The über Iacocca

[nadepalma]

Source: http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll...0371/1121/AUTO

The über Iacocca
Zetsche takes stage as DCX pitchman


Chrysler's then-CEO Dieter Zetsche and a bevy of models ham it up as the automaker introduces redesigned minivans at the Detroit auto show in 2004. He'll star in a slew of new Chrysler ads.


Move over, Lido. There's a new Chrysler pitchman in the house with a German accent and a handlebar moustache.

His track record of reviving Chrysler with distinctive cars and trucks rivals just about anything the legendary Lee Iacocca engineered, if not as often or with nearly as much public panache.

Yes, it's come to this -- exactly where it should be. DaimlerChrysler AG Chairman Dieter Zetsche, to be featured in a half-dozen national TV spots set to air next month, represents what Chrysler has become, a credible melding of American innovation and German technology within a global automaker.

Which is to say he's not replacing Iacocca in the pantheon of great automotive pitchmen. Zetsche's poised to succeed him in a way that speaks more to the relative success of DaimlerChrysler's post-Iacocca transnational experiment than whether Zetsche can be known for his own, "If you can find a better car, buy it" slogan.

That is, was and always will be Iacocca.

No, the Zetsche spots crafted by BBDO-Detroit are tailored to fit the former Chrysler CEO's ability to convey the uniqueness of Chrysler products with the rectitude of a German auto executive -- and, Lord, are they serious -- without taking himself too seriously.

"It's to show you we're a different company than many compare us to and we've had these successful products because we're German and American," a ranking Chrysler executive familiar with the campaign and the thinking behind it tells me.

The ads, to be previewed for the news media late next week when Zetsche is scheduled to be in the United States, will feature Zetsche in set pieces designed to convey a series of straightforward messages about Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep vehicles and their German-American lineage.

It all sounds so un-Detroit, so unorthodox, which may be nothing but good. He won't be sitting on a stool staring seriously into the camera making promises to would-be consumers or striding across a stage to deliver bombastic declarations crafted by ad guys.

In that, these are likely be vintage Zetsche spots -- a little droll, a tad zany, but still connected to an idea of conveying a message about what Chrysler is shipping to dealer showrooms nationwide and how there's a little German technology, components or an engine in most of them.

As deeply as Zetsche may be revered at Chrysler or in Metro Detroit circles, however, there's risk in having one of Germany's most influential corporate heavyweights -- who does double duty as head of DaimlerChrysler Mercedes-Benz unit -- hawk American cars (even if they do have some good ol' Teutonic technology under the sheet metal).

"When you have a German pitching American cars, you're sort of reinforcing that fact this is Mercedes," says Jack Trout, president of Trout & Partners Ltd., a brand consultancy based in Old Greenwich, Conn. "That doesn't help Mercedes."

"Does it help Chrysler is the big question. Chrysler is probably one of the rare successes of an American car company in most people's minds. The real question is do you maintain the American heritage in some shape and form or do you muck it up?"

Fair question. My guess is Chrysler dealers, some of whom have seen the ad concepts and loved them, would give an emphatic thumbs-up to the whole idea.

Only to the most xenophobic or to the biggest techno-geeks could the promise of getting a Mercedes transmission in your Chrysler 300C be a bad thing.

And for Chrysler, whose Stuttgart-based parent company doesn't share the same perilous financial straits of General Motors Corp. or Ford Motor Co., a little distance from the crosstown boys is a good thing right about now.

Enter Zetsche, whose role in the new campaign was enthusiastically supported by his successor at Chrysler, CEO Tom LaSorda. By underscoring Chrysler's German parentage and the luster of German engineering, Zetsche conveys a message that Chrysler has something the others don't.

Even better: It's an honest appraisal of what Chrysler has become, which may be the purest message of all.


Lee Iacocca's reputation as an icon among automotive pitchmen won't be forgotten.

[Bravada]

Oh well, let's hope these will be fun at least. And for sure it's going to be different than the Tooth Fairy Caliber commercials.

Now, they should've gone for that when Dieter CAME to Chrysler, to show that he is a fun guy who like American cars and will infuse some "magical German engineering", and not a nazi who came to destroy Chrysler. Now it's kinda pointless, especially that Dieter will have to tout Mercedes from time to time too. Why not LaSorda, who is even more of a Chrysler icon?

I believe it could have been better to continue with Lee and have him tell the customers that the new JS cars are even better than the K-cars (even though they manage to look worse) rather than advertise rebates.

[kenman923]

It will be something to see Dieter star in these new commercials to promote the new Chryslers.

[asim]

Originally Posted by kenman923

It will be something to see Dieter star in these new commercials to promote the new Chryslers.

You are right, even Iacocca was suprising too.

[Butz]

Chrysler's current cars are a hit and a miss. Actually, that how Chrysler always was!

[LAMRONH]

You're right about the retarded tooth fairy.
This could be good. They need to lighten up, get an agency like the one that did the Aflack Yogi Berra ads, Geico cave man commercial, VW and Zoom-Zoom-Zoom ads.

How about "I'll be baaakkk!" as one of his tag lines?

[megeebee]

This could be quite a good idea. He'll be like Ingamar of IKEA. I can hear it now:
"....Buy a Chrysler, Dodge, or Jeep. You don't have to be rich, just smart"

[jzEllis]

Originally Posted by Butz

Chrysler's current cars are a hit and a miss. Actually, that how Chrysler always was!

heh heh heh hehehee...true so true

[Garmar]

Keep Dieter out of it....emphasize the American part of Chrysler with its headquarters in Auburn Hills!

[psece]

Dieter did not turn around Chrysler. All the great designers that created the current RAM, PT Cruiser and 300 either resigned or were pushed out. I think the Sebring is a great example of what is coming out of the German inspired design team. CRAP. They took the hood from the PT, the front end from the Pacifica, and stole the back end from a Nissan Altima. You go Dieter!

[61695]

Just as long as they don't dress him up like those Burger King commercials.

[steverino]

Pair him up with Snoop Dogg, neither one will understand the other, gibberish & a german accent

[CarguyBob]

I say let Tommy LaSorda do the commercials. He would do better at showing the products as "American" and built here in the U.S. The message gets mixed otherwise if you don't have an actual American in the TV spot.

Waiting to see what happens?

[IAMCANADIAN]

Man Chryslers sure looked a lot alike back then. Although technically most of them were based off the K-Car platform anyway, including the minivans. When I look at these cars from the late 70's to the mid 80's, it's amazing how much cars have evolved since then.

[61695]

Originally Posted by IAMCANADIAN

Man Chryslers sure looked a lot alike back then. Although technically most of them were based off the K-Car platform anyway, including the minivans. When I look at these cars from the late 70's to the mid 80's, it's amazing how much cars have evolved since then.

And that's a good thing.