The Beast online initiatives were designed to support offline marketing and drive interest about the performance characteristics of the supercharged E-55 sedan. Traditionally recognised as a luxury performance car, Mercedes-Benz has never really been identified within hardcore muscle car circles as a big-block performance brute. The Beast campaign was designed to partially reverse that perception. When translated to the online environment, The Beast certainly played up the over-the-top bombast of the print and television campaign of the same name. The idea is simple – beneath the mild-mannered veneer, there lurks a monster, waiting to be unleashed upon unsuspecting streets/traffic – and surprise – it’s a Mercedes-Benz. Transitional Mercedes-Benz owners, enthusiasts and the mid-range MB demographic (35 –45) particularly responded well to the campaign.