Incredible Detroit/Chrysler commercial - Super Bowl

**Gistok** · February-07-11, 02:01 PM

Originally Posted by bailey

And one can always count on blind boosterism to shine through without the slightest of pause to note the irony. To expand on what someone posted above... it apparently takes a Portland, OR ad agency working for Italians to sell Detroit better than anyone in Detroit has.

Yeah... we got that... the ad was still great.... so what??

You just lampooned Buy America on this thread... and now you're turning your argument around to a "Buy Detroit" spin? I hardly think so....

**Pam** · February-07-11, 02:03 PM

No snow; so before winter

There is snow. Watch it again.

**adamjab19** · February-07-11, 02:18 PM

I posted above that I loved the commercial. But I think the only thing that could make this commercial better if it was a 2 minute spot selling Detroit and ALL three car companies. Because let's face it this commercial had a new car in it but it by far invoke emotions of pride instead of running to go buy the 200.

**fryar** · February-07-11, 02:25 PM

Oh hey, I loved the commercial!

I'm just trying to explain the USA Today survey. In general, I don't think you have to be part of a unique demographic to not "get" some of the ad. I'm not so sure I would take the position that this ad could not have appealed to people without a connection to Detroit.

We have had other threads about ruin porn, in general. I think if you put up a bunch of ruin porn in a gallery in new York, some people would think it is emblematic of Detroit, as so often worried about on here, but a great deal of people would also just shrug it off as overblown. Where I think the complaint on here is not that it is not accurate to talk about ruins when it comes to Detroit, but that it is not all there is to say, and that focusing on it to the exclusion of other things will in fact ignore very worthwhile stories.

To clarify, I don't see myself as the guy who drove a Camry in high school, but I think that guy is out there, and he doesn't see the significance of the Fox Theater.

**LeannaM** · February-07-11, 02:30 PM

Originally Posted by hybridy

http://www.nydailynews.com/entertain...=entertainment

"At that point, Eminem steps out of his black Chrysler and enters a Church with a choir singing."

since when is the Fox Theater a church?

I knew it was the FOX and to me it did look and sound like a church choir. Just my perception of it, though.

I've never been to Detroit, but I really did like the ad. I thought it was brilliant. I'm sure it brought up some feelings of pride in Detroiters.

I wish a company in my city would make a commercial like that. A-B has probably featured some of STL in the past, but not quite like that commercial did for Detroit.

**canuck** · February-07-11, 02:34 PM

Originally Posted by Pam

There is snow. Watch it again.

You're right Pam, I will crawl under my desk and hide for the rest of the week... And there is quite a bit of it too...

Mr. Houdini · February-07-11, 02:52 PM

I cried throughout this ad.

**buildingsofdetroit** · February-07-11, 03:00 PM

Does anyone know where that modern house at the 50-second mark is? I've never seen it before.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SKL25...layer_embedded

**EastsideQT** · February-07-11, 03:01 PM

Originally Posted by Mr. Houdini

I cried throughout this ad.

Did you cry when you saw the Dorito ad created by the Renaissance High graduate? She won $400,000.

**bailey** · February-07-11, 03:02 PM

Originally Posted by Gistok

Yeah... we got that... the ad was still great.... so what??

You just lampooned Buy America on this thread... and now you're turning your argument around to a "Buy Detroit" spin? I hardly think so....

Well, is it my fault the ad is a bit incongruous and the response seems to be devoid of any critical review? Look there are multiple pages of posters here and various media outlets losing their shit over this ad and no one asks some rather obvious questions about the ad's creation and the content ? heck, even if you ignore the entire issue about how Chrysler, by decamping to the exurbs, is partially responsible for the decimation highlighted in the ad...just knowing anything about chrysler should have people scratching their head.

After we're all done heaping praise for the ad, perhaps we can be honest about how it was an ad done by a company on the other side of the country pitching a product...that if successful....will only speed the pace at which Chrysler becomes 51% owned by an Italian company?

It was a well shot ad that tugged at some heartstrings and had a positive message, but basically it's a Mitch Albom article in that it was written by someone who primarily lives elsewhere and the content may or may not actually be true, but the masses love it because it's heavy on the nostalgic schmaltz and light on the reality.

**Gistok** · February-07-11, 03:24 PM

I agree that Chrysler's move to Auburn Hills decimated Highland Park, and in doing so didn't help Detroit much.... and I agree that it would be nice had this been a local ad [[and yes had Chrysler remained a local company). No disagreements there...

But like some here said... this wasn't so much a Chrysler ad as it was a Detroit ad. And in that sense, it hit home. I especially liked the mention about folks who had never been to Detroit... were bashing it.

It was well done... and at least we can be thankful for the message it sent out [[regardless of the specifics).

**daft** · February-07-11, 03:24 PM

yes, it's an inspiring ad... but one thing i'm still wondering: is that model actually made here?

**Pushtina** · February-07-11, 03:39 PM

Originally Posted by daft

yes, it's an inspiring ad... but one thing i'm still wondering: is that model actually made here?

It's made at the Sterling Heights Assembly Plant.

