags will be offered instead of the traditional DVDs.

A new Benzina plus website (http://www.benzinaplus.cz/) has been prepared for internet fans, providing exhaustive information on products and services offered by Benzina plus. Thanks to its easily navigable browsers it will be possible to find the location of the nearest Benzina plus and details about all the products and services it offers.

The campaign has a very distinct flavour. "The creative concept is based on the permeation of the black-and-white picture of ing. Kašpara, as a symbol of the past, with the coloured image of the present.  We let the viewers reflect on the story: who knows how it was at that time? How could ing. Kašpar achieve the impossible and where did the idea to set up the first filling station spring up from?"  Ms Vlášková explains.

The spots are directed by Jakub Sluka and the character of ing. Kašpar is played by Serbian actor Milos Vlalukin. The hundred-year old Blériot is piloted by a Swede, Mikael Carlson, the only person in the world who can get this flying machine into the air and also land it. "During the preparatory stage we had also considered the option of using a 3D animation of the historical aircraft, but a smart production staff member discovered Mikael, who not only could pilot the Bleriot, but actually owned two original planes of this type. And so the Benzina TV advertisement features a 100-year old plane which is original down to its last screw," Ms Vlášková adds.

The media in which the campaign will run:
ČT1, ČT2, NOVA, Radio Impuls and selected dailies, weeklies and society magazines.

Who is Jan Kašpar?
Ing. Jan Kašpar, one of the most famous figures in Czech aviation history, was born in Pardubice on 20 May 1883. After graduating from a technical secondary school he studied mechanical engineering at the Imperial Czech Technical University. He worked at the Laurin & Klement factory where, together with ing. Hieronym, he participated in the development of the first aircraft engine in Bohemia. He developed such a passion for aircraft engineering that he left the company and, with his cousin Evžen Čihák, dedicated himself entirely to flying. He learnt to fly a monoplane of his own design. The plane was built in three months and in February 1910 Kašpar and his cousin made their first flying attempts. The engine output, however, was very small and the plane was destroyed in a fall. A similar fate awaited the next three machines, too. To accelerate his experiments as much as possible, Kašpar finally bought a Blériot, which was the most advanced aircraft in its time. In this aircraft, on 13 May 1911, he made the first historical flight from Pardubice to Prague. This date can be marked as the founding milestone of Czech aviation. Many other achievements followed - the same year the first flight with a passenger took place. There were also downturns on the way - injuries and obstacles.