Claudia Schiffer has been recruited by Opel as its new brand ambassador. The German model, television host and businesswoman will feature in a new marketing campaign for the struggling brand that will highlight its German roots, although in most markets where Opels are sold it’s a well-known fact that the brand is owned by General Motors.

The new campaign, titled It’s a German, will feature in television and print formats all across Europe, except in Germany and the U.K. In the U.K., Opel cars are sold under the Vauxhall label.

The focus of the ads will be Opel’s German engineering and some of the clever features found on its cars. At the end of each television ad, Schiffer will deliver the punchline, “It’s a German”. Given the economic divide between Germany and many other European nations, it will be interesting to see how successful the campaign will be.

“We filmed the first commercial in mid-December in Barcelona,” Schiffer said in a statement. “The new Opel models stand for great German engineering as well as innovation and practicality--it is fantastic for families like mine.”

Opel has lost more than $18 billion since 1999, including $1.8 billion last year alone, and in a last-ditch effort to save the brand General Motors Company [NYSE:GM] is pulling out all the stops. GM has already committed to spending $5.2 billion to develop new models and powertrains for Opel, has given Opel greater reach in the Russian market and will soon eliminate Chevrolet as a volume brand in Europe to provide less competition.

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