Discovery Channel partners with Nissan X-Trail in Australia

Bear Grylls, host of Discovery Channel’s Man vs Wild series, will be the main centrepiece of the campaign taking part in a variety of stunts and activities to promote Nissan’s X-Trail SUV. He made a splash like only he could during the announcement, propelling himself from a helicopter onto the rooftop venue of the press conference by the Sydney Opera House.

Commenting on featuring the British-born Grylls in its campaign, Mandy Pattinson, senior vice-president and general manager for Australia and New Zealand at Discovery Networks Asia-Pacific, noted, “This partnership is a natural fit as Grylls is popular with our Australian audience and he is the embodiment of Nissan X-Trail’s brand attributes such as the spirit of exploration, endurance, adventure, and the strength of the human spirit.”

“Nissan X-Trail will always be about the great outdoors and ‘living life’. The Nissan X-Trail is a capable and practical SUV that can take what the life outdoors throws at it so the association with Bear Grylls is a perfect synergy,” said Tim Stuckey, executive general manager at Nissan.

However, immediately after the announcement, a Jeep TV commercial featuring ‘the original bear grills’ tagline was pulled off the air by the Discovery Channel, citing concerns that the ad posed a conflict of interest on the part of Grylls. Besides Discovery, the 15-second commercial aired over the weekend in Sky News and Ten networks and focuses on only the Jeep vehicle’s radiator grills. The Jeep campaign also included print ads boldly stating ‘see the original bare grills’ in block letters which ran in publications during the past week.