Badass Audi Commercial.

[davewindsor]

Boy that's a stretch.... and what about the 1/3 or so of the Superbowl viewers who don't know Eminem from squat... what kind of a commercial was that to them?? Yes a Chrysler commercial...

Your logic makes about as much sense as saying that because Tim Allen does the PURE MICHIGAN travel commercials... and now that Illinois does a VERY SIMILAR commercial, but without Tim Allen... that it's not still a copycat.... Oooookay...

Oh ok, if the Sebring had such a great reputation for quality as a car, why did Chrysler rebrand Sebring's name in 2011 to the Chrysler 200?

If this wasn't directed to Eminem viewers, why did Chrysler spend $15million in taxpayer borrowed money on a single new 2011 Chrysler 200 ad? The Superbowl ad alone was $9million. You don't think that's a lot of money for a single commercial? That's an enormous sum if celebrity endorsements are not worth what you say. This is a car directed toward Eminem fans. If they didn't get this celebrity endorsement, it would have still been known as that POS Sebring with a new name.

[Gistok]

Oh ok, if the Sebring had such a great reputation for quality as a car, why did Chrysler rebrand Sebring's name in 2011 to the Chrysler 200?

If this wasn't directed to Eminem viewers, why did Chrysler spend $15million in taxpayer borrowed money on a single new 2011 Chrysler 200 ad? The Superbowl ad alone was $9million. You don't think that's a lot of money for a single commercial? That's an enormous sum if celebrity endorsements are not worth what you say. This is a car directed toward Eminem fans. If they didn't get this celebrity endorsement, it would have still been known as that POS Sebring with a new name.

LOL.... yeah maybe they backed up the truck to get the $15 million directly from the Treasury Department.... ask any businessman... that $15 million worth of publicity was the best money that Chrysler has spent ever....

I'd venture to guess that most folks who went to their Chrysler dealers after the ads aired were NOT regular Eminem fans... probably most were older "monied" folks.... you're placing waaaaaay to much emphasis on the Eminem angle.... the MADE IN DETROIT... angle was IMHO the defining moment of the ad... and lots of folks bought other cars instead of the 200....

But this whole topic was already discussed ad nauseum back in February...

[Thruster315]

Oh ok, if the Sebring had such a great reputation for quality as a car, why did Chrysler rebrand Sebring's name in 2011 to the Chrysler 200?

If this wasn't directed to Eminem viewers, why did Chrysler spend $15million in taxpayer borrowed money on a single new 2011 Chrysler 200 ad? The Superbowl ad alone was $9million. You don't think that's a lot of money for a single commercial? That's an enormous sum if celebrity endorsements are not worth what you say. This is a car directed toward Eminem fans. If they didn't get this celebrity endorsement, it would have still been known as that POS Sebring with a new name.

Cars get re-branded all the time. Just go overseas and you'll see nearly the same American car there with an entirely different name. Heck, just wander over to Windsor and you'll see the same GM vehicle with a different name plate. They even call their Mazdas over there MAAZ-das.

Re-branding, repositioning, and re-styling is an age old thing done in car marketing all the time. The last car that probably didn't get a re-brand was probably Henry Ford's original Model T!

[davewindsor]

The last car that probably didn't get a re-brand was probably Henry Ford's original Model T!

Really? How about the Ford Mustang? Same name for over 45 years. They've tried to add subcategories to reflect the generation, but people still call it by the badge on the car. It's not rebranded anywhere else in the world. Ford continues to build on the Mustang brand, promoting it in the movies, advertising, etc. In the commericals, it's always referred to as the Ford Mustang. Everyone knows what it is. There's no re-branding of the name.

Pinto, on the other hand, got a bad rap because of the safety surrounding it's gas tank design and the name had to be rebranded and remarketed as the Ford Escort because keeping the same name would seriously reduce future sales of that model because of its reputation.

How about the Volkswagen Beetle? Same name and single platform for 55 years [[since 1938) and the new models still carry the same name. It never got re-branded because Volkswagen never screwed up its reputation for quality and reliability like Chrysler did with the Sebring.

