Nissan invents 'Camelpower' — a unit for desert car performance

In the Gulf, 'which car is best in the desert?' was an endless argument on dune-basher forums and social media. Nissan wanted leadership in off-road performance, but another ad campaign would just add to the noise — every rival could buy reach too.

Invent a scientific 'Camelpower' unit — horsepower recreated with a camel as benchmark — so Nissan's SUVs can be proven, not claimed, the best in the desert.

Nissan engineers, third-party engineers and geologists spent almost two years defining 1 dCP (Desert Camelpower) through sand field tests factoring velocity, weight and trajectory, then vetted the formula with the Emirates Authority for Standardization and Metrology. An 11-minute National Geographic documentary and a camelpower.ae site presented the science, with showrooms and university talks extending the story.

Patrol sales rose 97% YoY in March and 26% in April (Navara +170% in March); visitors spent 12.2 minutes on camelpower.ae; exposure made people 60% more likely to call Nissan the best off-road SUV maker. The work earned the Loeries 2017 Integrated Grand Prix, a Cannes Lions 2017 Silver in Media, and two Grands Prix at Dubai Lynx 2018.

In March 2017 Nissan Middle East and TBWA\RAAD launched Camelpower: a new unit of measurement for automotive performance in the desert, built by Nissan engineers, independent engineers and geologists over almost two years of field testing on sand.

The unit deliberately mirrored horsepower. Just as James Watt used a horse as his benchmark, the team used the camel — 'the most effective and efficient desert animal' — and derived a formula for 1 dCP accounting for velocity, weight and trajectory. The approach was vetted by the Emirates Authority for Standardization and Metrology, which signaled it would pursue standardization of the unit.

Instead of a conventional campaign, the story was told through an 11-minute National Geographic documentary, a dedicated website explaining the science, showroom graphics, and university talks. Nissan's line-up — Patrol, Patrol Safari and Navara — was then measured in dCP, positioning the brand as the benchmark against which all other SUVs could be judged.

The idea traveled on its own credibility: media impressions were worth over $2.8m, year-on-year Patrol sales jumped 97% in March and 26% in April, and the work won the Loeries 2017 Integrated Grand Prix, a Cannes Lions 2017 Media Silver, and two Grands Prix at Dubai Lynx 2018.

A new unit of measurement reframed the whole category argument — competitors were left arguing against Nissan's benchmark rather than their own claims.

Genuine engineering and ESMA vetting gave the idea credibility that a paid-media claim could never match.

National Geographic as storyteller made the brand's science feel like a discovery, not advertising.

The formula and standard could outlive the campaign — an idea designed to become an industry reference, not a one-off spot.

It won top honors in three systems (Loeries, Cannes, Dubai Lynx), showing the idea's cross-market strength.

To own a category debate, don't out-shout rivals — change the measuring stick. An invented standard backed by real science makes a brand the reference point everyone else has to argue against.

Camelpower became Nissan Middle East's most decorated work, with eight Dubai Lynx 2018 awards including the PR and Promo & Activation Grands Prix, and helped make Nissan the most awarded brand at that festival. ESMA said it would work toward ISO accreditation of the unit, and the campaign remains a reference case for 'owned idea' strategies in the region.