I was blown away by this ad. It was a tremendous use of 2 minutes from the one Detroit automaker that we have heard little from since the auto industry bailouts. Chrysler was in the worst shape of the big three (GM, Ford and Chrysler). It was so bad that they were forced not only into bankruptcy but a partnership with Fiat before they could even recieve the bailout money. Reintroducing and reconnecting with the american people is a big part of Chrysler's 5 year plan which was announced in late 2009.
This ad was 25 percent about the Chrysler 200 and 75 percent about reintroducing the Chrysler brand. The music fit that message. Lose Yourself is about having one chance to prove yourself. Chrysler has one chance to prove itself after the bailout. It must now follow through on that promise by making great cars. The words fit that message. The narrative is all about resilience. The visuals are used to reinforce the idea that Detroit, and Chrysler, know about luxury, class and aesthetic beauty. By using some of the great visuals of downtown Detroit (the Fox Theater, The Joe Luis statue, The Spirit of Man statue) it challenged our thinking of Detroit as a dead or dying city. As a city gloomy pace filed with boarded up industry and run down vacant houses.It reminded us of the uniquely American beauty of Detroit and thus the unique American aesthetic of Chrysler.
This commercial was Chrysler trying to mirror its story to that of Detroit (people think we're dead. we're not. We're alive and we are going to thrive again). It was about reaffirming it's ties to Detroit and at the same time tying Detroit to the way most people in this country feel (i.e. "don't count us out, and those that do don't know us and what we are about"). I thought it waspowerful. This was, in my opinion, super effective advertising. It creates a hope about the company, hope about the city, about the country and thus about ourselves.
photos are from my 2007 trip to Detroit.
No comments:
Post a Comment