For most of the first quarter, American Suzuki Motor Corp. refrained from broadcast advertising, but returned to television on Monday, March 16 with commercials for both the SX4 hatchback and small sedan.

The decision to run no TV ads for nine of the first 11 months of 2009 was a move to save marketing money in what is traditionally a slow sales period, said Suzuki vice president of automotive marketing and public relations, Gene Brown.

The SX4, which Suzuki is calling "mightier than the Mini," will be featured in a series of commercials between March 16 and March 23. The SX4 is shown in a cape, after the fashion of Superman, with the ad's text touting the car's superior warranty and lower price compared to the Mini.

The ads will run on national cable networks including the Discovery Channel, VH1, Animal Planet, and on local cable systems. The cost of the campaign was not disclosed, but the effort also includes print and online ads.

"The basic premise is that you can go anywhere or do anything you want in this compact SUV," said Tim Murphy, president of Siltanen Partners, Suzuki's ad agency.

For the fiscal year beginning April 1, Suzuki will cut its spending on U.S. media advertising, a sharp departure from the $80.9 billion the company spent between January through November 2008.