Kia Dumps Hamsters, in Ads for the More "Serious" Kia Forte

(MoneyWatch)  SEATTLE -- Kia is dumping its cute hamsters in advertising for the Kia Forte sedan.

The Forte replaces the Kia Spectra, the brand's best seller in the United States. Michael Sprague, vice president, marketing, said in a June 9 press conference here to introduce the Kia Forte that the hamsters weren't "serious" enough for the Forte.

"We didn't want the hamsters to become the spokesperson for our brand. We wanted to be a more serious brand," he said.

Sprague said in a short interview that he did not mean to imply that Kia will start taking itself too seriously. He said ads for the Kia Forte will stress more straightforward messages about features and benefits for the money, because according to Kia research, that's what sedan buyers in the Kia Forte's segment want to know.

It would be a shame if Kia started to get too serious, or if it got what I call "Big Car Company-itis." That's where they feel obliged to be all things to all people, with products in every product segment, whether they fit the brand image or not, and with styling that doesn't turn anybody off, but doesn't turn any heads, either. That strategy is one of the reasons Chrysler and GM are bankrupt.

The Kia brand is gaining traction in the U.S. market partly because of a fresh new attitude, to go with a new generation of products. Kia is trying to break out of its pigeonhole as a maker of cheap, and cheaply built econoboxes with a lot of features for the money.

New Kia products like the Kia Soul are taking the brand into new product segments, with much more distinctive styling.

In case you've been shipwrecked on a desert island, the Kia hamsters helped introduce the Kia Soul earlier this spring. In TV ads, all the other hamsters are running in place in their exercise wheels -- except the "cool" hamsters bobbing to the music in the Kia Soul, a small, squared-off crossover.

Sprague said ads for the Kia Forte aren't quite finalized yet, even though a few Fortes have already been sold. The general theme will be that the Kia Forte is "the first of its kind." By that, Kia means the first car to combine such a long list of standard features for the money. The Kia Forte will start at $14,390.

Cool hamsters were to first of their kind, too. The Kia hamsters broke through the ad clutter on TV and became a hit online. Sprague hinted that the hamsters may be back eventually. But for the Kia Forte, its looks like they won't be along for the ride.

Photo: Kia