Actually Chrysler has paid some of the money back, but not every penny.
I think it was an uplifting message, and everyone would agree with that, I am just saying 14 million to air it, was not a wise investment in my mind if people are connecting more with it as a sales pitch for the entire auto industry or Detroit.
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Raising a teenager is like nailing Jello to a tree
I thought it was a pro-American auto industry commercial, and by extension, very pro-Detroit. But, I didn't realize it was a commercial specifically for Chrysler, so in that sense, it failed as a Chrysler Corporation ad. I agree that that translates into a waste of money as far as their PR is concerned. But, I enjoyed the commercial. It made me feel good about the return of the American auto industry, which I've been rooting for since its demise seemed imminent. The threat of the death of the very bedrock of American manufacturing seemed like a harbinger of the fatal decline of America as a whole. That thought both frightened me and tore at my heart, because God knows, even with all its flaws (which are many), I love this land with all my heart.
Btw, I heard several times on news programming in the wake of this brouhaha, that Chrysler has already payed back the loans, and GM is on schedule to pay back theirs. That's good.
Good grief, I've now edited this post twice: You'd think I'd proof-read better before pressing submit...
Again! LOL!
-- Edited by Poetsheart on Tuesday 7th of February 2012 08:38:10 PM
-- Edited by Poetsheart on Tuesday 7th of February 2012 08:41:03 PM
-- Edited by Poetsheart on Tuesday 7th of February 2012 08:43:41 PM
I didn't see this as a political ad, but both my son and husband were flipping out that Eastwood did it and it seemed pro-Obama. I took it as a car ad and a Pro-America ad...which was funny, because everything I heard him say, had a different connotation for me than it did for them.
That is why I stated for Chrysler that was a waste of money, bad advice from the ad agency.
Nobody is talking about buying a Chrysler they are talking about politics. The Eminem commercial had people talking about Chrysler, or at least American car manufacturers.
People connected to the idea that an American car was just as enviable as an import. They nailed it emotionally with that ad. They showed their product, and it was sexy, sharp, powerful. It made you want to see their cars.
This ad just made you say, Great Detroit is coming back! It didn't make anyone say I want that car! I need to go on the net and find more out about that car.
The more I think about the commercial, the more I believe Detroit could have made that ad to promote their city.
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Raising a teenager is like nailing Jello to a tree
I'm watching the news and a commentator just summed it up nicely: "Some people see it is pro-Obama, others as pro-GOP. But everyone seems to be missing the fact that it was a car commercial."
I agree to me the Eminem commercial was much better, including the tag line...imported from Detroit.
I didn't realize it wasn't shot in Detroit, what I was thinking about was this is a Chrysler ad, the cars were not highlighted at all.
It was a feel good ad. Detroit is coming back. Okay, but it didn't make me want to buy the Jeep 4 door over the Honda CRV. 14 million for ad time, let's say 2 million to produce it, and still if I was going to buy a car, it wouldn't make me run into a Chrysler dealership.
If you compare it to the GM commercial, which made me laugh after scaring me out of my mind...Twinkie? Made me at least connect with GM as a product over Ford.
Of course this ad is also being criticized by Ford, which was the only company that did not take bail out money as being seen as foul.
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Raising a teenager is like nailing Jello to a tree
I really didn't see it as political. I had to watch it numerous times and WAY over-analyze to try to find anything political.
The money did bother me. It's a feel-good ad but I doubt it's going to do much more than that and I didn't think it was something that $10 million+ should have been spent on.
On another level, it really bothered me that it wasn't shot in Detroit. I just thought that given the theme of the commercial, it should have been shot in Detroit. That's just my own bias though and I realize that it was supposed to be about America and not specifically Detroit.
For me, the Eminem commercial last year was much, much better. I didn't really even like this ad all that much.
That being said, what bothered me was a 2 min commercial at 3.5 mil for 30 seconds = 14 million just for ad time, not including production costs. Chrysler has yet to pay back all of the bail out money.
14 million is a drop in the bucket, I know that, but use yourself as an example. You loan money out of your wallet to someone you know as a favor, how would you feel if they spent it in an extravagant manner.
Let's be honest, in this day and age of media, that ad would have gone viral if they placed it on Project Runway, mainly because of Clint Eastwood.
I get that 111 million watched the Super Bowl, and people will break it down to pennies, but again, let's be honest Clint Eastwood is a reason they are talking about this ad.
They aren't talking about Chrysler or Detroit like they did with Enimen last yr, which means the message went off the rails. They are talking about if this was political.
Was the cost from a govt bailed out company a wise expense?
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Raising a teenager is like nailing Jello to a tree
