Page Dimensions

Approx. 7 3/4" x 10 3/8" (19cm x 26cm)

Story and Details

North American Specification (NAS) Defenders didn't last long in the U.S. This fact shows in the small number of magazine advertisements created for the model. You'll only find NAS Defender 90 ads published between the years 1993 and 1997 - the short lifespan of the truck due to increasing regulations Land Rover couldn't justify complying with because NAS Defenders were such a small portion of their total sales.

The limited nature of the Defenders not only makes the actual trucks special, but also these original advertisements. And this ad, featuring a rhino chasing a Coniston Green Defender 90 Station Wagon may be the most compelling... It follows the consistent theme and layout Grace & Rothschild conceived in 1987 when the ad agency helped launch the Range Rover in the U.S. - a cleverly written headline with perfectly coordinating, beautiful, outdoorsy imagery. And about the scene here, I'm fortunate to know the story behind it - told directly to me by an adman who was an art director at Grace & Rothschild. His name is Allen Richardson and he was front and center at the photoshoot for this advertisement. He fondly remembers, “we went to an animal park in South Carolina. The rhino was named Tank. He had terrible eyesight, but he responded to his trainer’s voice. So we took the back door off the Defender 90, the trainer sat in the back and called out to Tank until he started following the vehicle. We picked up the speed until he was chasing it. That shot is basically un-retouched. He was really chasing the vehicle.” In fact, beyond this ad, Allen shared with me the outtake photos showing Tank colliding with the Defender and pushing it off the road. 

Although the message of the ad is about not stopping (since you're being chased by a rhino), funnily the actual ad does the opposite. It's truly the kind of magazine ad you can't help pump the brakes on your perusing and take a look. It stands by itself as a great example of a brand communicating to a market. And knowing the story behind it, from a primary source, makes it that much more special.