Cars get rebranded because of bad reputations that affect sales. If it has a bad reputation, they have to change and market the new name as a completely different car which is what they did with the 200. New name and lots of money spent on celebrity endorsement advertising so people don't think it's the same car.

[Thruster315]

Really? How about the Ford Mustang? Same name for over 45 years. They've tried to add subcategories to reflect the generation, but people still call it by the badge on the car. It's not rebranded anywhere else in the world. Ford continues to build on the Mustang brand, promoting it in the movies, advertising, etc. In the commericals, it's always referred to as the Ford Mustang. Everyone knows what it is. There's no re-branding of the name.

Pinto, on the other hand, got a bad rap because of the safety surrounding it's gas tank design and the name had to be rebranded and remarketed as the Ford Escort because keeping the same name would seriously reduce future sales of that model because of its reputation.

How about the Volkswagen Beetle? Same name and single platform for 55 years [[since 1938) and the new models still carry the same name. It never got re-branded because Volkswagen never screwed up its reputation for quality and reliability like Chrysler did with the Sebring.

Cars get rebranded because of bad reputations that affect sales. If it has a bad reputation, they have to change and market the new name as a completely different car which is what they did with the 200. New name and lots of money spent on celebrity endorsement advertising so people don't think it's the same car.

So you honestly believe that this new Chrysler 200 is just a re-skinned Sebring without any re-vamping? Honestly? All of these iconic vehicle that you talk about have also gone through a massive evolution. Cars change not just names but what's under the hood has changed too.

The oh-so dear Mustang that you talk about has come a long way from some of its earlier incarnations. There is no way the Escort is just a re-branded Pinto as you claim- there were also safety issues that plagued the Pinto and that had to have a complete re-vamp; ever hear of any Escort fires? and let's not forget about vehicles that are send away only to re-emerge again in some new incarnation. Why is that done if a vehicle is that great? Cars change and markets change. New technology and trends also force a car manufacturer to change up things ALL the time.

I guess my point is that cars change and evolve over the years. Sometimes it's MORE than just a re-badging and re-branding of an old vehicle as you so claim with this new Chrysler 200.

[Dbest]

That commercial is terrible. Not clever, just dull as another poster put it. I turned it off two thirds of the way through and labeled it a generic rip-off. The only people defending this lame thing are domestic car haters, and hip-hop haters. Grow up. This is a really bad attempt. What do you expect from Germany. On a side note, I had an exchange student from Germany who would tell me and my family "how much better Germany is!" on a daily basis. Needless to say I was ready to see his narrow minded attitude get on jet plane headed back to ......land.

[Thruster315]

That commercial is terrible. Not clever, just dull as another poster put it. I turned it off two thirds of the way through and labeled it a generic rip-off. The only people defending this lame thing are domestic car haters, and hip-hop haters. Grow up. This is a really bad attempt. What do you expect from Germany. On a side note, I had an exchange student from Germany who would tell me and my family "how much better Germany is!" on a daily basis. Needless to say I was ready to see his narrow minded attitude get on jet plane headed back to ......land.

I don't see it as a German thing at all. I just see this lame commercial as a lack of creativity on multiple fronts by Audi. It's amazing that the ad people who created it would actually have the nerve to even pitch the idea [["Here- take a look at this commercial that everyone worldwide saw during the Super Bowl and we'll just make yours just like it but we'll insert your car") and doubly amazing [[not in a good way) that Audi would actually sign off on it to have it made. It doesn't position themselves as being new, innovative or anything. Even if it was done as a parody, I could stomach it- but it wasn't even that.

[davewindsor]

So you honestly believe that this new Chrysler 200 is just a re-skinned Sebring without any re-vamping? Honestly?

Yes, the 200 is a re-skinned Sebring. It is what it is.

BUT, I never said it was not re-vamped.

They made a few changes to it so Chrysler could distance itself from the Sebring. But, this is what's being rolled off the assembly line and put in it's place.

Here's an article from Jeremy Clarkson from the London Times who says from his experience with it that the 2010 Sebring is "almost certainly the worst car in the entire world.." http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/dri...cle4873574.ece

JD Power and Associates gave the Sebring a Predicted Reliability rating of 6.0 [[mediocre). "Initial quality" gets a higher rating obviously because it's a new car. But, overall performance and design is 4.0 http://www.jdpower.com/autos/Chrysle...Sedan/ratings/

The Sebring is a POS. It had to be rebranded, altered and remarketed so people wouldn't think it was another Sebring, but it is. And it's gonna sell extremely well to the Eminem crowd because Eminem did that $15m commercial on it.

