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"Imported from Detroit" wins Grand Effie award for effective advertising



Chrysler
Group's "Imported from Detroit" ad campaign grabbed top honors Wednesday night in New York City, winning the North American Grand Effie Award as the most effective ad in the nation.

"Imported from Detroit was the Grand Effie winner because they sold the product, the category and the city," said Deborah Sandler, President, Mars Chocolate North American and a Grand Effie jury member, in a news release.

Indeed. The two-minute Super Bowl commercial, titled "Born of Fire", created a huge buzz for the city and for the Chrysler 200. The agencies Wieden+Kennedy and Universal McCann created it and Chrysler capitalized on it.

"The success of this campaign has contributed significantly to the company's sales growth over 2010, and as a result of this success, Chrysler has paid off their government bailout six years early," Chrysler said in its entry.

Other automotive winners at the Effie Awards included Porsche grabbing second place in the automotive category for "How Porsche created new relevance for a revered icon," and Chevrolet taking third for "Chevy Volt, it's more than electric."

Kia also grabbed a third-place honor in the Single Impact Engagement category for its "Not your average slam dunk" commercial.

And for those feeling nostalgic, scroll down and check out the original commercial. It still gives us chills. You can also read more about the Effie Awards in the included press release.


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Wieden+Kennedy and Chrysler's Imported from Detroit wins the Grand Effie at the North American Effie Awards Gala in New York

New York (May 23, 2012) – The 2012 North American Effie Effectiveness Index rankings were revealed tonight at the 44thannual Effie Awards Gala in New York City. Winning an Effie Award has become a global symbol of achievement since 1968, as Effie Worldwide honors marketing ideas that work.

Based on the analysis of Effie Awards competition finalist & winner data from the past year, Procter & Gamble is the most effective advertiser in North America, IBM is the most effective brand, WPP is the most effective advertising holding company and Ogilvy & Mather is the most effective advertising agency network. Ogilvy & Mather's New York office is the most effective individual agency office, while McKinney, based in Durham, North Carolina, is the most effective independently held advertising agency.

Wieden+Kennedy and Chrysler's Imported from Detroit is the Grand Effie winner (best in show) for the 2012 Effie Awards.

The top three most effective advertising holding companies in North America are: WPP, Publicis Groupe and Omnicom. The top five most effective agency networks are Ogilvy & Mather, Leo Burnett Worldwide, Starcom MediaVest Group, BBDO Worldwide and Saatchi & Saatchi. The top five most effective independent agencies in North America are McKinney, Wieden+Kennedy, BBH New York, Droga5 and SYPartners. Procter & Gamble remained the most effective advertiser in North America for the second year in a row. Detailed information on the North American Effie Effectiveness Index rankings (with comparisons to 2011 rankings and filter options such as category and company) can be found on www.effieindex.com.

"The Effie Effectiveness Index has put a spotlight on the industry's top performers, and created a learning tool to help all of us become better marketers," said Matt Seiler, Effie Worldwide Chairman of the Board and Global CEO of IPG Mediabrands.

The North American Grand Effie Award winner was debated hours before the Effie Awards ceremony by the Grand Effie Jury at Bloomberg in New York. Finalists (the top scoring Gold Effie Award winners) included the Grand Effie winner, 4 campaigns from Leo Burnett/Arc Worldwide: Allstate Insurance Company's Mayhem, Kellogg's Special K's What Will You Gain When You Lose? (both co-led with Starcom (SMG), Troy Public Library's Book Burning Party, and IKEA's Moving Day (Leo Burnett/Arc Worldwide Toronto). IKEA had a second contender with its campaign IKEA. The Life Improvement Store, with Ogilvy & Mather and MEC North America. Other Grand Effie finalists for Ogilvy & Mather included Watson for IBM and Truvia® Natural Sweetener's Sweetness Stories. BBH New York and Carat's Say It Without Saying It for Diageo's Johnnie Walker and BBDO New York and AT&T's Convincing Youth Not to Text were also Grand Effie contenders.

The challenge for the Grand Effie winner, according to its entry, "after Chrysler's 2009 bankruptcy, the 200 launched with no loyalty to leverage and no eager buyers waiting to see what was coming. Unfortunately, America had turned its back on American cars. In turn, America turned its back on Detroit. If Chrysler could bring back Detroit, it could take back its rightful place within it. Success required us to keep the public's eye on Chrysler's future – to see the possibility, energy and will-to-win in Chrysler. Chrysler launched "IMPORTED FROM DETROIT", which punctuated every piece of communication that has come from the brand since. The first-ever two-minute commercial in the Super Bowl (featuring Eminem) formed the centerpiece of the campaign. As a result, the effort achieved a PR extravaganza and Chrysler search and sales skyrocketed. The success of this campaign has contributed significantly to the company's sales growth over 2010, and as a result of this success, Chrysler has paid off their government bailout six years early."

"Imported from Detroit was the Grand Effie winner because they sold the product, the category and the city," said Debra Sandler, President, Mars Chocolate North American and a Grand Effie jury member.

"The Chrysler work had a depth of effectiveness that stood out from the rest of the Grand Effie Finalists. They gave that brand its soul back," said another Grand Effie jury member, Jeff Benjamin, CCO, North America, JWT.

A list of gold, silver and bronze winners for the North American Effie Awards can be found on www.effie.org. The remaining Global & regional Effie Effectiveness Index rankings will be announced on June 18, 2012 and will be featured on www.effieindex.com.

Effie Worldwide, in partnership with WARC, launched The Effie Effectiveness Index in 2011 to recognize the architects of the most effective marketing communications ideas from around the world and to educate and promote marketing effectiveness globally. In order to be included in the rankings, North American Effie finalists and winners supplied detailed case studies with challenging goals and significant results that were rigorously evaluated by at least two rounds of industry experts.

About Effie Worldwide
Effie Worldwide stands for effectiveness in marketing communications, spotlighting marketing ideas that work and encouraging thoughtful dialogue about the ever-changing marketing industry. The Effie network works with some of the top research and media organizations worldwide to bring its audience relevant and first-class insights into effective marketing strategy.

The Effie Awards are known by advertisers and agencies globally as the pre-eminent award in the industry, and recognize any and all forms of marketing communication that contribute to a brand's success. Since 1968, winning an Effie has become a global symbol of achievement. Today, Effie celebrates effectiveness worldwide with the Global Effie, the Euro Effie, the Middle East / North Africa Effie and more than 40 national Effie programs. For more details, visit www.effie.org. Follow @effieawards on Twitter for updates on Effie information, programs and news.

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