Filed under: Marketing/Advertising, Daimler, SMART
SMART ass advert rips on American autos - UPDATE
Apparently the American auto industry's reputation is particularly worthless in South Africa as this billboard ad for the SMART forfour shot on the side of the road near Johannesburg portends. It glibly reads, "German engineering, Swiss innovation, American nothing." The parent company of SMART, DaimlerChrysler, happens to be a "German-American" multinational corporation, so the fortwo has deeper ties to these United States than this billboard and SMART's ad agency suggest.
[Source: NeanderNews via TCC Confidential]
UPDATE: The car on the billboard has four doors, which makes it a forfour, not a fortwo.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 4)
Dr. Woo 3:05PM (5/22/2006)
That's actually a ForFour, which is basically a Mitsubishi Colt with a restyled body and interior.
The ad is very misleading. Not to mention insulting.
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Jaimie B 3:17PM (5/22/2006)
The ad is SMART (pardon the pun) if not obvious. The ad simply states something we all already know - that GM/Ford vehicles are POS, CRAP, JUNK, etc. Aside from the one or two folks who are aware of this fact but blindly refuse to believe, I think we're all in complete agreement with the SMART ad.
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Mario 3:17PM (5/22/2006)
There is an auto-industry joke; How do you pronounce "Daimler Chrysler"? Answer: the Chrysler is silent. DCX, really isn't very German-American, even the companies American operations are run by German executives. I'm sure if there was an American CEO they would ask such offensive ads to be taken down.
Regardless, its Daimler-Chrysler trying to captilize over rampant global anti-Americanism. Its pretty below the belt IMO.
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Non-Bizarro Adam 3:18PM (5/22/2006)
You know, as an American, its ok for them to make fun of us. Its funny. If we can't laugh at ourselves, then we need to take ourselves a lot less seriously. I for one love making fun of the French ("I neutered the cat.......now he's French"), so I'm not going to blame anyone else for poking fun at us. As long as it is in good fun and humor, chuckle, and move on.
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Erik 3:21PM (5/22/2006)
Talk about biting the hand that feeds you; the recent success of American Chryslers has been supporting this falure of a brand for years now. Ironic that while they brag about "German Engineering and Swiss Innovation", those "features" obviously don't sell enough cars to make SMART profitable. Maybe they should learn a thing or two from their American counterparts instead of insulting them. Or maybe they're just bitter they have no market share here in the biggest automotive market in the world. Either way, pathetic SMART has stooped to a new low with this ad.
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EquinsuOcha 3:22PM (5/22/2006)
I think it's pretty funny, and poignant. They forgot the "Italian design", "Dutch Manufacturing" and "Metrosexually Purchased" parts though. Hey, if we can make fun of the LeCar and the Yugo, they should be able to make fun of us too.
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RK 3:25PM (5/22/2006)
"American nothing"
Then has a ClearChannel logo at the bottom of the billboard.
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donald douglas 3:25PM (5/22/2006)
what is the opposite of smart ? this billboard, but in all fairness, who makes the best ford products ? (mazda) who makes a top selling chrysler/dodge ? (mercedes) and who makes the best gm products ? (toyota and opel) besides the trucks this is sad but true !
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davidl340 3:26PM (5/22/2006)
Guess that means it has no muscle or torque.
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Koba 3:27PM (5/22/2006)
LMAO! I've never been offended when someone pokes fun at something that is true. The fact is, Americans drive BIG vehicles, just one facet of our culture of consumption. Do I participate in that culture? Not if I can help it. Is it there? Definitely. Either you fit into the stereotype of the fat, lazy, greedy American and you should deal with it (A. By making peace with who you are, or by B. Changing your habits to ones you are more comfortable with), or you don't. In the latter case, do like I do and poke fun at the hogs as well.
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Karl 3:28PM (5/22/2006)
Maybe if the 'American' brands weren't shipping all their crappy stuff off to Mexico to be manufactured we wouldn't have such a lousy reputaion.
I've always disliked Chrysler products, so this is just one more reason for me not to buy one.
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Cameron 3:29PM (5/22/2006)
I have to admit, it made me chuckle.
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Matt 3:31PM (5/22/2006)
In 1844, Goodyear invented vucanization. I'd guess that every polymer in that plastic car uses this process. That's just one of the countless influences America has had on that car.
Incidentally, the Outdoor Advertising Association of America attributes the first billboard to the United States, circa 1867.
Of course, the weblog was invented in the United States as well.
Curiously, I just did a full text search of the United States patent database for the term "automobile" and found 73 patents attributable to Swiss inventors.
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davidl340 3:34PM (5/22/2006)
I actually traded my Mexican Chrysler PT Cruiser underpowered dog that got a crappy 23 mpg. I was very impressed with its build quality, much better than American cars of old, just the mileage and dropping resale value was unbearable.
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Brian 3:36PM (5/22/2006)
RK:
ClearChannel owns the billboard. They were into billboards before they started sucking the soul out of radio stations.
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S1500 3:39PM (5/22/2006)
As an American, I don't find this in the least bit offensive. I think it's a catchy pitch, considering the SMART car seems to go everything against the American SUV-way of transportation.
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JR 3:41PM (5/22/2006)
10. LMAO! I've never been offended when someone pokes fun at something that is true. The fact is, Americans drive BIG vehicles, just one facet of our culture of consumption. Do I participate in that culture? Not if I can help it. Is it there? Definitely. Either you fit into the stereotype of the fat, lazy, greedy American and you should deal with it (A. By making peace with who you are, or by B. Changing your habits to ones you are more comfortable with), or you don't. In the latter case, do like I do and poke fun at the hogs as well.
Posted at 3:27PM on May 22nd
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Must be a moron to even make that statement.
Try cruising around a so called country like jap land island and then taking a round trip across the USA
You can stick those dinky ass cars where it belongs up your ass, its a big American car you call it as lazy etc that makes the drive much more in comfort then some riceball 2 inches off the ground looking through the steering wheel
As to greed, pot calling the keddle black, its the japs and nazi nameplates that are the greedy bastards that not only want the high profits but also to buy up as much of American land as they can.
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P.L. 3:43PM (5/22/2006)
While controversial the ad is directed at an audience that's very "un-American". By far and away majority of Americans will not drive anything as small as the SMART. So in essence the ad is telling the truth - "there's nothing American about this car".
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Corey W. 3:46PM (5/22/2006)
Maybe this would be a good time to STOP referring to DCX as an American company. The ad is funny though..
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EquinsuOcha 3:53PM (5/22/2006)
JR graced the internet with this brilliant piece of internet literature:
"Must be a moron to even make that statement.
Try cruising around a so called country like jap land island and then taking a round trip across the USA
You can stick those dinky ass cars where it belongs up your ass, its a big American car you call it as lazy etc that makes the drive much more in comfort then some riceball 2 inches off the ground looking through the steering wheel
As to greed, pot calling the keddle black, its the japs and nazi nameplates that are the greedy bastards that not only want the high profits but also to buy up as much of American land as they can."
Between the blatant racism, poor grammar and spelling, and a fixation on anal violation with large objects, I would say that you have pretty much proven the point of the billboard.
Congratulations!
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