For the first time in the history of Indian automobile industry, a brand has chosen to have a mascot. Aptly christened Mr WizeR. The 'toon' character stands for everything that Maruti says its tallboy brand WagonR stands for ie smartness and leadership.

The launch of this character is just a step towards WagonR's aggressive long-term plans to dominate the digital space.

Depending upon the response, WagonR aims to take this character to all media domains and plans to have Mr WizeR as the face of future campaigns. Such a character would surely help in immediate and strong association with the brand. With such innovative initiatives, Maruti says WagonR will surely go a long way catching eye balls on the internet and reinforce the brand promise.

The mascot will be initially launched and supported through periodic strip in The Times of India's - Business Times as well as other PR activities starting 17 July 2009, every Friday. This then will be carried on further with on-line presence through animated virals and blogs.

The personality of Mr WizeR is someone who is smart, intelligent, and thoughtful and knows how to get the things done. He stands apart from the crowd and has prominent individuality. He evaluates and takes his own smart decisions. He is friendly, informed and reliable. He can find smart solutions to tough problems with ease.

Speaking on the strategy behind the new campaign, Shashank Srivastava, chief general manager-marketing, Maruti Suzuki said, ''WagonR is one of the most trusted brands from India's largest passenger cars company Maruti Suzuki. Over the last few years, WagonR has delivered impressive sales year after year. The objective of this pioneering campaign is to revitalise the brand and beat the clutter with an innovative concept while communicating the core strength of the brand in the most effective manner. Mr WizeR, an embodiment of all values that the brand WagonR stand for, would provide a strong presence and connect to the brand in the fastest growing marketing medium - Internet and help us in reaching out to our audiences better.''

Speaking on the strategy behind the new campaign, V S Mani, senior vice president and general manager, Lintas Media Group, said, ''The challenge was to bring alive the brand promise in an interesting manner. Through Mr WizeR we would not only establish connect with the core audience but it would appeal to the younger audience''.

According to C R Srinivasan, director, Times Group, ''Since it was the automobile sector, we had to think of something different and unusual that does full justice to the brand. It had to be in alignment with the brand value and the brand belief. It had to deliver what the brand promises to stands for i.e., being smart and being a leader. Mr. WizeR just does that…

The conceptualization and visualisation of the character has been co-created by Times Red Cell, Lintas Media Group and WagonR brand team. The content creation and presentation will be completely handled by Times Red Cell, the activations arm of Times Group.