Advertisers understand the importance of employing images and messages that resonate with an intended audience’s values and identity.  It’s not surprising then that Nissan in promoting the all-electric Leaf is featuring a polar bear–an iconic, if not poorly chosen symbol of global warming–to attract attention from first generation buyers, many of whom are likely to hold a strong environmental identity.

Watch the ad below, placed strategically today at MSNBC as many greens follow their preferred cable channel for news of the midterm election. There’s a noticeable theme of irony in the ad, almost as if prospective green consumers are chuckling at themselves.

See also:

Selling the All-Electric Leaf: Why Nissan and the Feds Are Investing Heavily in First Generation Buyers