**Sailor Rick** · February-07-11, 03:54 PM

Deep in the heart of Steeler Country, exiled in a city [[Youngstown), that ranks ahead of Detroit in Forbe's "Most Miserable City", I joined the "masses" that were mesmerized by it.
I initially thought it was an ad for Detroit 1-8-7. WTF? By the end, I was stunned by its power and glory. Yeah, it could be propaganda at its finest but if it works...

What does work and quite well, thank you, is our 2009 Chrysler Town and Country. Despite an employee discount [[my father-in-law was a chemist for Chrysler). I was hesitant to buy it since Chrysler quality had an awful reputation and who would service it if they went under?
We've put over 30k on it with no problems.

What next for the Motor City music connection? A hemi Dodge Challenger on the line at a drag race to the MC5's, "Kick Out the Jams" .
Both legends rev up and at the moment of "KICK OUT THE JAMS MOTHER.......S", the Dodge lets loose to smoke the competitor.
Our maybe a more literal version as a kid kicks out bags and bags of groceries from Town and Country. [[I've a cute and camera-friendly three-year old daughter that works for scale.)

If the 200 ad aired during the Superbowl is ultimately about hope and redemption though, maybe, just maybe, the Lions might, someday....

**Orthophonic** · February-07-11, 04:03 PM

As an ad I think it's just brilliant. They pushed all the right emotional buttons - and I am not trying to be sarcastic. To me this comes closer to capturing why I love Detroit than any other video/film/commercial that I can think of. My second wave reaction is the disappointment over the fact Chrysler went about as exurban as you could get [[in 1985, when they made the call to move out of HP), and as an unreconstructed cynic I want to lob some sneering inquiry about why they also recently bailed out of the old AMC building on Plymouth Rd. if they love Detroit so much. But it's a great video - the Chrysler 200 is sort of a sideshow in it's own commercial. Whoever came up with "imported from Detroit" needs a medal. I'm going to watch it again.

**1953** · February-07-11, 04:35 PM

My wife, who is not very keen on Detroit, rolled over from her slumber, after hearing the commercial, and said, "That's awesome."

I, of course, an ardent Detroit advocate, was elated.

1953

**atl_runner** · February-07-11, 04:43 PM

Great commercial. So very well done on a night when creativity was extremely lacking.

I too need an Imported from Detroit T. As I am truly 'imported' from Detroit. Brilliant.

**Gistok** · February-07-11, 04:44 PM

Wow.... 1.25 million hits on YOUTUBE within 20 hours...

**darwinism** · February-07-11, 04:47 PM

Minus the politics behind the Chrysler company ..... the creatives of this commercial is top notch, even if it is done by an agency in Oregon.

I have many friends from Campbell-Ewald, BBDO, Doner and other local ad/PR agencies who have given their thumbs-ups for this piece of work.

At the end of the day, fellow creatives can relate to the quality of this commercial and aren't afraid to cross partisan lines to praise Wieden+Kennedy for a job well done.

**douglasm** · February-07-11, 05:01 PM

I thought it was a wonderful spot, that sold not only the concept of the "new" 200 but the whole "buy American" idea, an attempt to debunk the theory that you have to own a European subsidiary [[Opel) in order to turn out a good car [[Buick Regal), in the same way the new Jeep ads [["What we make makes us") do.

As to the theory that Chrysler isn't "Detroit", stuff the whining. I know Auburn Hills isn't "Detroit", but neither is Sterling Hights, and I firmly believe that those folks that think that Detroit exsists as an isolated island unto itself should get their head out of the sand, and the area will live or die as a region. Does Boeing make planes in Seattle? No. Renton, Everett yes, but not Seattle, although the region lives or suffers as a whole on how Boeing is doing. It's the same thing.

**tetsua** · February-07-11, 05:35 PM

This ad was enjoyed by all at the party I was attending here in Chicago. I always love seeing Detroit on TV.

LodgeDodger · February-07-11, 05:57 PM

I don't want to go into some sort of deep, multi-paragraph analysis of the commercial. I'll admit it scored a direct hit to my heart. I'm used to hardening my heart when I head into Detroit. You see so much shit on a daily basis that needs to be fixed, you run into so many people who don't give a shit about Detroit, and you see the effects of those who have ruined Detroit for their personal gain. If you don't put away your feelings, you'd go crazy with frustration. The ad caught me off guard and that's why it made me "feel" something. Best. Commercial. Ever.

**BagAJellyDonuts** · February-07-11, 07:10 PM

I do not agree with those dissing the 200.

Yes the Sebring was nothing to rave about but it was a competent car even though it was brought to market during the dark days of the fraudulent "merger of equals" Why not tell the truth, that was the looting of the Chrysler bank accounts to save a screwed up Daimler. I have no respect for anything Daimler has done with product after that stain.

But there is something to be said for the 200. It does have a vastly improved interior this year. It does have a new engine that is very competitive with anything from anybody in it's class.

Let's put it this way, it's no Camry, it won't run itself into a wall and that's a good thing.

**Artistic** · February-07-11, 07:18 PM

Brian Williams did a review of the commercial on World News tonight. I loved the title of his background video
Motor City Comeback
A great ad about a great city.....gosh I need to get back home

**rbdetsport** · February-07-11, 08:09 PM

The Nightly News report even hit me hard. This commercial was so powerful. and it is doing so much more than touting an ad. "A still proud Detroit. Fighting its way back... "This is the Motor City. And this is what we do...""

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3032619/