Chrysler 300 Ad: What are they thinking?!
Have you seen the new TV spot for Chrysler's 300C, the one spoofing the ancient Folger's Coffee ad in which an unsuspecting character's favorite brand of coffee is secretly switched for something supposedly superior? In the Chrysler reincarnation, the 300C is substituted for a Toyota Avalon, much to the pleasure of the clueless driver.
Anyway, that much would have been fine and even somewhat amusing, but the car company took it one step too far, as the narrator finds it necessary to point out that they've also "replaced his wife of 20 years -- Agnes -- with this piping hot fashion model, Isabella." The driver gets an ecstatic look on his face and responds..."ohhh, thank you, Chrysler."
OK, you can watch it yourself, courtesy of YouTube:
My question is simple: has Chrysler lost its freakin' mind? Is it doing so well, financially, that it can afford to alienate a large segment of its potential customer base, that being (1) married women and (2) married men who happen to be quite content with their wives of however-many-years...of which there are a whole lot more of us than the company apparently comprehends? And that doesn't even count the unmarried women named Agnes.
I'd expect this sort of thing from, say, Go Daddy. But from a car company? Chrysler should be ashamed of itself.
I think Chrysler just doesn't want to sell cars to anyone anymore. I mean why else would they create such a stupid ad.
Wait, though. Maybe it's actually a Toyota ad, in which case the reverse psychology angle will probably work quite well.
Posted by: Jim at January 22, 2007 06:51 PMI thought I "saw" the ad wrong...so the next time it aired, I paid more attention.
Then I wish I hadn't!
Posted by: Janie at January 22, 2007 07:18 PMWhere did they get their ad degree? Mars?
Posted by: Cowtown Pattie at January 22, 2007 08:09 PMThey've got another one where they replace the husband/father with a stud. I raised an eyebrow, pondered the race to the bottom for a picosecond, then returned to my book.
Posted by: Scott Chaffin at January 22, 2007 09:49 PMThere are some dumb ads out there...And I have to wonder about the people creating them...
Posted by: Rachel at January 23, 2007 05:35 AMNow that I've seen a couple of the other ads in the series, I can sort of see how this one came about. When you watch the whole series in a big board room and see the common theme, I suspect that it was easy to feel that this would be an obvious tongue-in-cheek approach that skewered everyone equally. What they failed to consider is that that's not how the ads are scheduled and viewed, and that "common theme" is lost or overpowered by the isolated viewing of a single commercial that has a pretty offensive component and nothing around it to mitigate the effect.
Wouldn't be the first time that board room tunnel vision led to a bad decision.
Posted by: Eric at January 23, 2007 09:21 AMI saw one for Jeep this morning, and another for Dodge last night. They're going across the board, same theme, different substitutions.
I still don't like them.
Posted by: Janie at January 23, 2007 01:49 PMI don't understand all the outrage ... but, of course, I didn't have to get a new car in order to marry a "piping hot fashion model," Eric ... and neither did you!
:-)
Posted by: Jeff at January 24, 2007 01:27 PMComing from a women who was replaced by a 'trophy wife' it is VERY offensive. I have also talked to women fortunate enough to still be married to their long time loves, and they don't like it either. VERY bad taste!!! It should be pulled immediately.
Posted by: Suzanne at January 30, 2007 01:40 PMAbout the publisher
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Not to mention undermining the fundamental institution of marriage. But Chrysler is not exactly the brand most sought after by liberals, so maybe that's part of their marketing strategy...target the liberals by bashing marriage. Not that all liberals are unhappy with their wives. Or marriage. Oh, nevermind. I better be going. ;-)
Posted by: Gwynne at January 22, 2007 06:35 PM