Advertising has a lot of power. It can make us want to buy something, make us change the way we think about a product and it can even influence our culture. But, it seems that now it can even make a city feel better about itself.
The new ad Chrysler aired during the Super Bowl has certainly caused a stir. The advertising group of Wieden + Kennedy created the ad for Chrysler as a way to both advertise their new cars and to revive Detroit's image. Take a look:
The city of Detroit, of course, is famous for automotive manufacturing. Although it is often called “Motor City”, the city of Detroit has had an awkward relationship with America's car companies over the past few years. For decades, Detroit has been the home of Chrysler, GM and Ford. The car companies discouraged the city from branching out into other fields of industry. They wanted the city to themselves and for a long time it was a great relationship.
But the people in Detroit can tell you that the automotive industry really just stood by and watched as the city went downhill. The factories laid off workers, the unemployment rate soared, the school systems couldn't support themselves, violence went rampant and the city government basically collapsed due to so much corruption. When you look at pictures of Detroit today, it is heartbreaking to see a city filled with so many hard working Americans end up like this.
The spot was for the Chrysler 200, and and it was a great commercial. It had opening shots of factories and some wonderful shots of downtown Detroit and the architectural details reminding the audience that Detroit was once America's richest city. The car drives down Woodward Avenue and stops outside the Fox Theatre. What really got the audience exited was when you realized that Eminem was driving the car.
Although Eminem has been a supporter of the city, the artist most closely associated with the revival of the city is Kid Rock. Kid Rock has sponsored several charitable events for the city and has two companies based in Detroit. With the pulsing beat of “Loose Yourself” in the background, it was clear that Wieden +Kennedy made an excellent choice, because Eminem doesn't typically do commercials and the spot drew some power from that. All in all, I thought it was an excellent commercial and it gave Detroit natives from across the country another reason to be proud.
The only complaint I had was that the ad stated that Detroit is a city that has been to “hell and back”. I would disagree and say that Detroit isn't back yet, and it is the Automotive industry that is the most to blame for the hell that the good people of Detroit have been going through. Maybe instead of spending millions on a commercial, they could have spent it on raising up the city that it turned it's back on rather than just raising its spirits.
What do you think about the commercial? Let me know in the comments.
By Melissa Kennedy- Melissa is a 9 year blog veteran and a freelance writer for PhillyJobsBlog, along with helping others find the job of their dreams, she enjoys computer geekery, raising a teenager, supporting her local library, writing about herself in the third person and working on her next novel.
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