[Thruster315]

Yes, the 200 is a re-skinned Sebring. It is what it is.

BUT, I never said it was not re-vamped.

They made a few changes to it so Chrysler could distance itself from the Sebring. But, this is what's being rolled off the assembly line and put in it's place.

Here's an article from Jeremy Clarkson from the London Times who says from his experience with it that the 2010 Sebring is "almost certainly the worst car in the entire world.." http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/dri...cle4873574.ece

JD Power and Associates gave the Sebring a Predicted Reliability rating of 6.0 [[mediocre). "Initial quality" gets a higher rating obviously because it's a new car. But, overall performance and design is 4.0 http://www.jdpower.com/autos/Chrysle...Sedan/ratings/

The Sebring is a POS. It had to be rebranded, altered and remarketed so people wouldn't think it was another Sebring, but it is. And it's gonna sell extremely well to the Eminem crowd because Eminem did that $15m commercial on it.

Make up your mind. In one sentence you say it's a Sebring and in another you say it isn't. So bringing up these reviews of an old Sebring is irrelevant to the argument; you comparing apples to oranges then. It doesn't matter what assembly line it comes off- it's the fact that Chrysler did make changes to the car. Whether you want to call it revamping, re-branding, re-badging, re-whatever... it's just a matter of how much did they change.

In this day and age of "new and improved" marketing if in Chrysler's minds and the consumers' minds, those changes [[whether they just be a new color, a new badge, a 20¢ strip of chrome or whatever) make it an undeniably a new vehicle.

[smogboy]

davewindsor and thruster- all you guys are arguing about is really semantics. Both of you guys are right in the assessment of the car. In one sense- it's still mechanically the Sebring. Styling wise- it's an entirely new vehicle.

But back on subject here:
http://new.music.yahoo.com/blogs/tha...esperson-says/

Audi is calling their spot not an advertisement? HUH? It makes me wonder why Audi chose to film that segment then. What was the purpose of it? And mind you the Eminem commercial ran during the Super Bowl which had a worldwide audience so everyone has seen it. Just because Audi counters that their segment, spot, film or whatever you want to call it, isn't being run in the United States doesn't make it any less of a rip off. That'd be saying the Chinese bootleggers of DVDs are okay because they only plan on selling their copies to a domestic market.

It makes me wonder what Audi's thinking is behind this ad now. Was it to stir up such a fuss that it gains its own momentum by having us folks talk about it here or was it a legitimate attempt to make a commercial?

[davewindsor]

Make up your mind. In one sentence you say it's a Sebring and in another you say it isn't. So bringing up these reviews of an old Sebring is irrelevant to the argument; you comparing apples to oranges then. It doesn't matter what assembly line it comes off- it's the fact that Chrysler did make changes to the car. Whether you want to call it revamping, re-branding, re-badging, re-whatever... it's just a matter of how much did they change.

In this day and age of "new and improved" marketing if in Chrysler's minds and the consumers' minds, those changes [[whether they just be a new color, a new badge, a 20¢ strip of chrome or whatever) make it an undeniably a new vehicle.

PAY ATTENTION. My mind was made up long ago. It's still a Sebring with a new name and we're still talking about apples. One batch came frozen from the freezer for the past year. The other batch was freshly picked with different herbicides and fertilizer added to the tree over the past year. Both were from the same tree. I would never buy or rent a 200 because of the recent history of the car.

BUT, there's a lot of people out there who'll buy it as fashion statement just like a $300 pair of Ray Ban sunglasses because Eminem did the ad. Without Eminem's $15m presence, it's sales would continue to plummet because people no longer trust that brand.

So even though you can make some minor changes to it, it's still a Sebring with a new name and the marketing being approached from a different angle. Unless they're producing the Fiat 500 on the assembly line and calling it a Chrysler 200, it's still a Sebring. Arguing semantics is just ridiculous.