Opinions mixed on Dr.Z ads
A 100 million bet on the Dr.Z advertising campaign… Sales are off 40 percent in July… Did BBDO Detroit, Chrysler’s advertising company, spend the 100 million dollars wisely? How will the campaign compare to thesuccess VW has enjoyed with Crispin Porter + Bogusky where sales at VW are up, dealers are enthusiastic, Internet chatter about VW is as high .
From the article on VW’s success:” The driver is distracted and gets creamed by an SUV in real time. The effect on the TV viewer is jolting. The ad moves from the crash to the people standing by, shaky but unharmed, looking at the crushed car. A survivor says, “Holy…,” and the ad cuts to a video frame that says “Safe Happens.” Requests for Jetta brochures went up 30% after the ads’ debut. ”
Now that’s what you call effective advertising.
What’s up, doc? - detnews.com
August 14th, 2006 at 1:24 pm
We’ve discussed this at work (Chrysler dealership). DCX missed the mark. When you have a German guy telling American buyers, that they invented the automobile and 4X4, he sounds as if he’s talking down to the US buyer. If they had used the same pitch, but with an American actor, it would have been much better.
August 14th, 2006 at 3:25 pm
Dr. Z was a waste of time. I asked about the Firepower, they told me it was a concept, well…I already knew that long time ago.
August 14th, 2006 at 3:58 pm
i doubt the ‘ask dr. z’ campaign was envisioned to enlighten mopar gearheads like us…but rather to answer more pedestrian questions such as ‘does the caliber come in red?’…
i think the new tv ads are great…but they are played waaaaay too much. a little goes a long way, guys…
August 15th, 2006 at 5:22 am
the pundits will hold their fire on Dr z until the august sales results are in. If Chrysler makes gains Dieter is a hero, if sales are about the same or lower they will say he blew millions. It’s going to be monday morning quarterbacking again. Now, are they good ads? They hold you attention as quirky, music isn’t blasting and robots aren’t trying to persuade you, so they are different. I do believe ads with the old we are the cheapest with our latest deal has run it’s course. So what is Chrysler to do? They are well done ads and Dieter does seem natural (somuch so that many who were interviewed believe him to be a pro actor not a CEO) I doubt if Bill Ford or Rick at GM could do this, it takes talent. As for being insulted by a German, GM and Ford have so much foreign content in their stuff they can hardly bad mouth chrylser. I guess if you don’t remind people of the heritage of what your selling your okay, I don’t buy that either.
August 15th, 2006 at 6:40 am
I don’t think the point of these commercials was to try to blow up sales records in the short term or satisfy the Mopar crowd, I think it was to introduce the little known fact that Chrysler and Mercedes are one company and share technology. 90% of the average Joe Car buyer didn’t have a clue and this campaign has addressed that. It will pay off in the long term, not the short term.