Chrysler's new campaign (and new brand identity at that) blows me away again and again. In Creative Strategist we dove into how Wieden+Kennedy went beyond creating another ad campaign, and instead linked Chrysler's goals with those of a recovering Detroit. This is powerful stuff. But I can't help but point out there is something bigger and more appealing at work in this effort than just a worthy philanthropic cause. No, it's not Eminem making a celebrity endorsement (though it certainly helps). It even goes beyond painting a touching and believable story. The "Imported from Detroit" campaign is the ballsy response to American doubt in its own auto industry.
The past few years have been downright awful for the Big Three. Confidence in domestic cars has been on the decline for at least the last decade. Japanese (and now Korean) automakers are really making solid names for themselves in reliability, luxury, and affordability. And financial crises have taken Detroit's single-industry focused business landscape and stripped it of its dignity. Detroit became a dirty word, now a barren relic of old world Americana. Detroit became Hell.
"What does a town that’s been to Hell and back know about the finer things in life?"
And then Chrysler does the unthinkable. Instead of running from America's impression of the Motor City, it embraces it. It uses that - a solidified notion that no amount of unsupported advertising can fix - as the foundation for the rest of its argument.
"You see, it's the hottest fires that make the hardest steel."
Our world has been flipped. W+K took the City of Detroit's and Chrysler's greatest weakness, and leveraged it into an incredibly powerful asset. Forget about arguing that the automaker is a figurative diamond in the rough. No, diamonds are made from the rough. Luxury is born from the ruins. You don't have to like Detroit. It's gritty, blue collar, crude, alienated from America, and in one heck of a depression. But damn do they live cars. It's almost as if buying a Chrysler is like buying an import. Oh shi...
"This is the Motor City. And this is what we do."
This rebrand is incredible. Chrysler didn't take the easy road. It accepted the hard truth and then used that to challenge the status quo. It gave us a new vision of what American-made, no, Detroit-made luxury could mean. And inspiring a vision is my favorite thing to witness in the world. It drives us to do things we never would've done before. It supports our associated efforts (like picking up a fallen friend off the ground). It leads us to be better people. And when used in the right context, it can serve as the mortar for building revolutionary brands.
On a side note, I must point out my appreciation for the new logo that goes with the rebrand. The design evokes old world luxury akin to Aston Martin or Bentley that reinforces the "import" appeal. Not the most original idea in the world, but not something that's been embraced in quite some time. And then again I could be wrong. At the very least I'm less likely to associate it with corny beer.
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