United States-based automobile rental service that started in 1946 by Warren Avis. The first Avis rent-a-car office, named Avis Airline Rent-a-Car system, was opened at an airport near Detroit, Michigan in 1946. One of Avis' key competitors was the number one automobile rental service named Hertz. To compete against Hertz, Avis started a marketing campaign, positioning themselves 2nd to Hertz, as "Avis is only No. 2 in rent-a-cars, so why go with us? We try harder." This successfuladvertisingcampaign brought Avis fame and they expanded from a national company to one with branchoffices around the world.