Holden up in the air over VE marketing

What's 54.3m long, almost 17m high, filled with five million litres of helium and looks like an oversized red sausage? The answer is Big Red -- one of the world's newest airships -- and Holden has it ready to scare the living daylights out of clubbers sneaking home in the early hours of the morning.

Big Red is Holden's secret-weapon in the promotional campaign it hopes will set its new VE apart from the rest of the automotive crowd in the coming weeks. Built by US company The LightShip Group, the A-170 video lightsign airship features a 21.3m wide and 9.1m LED screen.

Big Red was ready to launch this Monday (July 31) at Melbourne's Tullamarine except wind gusts made it impossible to get it out of its hangar. A second 'launch' was scheduled for 12 noon today. With Holden's embargo on news of the airship stretching to this afternoon, chances are Melbourne CarPoint regulars may have seen the blimp before they read this story.

Other GM brands like US market economy badge Saturn have used blimps (also pictured) to promote new models. Big Red will spend its first month over Sydney for the retail launch of the VE before visiting all Australian capital cities and major regional centres (Ed: like Bathurst and the Gold Coast for their respective motor racing festivals).

And if the red airship is not enough to turn heads, the TV 'screen' running down almost the entire length should. Lit by 369,600 LEDs it is designed specifically for viewing from ground level.

Needless to say, the big screen will show tantalizing, larger than life images of the new VE range.

In a world where cutting through all the grey noise and clutter can make or break even the best cars, Holden is taking no risks. Big Red is the only of its type in the world and has never flown publicly before. 

The brainchild of three Las Vegas entrepreneurs who intended to take it to Asia ready for several major events, it came to the attention of Megan Stook, a former Holden marketing executive on assignment in the USA. As soon as she heard of it, she told her Holden colleagues in Australia who immediately dispatched her to Las Vegas to arrange the Australian visit.

As a feature at the nation's premier events, Holden claims Big Red will be an "incredible statement of leadership".

The company says it will be at the heart of a resurgence for Holden which now has its focus firmly set displacing Toyota's market leadership as new models fill gaps in the burgeoning medium segment and still lively SUV marketplace.