Right Ad, Wrong Car
Chrysler is serious. In the past year, the ailing automaker has fought hard to rebuild its product, its name, its brand. They are fighting against a decade or more of a well-earned reputation of churning out undesirable cars. And they’ve chosen to use a very potent and timely strategy – American pride.
They showed us George Washington fighting the British in a Dodge Challenger. They inspired us with the power and beauty of craftsmanship. And this past week, the high-profile Super Bowl spot featured rap artist Eminem driving through Detroit as the narrator spoke about struggle (”What does a town that’s been to hell and back know about the finer things in life?”), strength (”It’s the hottest fires that make the hardest steel”), and rebel spirit (”This isn’t New York City, this isn’t the Windy City…”) in a thick, gravely voice. Detroit is the city where real cars come from. The ad was true in spirit. It was beautifully shot; brilliantly edited. It had the effect of a good old-fashioned boxing flick.
And then Eminem rolled up in the new Chrysler 200.
The car is essentially an improved, but mostly warmed-over previous-generation Sebring. The air was sucked out of the room and it now had the effect of a cheap direct-to-video special. Why not the 300? Aside from being their flagship, the full-size sedan is at least distinctively styled, fully revamped, and true to message (luxury).
The Jeep ad had credibility. The new Grand Cherokee is a brilliant car. But if Chrysler truly buys into their own manifesto – “The Things We Make, Make Us” – and chooses to stake their reputation on an improved but ultimately forgettable mid-sized sedan, things aren’t looking too good.
4 Comments
"completely agree. bottom line is their cars suck. even Jeeps, their flagship, get horrible reports."
- roy
"I do commend Chrysler for being scrappy and doing what they can in such a short amount of time. Developing a new car is no small feat. A little more thought should have just been put into what car to feature in such an aspirational ad.
Jeep on the other hand is most definitely pulling it together. As you said, old reports have been sketchy, but the new Grand Cherokee is a class act. Handsome, tough, capable, affordable."
- Alvin Diec
"Good points, Alvin. I think the sentiment of the ad was definitely on point but I was curious as to why they chose the 200 as well. I came across an article today that suggests that maybe the 200 was a socially conscious decision - yes, people want luxury but in this economic climate they also want to avoid any guilt associated with dropping the cash for a new car while their neighbors are struggling to pay the rent. Maybe Chrysler feared that the 300 would come across as too "upper crust?" Not sure if they'd be right, but I thought it was an interesting read nonetheless. Here's the link: http://www.soundslikebranding.com/?p=2117."
- Sam Thacker
"Hahaha. I was wondering "why the 200?" when I saw the ad, then wondering afterwards "why eminem?". It's hard to go against a decade of poor quality...unless you're selling the car for 5 grand maybe."
- Nate Henderson