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Chrysler wants ads creative, clear
BY KATIE MERX
[FONT=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif]FREE PRESS BUSINESS WRITER[/FONT]
December 12, 2006
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[FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]In a commercial, a Dodge Nitro blasts a car during a jump-start. Dealers and viewers wondered what it all meant. [/FONT]
Does the Chrysler Group TV commercial that shows a Dodge Nitro blowing up a car with a jump-start leave you scratching your head?
Dealers complained the ad doesn't tell customers anything about the brand or the vehicle.
Automotive Web site Jalopnik.com called another Nitro commercial -- in which the SUV falls through the Earth to China -- "the strangest we've ever seen."
Last week, Chrysler CEO Tom LaSorda acknowledged he had the same reaction. In the future, he will review all advertisements before they are approved.
In a meeting with Detroit-area Chrysler dealers late last week, LaSorda reportedly said he was concerned that some of the company's latest advertisements don't tell consumers enough about the vehicles they're selling.
In a meeting Thursday with representatives from the New York ad agency BBDO, LaSorda asked them to "let creativity run wild" but ensure they convey the brand and product messages to consumers, Chrysler's top spokesman Jason Vines said.
A BBDO spokesman declined to comment.
LaSorda and other Chrysler executives are working to prove that a $1.5-billion loss in the third quarter was a bump in the road, not a long-term change in the direction of the company. LaSorda took on direct oversight of several responsibilities in the company as he leads it through a recovery plan that has a goal of cutting $1,000 from the cost of every vehicle. Details of the plan are expected to be revealed early next year and they might call for buyouts and plant closings.
Contact KATIE MERX at 313-222-8762 or [email protected].
BY KATIE MERX
[FONT=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif]FREE PRESS BUSINESS WRITER[/FONT]
December 12, 2006
[FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]In a commercial, a Dodge Nitro blasts a car during a jump-start. Dealers and viewers wondered what it all meant. [/FONT]
Does the Chrysler Group TV commercial that shows a Dodge Nitro blowing up a car with a jump-start leave you scratching your head?
Dealers complained the ad doesn't tell customers anything about the brand or the vehicle.
Automotive Web site Jalopnik.com called another Nitro commercial -- in which the SUV falls through the Earth to China -- "the strangest we've ever seen."
Last week, Chrysler CEO Tom LaSorda acknowledged he had the same reaction. In the future, he will review all advertisements before they are approved.
In a meeting with Detroit-area Chrysler dealers late last week, LaSorda reportedly said he was concerned that some of the company's latest advertisements don't tell consumers enough about the vehicles they're selling.
In a meeting Thursday with representatives from the New York ad agency BBDO, LaSorda asked them to "let creativity run wild" but ensure they convey the brand and product messages to consumers, Chrysler's top spokesman Jason Vines said.
A BBDO spokesman declined to comment.
LaSorda and other Chrysler executives are working to prove that a $1.5-billion loss in the third quarter was a bump in the road, not a long-term change in the direction of the company. LaSorda took on direct oversight of several responsibilities in the company as he leads it through a recovery plan that has a goal of cutting $1,000 from the cost of every vehicle. Details of the plan are expected to be revealed early next year and they might call for buyouts and plant closings.
Contact KATIE MERX at 313-222-8762 or [email protected].
Copyright © 2006 Detroit Free Press Inc.
