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Could it be that the people at Porsche felt the passion?

Brad Usherwood has been a devoted Porsche driver for 13 years, and his current vehicle — a guard's red 911 C4S with black leather interior — marks his third fast-mobile in that time. So when the car company announced that for the first time ever it would retain a Canadian advertising agency it was a given that Mr. Usherwood and Yield, the agency he founded 20 years ago, would pitch for the business.

Still, even if you're crazy in love for a potential client, a thousand hours devoted to a speculative endeavour sounds like a lot.

"It was a personal thing for me," says Mr. Usherwood, the firm's chief executive officer, who gets his coupe up to 250 km/h on the back stretch and has a fondness for track days at Mosport and Calabogie. "It was probably the most expensive pitch we've ever done."

Of course Yield won the account, officially two weeks ago, though the agency has been burrowing away on the work since early January. The agency's offices, the former home of Labatt in Toronto's west end, with soaring ceilings and a lounge for biweekly wine gatherings, is a happy place these days, not least because it followed the Porsche account with winning Wolf Blass, the Australian wine maker, marking another brand affair which fits nicely with the aforementioned wine gatherings.

But back to Porsche. It is interesting, I think, to note a couple of facts. Did you know that Canadians have been buying Porsches for more than 50 years? Nor did I. The Porsche people claim that about 70 per cent of the Porsches ever made are still on the road. All this time the marketing of the Porsche to the Canadian consumer has come to us from other markets — most recently, the eminently creative talents of Cramer-Krasselt, based in Chicago.

But when Porsche sales in Canada nudged 2,000 cars in 2007, Porsche Automobil Holding SE decreed that it was time for the launch of a Canadian subsidiary — administrative, finance, marketing, media planning — reporting directly to Stuttgart as opposed to the North American headquarters in Atlanta.

"They found out that Canada is a distinct society with three distinct markets," says Yield creative director Chris Torbay. "There's English Canada that's distinct from the U.S. There's French Canada. There's a huge Chinese component, especially for Porsche in Vancouver and Toronto. ... They were looking at the headlines and the creative coming up and thinking, well, it sort of works but it doesn't feel like it's talking to Canadians."

Still, this may seem a strange time to be talking about the creation of luxury messages. Porsche sales in Canada fell 15 per cent in 2008, to fewer than 1,700 units.

"There are always some advertisers who stay the course and come out the other end as the winners," says Yield president Ted Nation. "Porsche is making a big stake in Canada ... and is fully committed to marketing spend. They are planning on capitalizing on some of their competitors cutting back."

"You can never stop communicating what the brand's about," adds Mr. Torbay. "Even if you don't have that Porsche yet you continue to build that attachment. It doesn't disappear when the market goes soft. ... You're in love with the brand before you're an owner."

(For the record, Mr. Torbay drives a Mazda. "Now if you were to recommend in front of the big guys that the creative director should be driving a Porsche," he says leadingly. Mr. Nation and Mr. Usherwood both laugh at the suggestion. There appears to be no Porsche in Mr. Torbay's future.)

Who is the Porsche owner? "There's a clear, distinctive attitude, a personality type that goes after the brand," says Mr. Usherwood. Entrepreneurial. Fiercely independent. That's the way they want to be seen.

In the first creative rollout from the agency, print ads will appear in March heralding the latest Boxster. Here's one: a jade green model with tan interior takes the road on a fabulous summer day. The line: "Hopefully, you'll run into your ex." The spot will also appear online at www.xyyz.ca (a guy site), but also on www.sweetspot.ca.

"What we're obviously doing with this marketing strategy is talking more to women," says Jasmin Rawlinson, director of marketing for Porsche Cars Canada Ltd. Another tag line: "Choose your accessories wisely."

"You see car companies dancing around this all the time," says Mr. Torbay. "Trying to position the car so that it will be women friendly without turning it into a chick car."

Instead, the advertising is women friendly without losing sight of the Porsche Doppelkupplung (double clutch, or PDK) feature that apparently will give all drivers the feel of Formula 1.

Ms. Rawlinson emphasizes that it was important for the brand to more clearly target the Canadian consumer by aligning with Canadian creative talent and localized media buying. "We wanted to identify and take Canada as our location and make everything Canadian specific as much as we can," she says. "We understand this country. It's a beautiful country."

At the same time it was up to Yield to deliver that place-specific feel without losing the signature notes of the brand's advertising. "Porsche's advertising in its substance is very aspirational, witty ... never arrogant," says Ms. Rawlinson.

On the aspirational point: Those online banner ads will be accompanied by a contest come-on to drive a Porsche at Mosport in April.

Come the fall, Yield will unveil its work for the four-door Panamera, due to arrive in the Canadian market in October. The Panamera S will run $115,100. The Panamera Turbo: $155,000.

At the agency's offices the team is just starting to work up ideas that will work off of the global "Four, uncompromised" Panamera brand positioning. They were hoping to station four free-standing car doors in the BCE atrium in downtown Toronto. That would have generated some buzz. But it is hard, apparently, to get one's hands on the doors alone. Other thoughts include shutting down Bloor Street for the red-carpet launch.

It's early days yet. Here's a line that will appear in Mandarin. Translation: "Respect your elders. Give them a ride."