Autoblog

Can't win for losing: Chrysler criticized for "Thank You" ads

Chris Shunk — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 08:58:00 EST

Filed under: Marketing/Advertising, Chrysler

After receiving at least $4 billion dollars in low cost government loans, Chrysler, LLC thought the least it could do was thank the American people for their support. Instead of calling a press conference or writing a heart-felt letter to major newspapers, team Pentastar thought it best to take out full page ads in newspapers across America. Actually, maybe it wasn't such a good idea (not to mention several pop-up text ads). It seems there are quite a few Americans that don't like the fact that Chrysler found the need to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars taking out ads in papers when the company is struggling to remain in business. The full page ads were run in papers including the USA Today and Wall Street Journal, where the price of a full-page ad can reportedly cost up to $264,000.

Action group American Solutions calls the ads "a precise example of the fact that they do not get it" and Americans for Tax Reform likened Chrysler's ads to a polite robber that said please and thank you but still made off with the cash. It's not surprising that special interest groups would jump on the ads, but apparently some tax-paying Americans are just as displeased. A click over to Chrysler's blog shows some angry responses. There are 15 consumer responses so far, and none of them are positive. We're no ad gurus, but this didn't seem like a very good idea from the start, and it appears we're not alone.

[Source: Fox News]

Can't win for losing: Chrysler criticized for "Thank You" ads originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 31 Dec 2008 08:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ford and Chrysler cut ad spending... uh oh

Chris Shunk — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 08:31:00 EST

Filed under: Marketing/Advertising, Chrysler, Ford

While GM and Toyota are ramping up their marketing efforts, the folks in Dearborn and Auburn Hills are spending less this year. Ford pulled back ad spending in the first quarter by 31% to $291 million, while Chrysler took a deeper cut of 42%, to $186 million. Part of the reason for this decreased spending is the ugly reality of the new car market coupled with lean funds to pay for promotion, but the two automakers also don't have many new products to tout. During that same period GM was the number two advertiser in the U.S., with $535 million being shelled out for new products like the Cadillac CTS and Chevy Malibu. Toyota also spent big on the new Corolla and Matrix, as well as additional advertising for the Tundra. Ford will likely open up the purse strings in the next couple months for advertising for the Lincoln MKS, Ford Flex and the all new F-150. Chrysler will also have to spend on the all-new Dodge Ram and Dodge Challenger, while also continuing to push the Dodge Journey.

While it makes sense to cut back on spending in anticipation of spending more money when new products arrive, it still doesn't look good that both the Blue Oval and Pentastar cut back so dramatically. When times get tough and car sales become harder to come by, it only makes more sense to up the marketing dollars to help dealers who need to move these vehicles of their showroom floor. And, you know, we could always use a few more ads, too.

[Source: The Detroit News]

Ford and Chrysler cut ad spending... uh oh originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 16 Jun 2008 08:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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