How do you speak to Canadian consumers when your market research shows they think of you as a cheapie Asian importer?

Talk hockey.

Kia Canada Inc. has launched a series of humorous ads calling for an end to the National Hockey League lockout. The ads are intended to remind people of the company's presence in Canada, where it employs about 100 people and sells about 30,000 cars a year.

It's part of Kia's attempt to evolve its brand beyond price, five years after its Canadian debut.

"It's about having a commentary on being part of Canada . . .," said Duncan Bruce, senior vice-president and executive creative director for Publicis Canada, the agency behind the ads. Publicis Canada is part of Publicis Group SA.

"It reflects [Kia's] understanding of what it means to be in this country. It says they're starting to become a member of our society and are commenting on something that is near and dear to us in an interesting and fun way."

In order to reinforce Kia as a Canadian brand, the commercials will run during CBC's hockey mini-series The Tournament, which makes its debut next week. Kia is the series' main sponsor.

Kia Canada, a division of Kia Motors Inc. of South Korea, is not the first firm to play off the labour dispute through television commercials. Molson Inc. and Nike Canada both did it earlier. But unlike beer and sports equipment, cars don't have a direct affinity to hockey.

Three 30-second TV spots, which don't feature a single car, depict the trials of two office workers trying to become replacement players, despite an obvious lack of talent and equipment. One doesn't even have blades in his skates.

The ads end with the tagline: "Guys are starting to get ideas -- bring back hockey."

Ross Cunningham, marketing director for Kia Canada, said the ads are "more Canadian" than anything Kia has done in the past.

"We've only been in Canada for five years. It takes a while to endear a car company to a society . . . ," he said.

"We're trying to be a little lighthearted on the [hockey] situation. Hopefully, people will think it's a clever ad, a little bit more than your standard zero-per-cent financing."

Kia's attempt to journey from price-based promotion to one based on brand is a common road for imported vehicles as they seek to boost margins and avoid having to compete on price with larger rivals with deeper pockets.

Mr. Cunningham previously worked for the Canadian unit of Japan's Honda Motor Co. Ltd. when the Civic was launched in Canada, and says consumers were initially skeptical of the quality. "It usually takes about 10 years to break through."

Dennis DesRosiers, president of DesRosiers Automotive Consultants Inc. of Richmond Hill, Ont., said South Korea's Hyundai Corp. launched its Canadian operations focusing on price, but the unit has evolved now to position itself on both price and hip vehicle styling.

But he said most people still think of price as the defining attribute for Kia's cars. "They're wise to see beyond that," Mr. DesRosiers said.

Mr. Cunningham said Kia is planning to do more ads with a Canadian theme, including one in June when it relaunches its Rio model.

The hockey ads also mark a shift in Kia's thinking. Mr. Cunningham said the company has determined that it will spend less money buying media time for its commercials and use the savings to produce higher quality advertising.

"We can spend $20-million in media weight, but if you're running something like wallpaper, people don't even notice it," Mr. Cunningham said.

Nike Canada was the first to mourn the absence of hockey with an ad that aired in mid-September, when the league initiated the lockout. It depicted a silent hockey rink, its 19,000 seats vacant, as the ice melts away, right down to the concrete floor. The ad's tagline is "bring it back."

And last month, Molson Inc. launched an ad for its flagship Canadian brand featuring depressed male hockey fans singing Culture Club's 1982 hit, Do You Really Want to Hurt Me? The ad finished with the tagline: "Hockey, please come back."

Mr. Bruce at Publicis said he thinks Nike's ad is too serious, while Molson's doesn't speak to Canadian men in the right way.

"Singing a Culture Club song, looking like I'm in tears, it didn't really resonate with me. It wasn't me on the screen; it wasn't something that I believe in my heart. I felt that ours were a bit more insightful," he said.