Can Bret Michaels make vans sexy? ACME, Mich. — Nissan is bringing sexy to the commercial van segment with a rock love song video featuring heavy metal rocker Bret Michaels that has gone viral. The tongue-in-cheek video has the Poison front man crooning a version of "Endless Love" to Nissan's commercial van lineup. Michaels is the face of Nissan's "Tough Love" campaign and the video has him smashing guitars and undergoing some of the endurance testing that the vans are put through in the Arizona desert. The video debuted last Thursday and within 24 hours received 1 million clicks, said Fred Diaz, Nissan North America sales chief. That has grown to more than 1.6 million. While the video is funny, Nissan also filmed serious interviews of Michaels talking about growing up around hard-working trucks. Some footage might be used for other ads, Diaz said after speaking at the Management Briefing Seminars here at the Grand Traverse Resort.
Nissan taps rocker to give some sex appeal to its commercial van line. Diaz is no stranger to viral video. He worked for Chrysler when the Auburn Hills automaker captured the spirit of gritty Detroit in a Super Bowl ad for the Chrysler 200 featuring Eminem. The Michaels video was born of the need for Nissan to stand out in the commercial van segment against the Mercedes Sprinter, Ford Transit and Ram ProMaster. "When you are battling giants you need to know who you are and stand out," he said.
Diaz, who led Chrysler's Ram truck division, is now working on Nissan's new Titan full-size pickup. Diaz said the new Titan will go on sale in late 2015 and will debut in January at the North American International Auto Show. With a Cummins engine and bolder styling it should stand out, Diaz said. "It's a mean-looking truck," he said. Unlike Ford's upcoming new 2015 F-150 pickup, the Titan will not have an aluminum body, but Diaz said he will monitor consumer acceptance of Ford's truck.