Chrysler Faces Criticism for Full-Page 'Thank You' Ads

[GTS Jeff]

Chrysler Faces Criticism for Full-Page 'Thank You' Ads - FOXNews.com Transition Tracker



Chrysler is facing a backlash from taxpayers and conservative groups after the ailing auto company took out a series of full-page newspaper ads last week to thank Americans for "investing" in the company through the government's $17.4 billion auto industry bailout plan.
Critics say the company, which is expected to receive about $4 billion of that bailout money in the near term, should not be spending its already limited resources on pricey advertisements.
"It's quite ridiculous to be spending that kind of money," said Princella Smith, national spokeswoman for American Solutions, an organization headed by former Republican House Speaker Newt Gingrich. "Those ads are just a precise example of the fact that they do not get it ... and it's just in our faces."
The ads ran last week in several major daily newspapers, including USA Today, The Wall Street Journal and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Since USA Today and The Wall Street Journal are two of the highest-circulation newspapers in the country, full-page ad rates are steep. A full-page ad in The Wall Street Journal runs between $206,000 and $264,000, and a full-page ad in USA Today runs between $112,000 and $217,000.
Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform, said in a written statement to FOXNews.com that Chrysler should give back the money.
"Years ago there was a robber who was really polite. He said please and thank you while he was robbing people. At the end of the day, people had their money stolen. Saying thank you doesn't make it OK. They should give the money back," Norquist said.
Chrysler's ad, which is also posted on the company's Web site, pledges to produce cars and trucks that are attractive to consumers and improve their fuel economy.
"On behalf of the 1 million people who depend on Chrysler for their livelihoods, thank you for investing in Chrysler, and America," says the statement, signed by CEO Bob Nardelli.
A representative for Chrysler could not be reached for comment.
The ad buys have also triggered a wave of criticism on blogs and editorial pages.
One recent letter to the editor in the Chicago Tribune said the automaker "proved their incompetence" by taking out the ads.
"How about spending the money on producing cars that work, are fuel efficient, and that people want to buy?" the letter said.

 

[TexasSnake]

As long as Vipers don't go extinct, I think we can all agree to give let them live on this one even though it does seem like a waste of $$$.

 

[GTS Jeff]

I can't......

 

[Viper rolls]

I want my tax money to stop being wasted. it's not necessary to spend that kind of money thanking the public. Spend much less if you are really compelled to say thank you.

Say thank you buy getting things in order.

Use the resources very carefully. Get the company in shape to become profitable. Make cars people want to buy, get your costs in line, lower manufacturing output plans, keep the quality up, gain market share.

 

[J&R3xV10]

I am sure they thought it would be seen as a nice gesture at the time. Bad move but you can't please everyone.

 

[SSGViper]

Gee, this makes the $20,000 private jet flight to DC seem like pocket change.

 

[Black Mamba 47]

I had heard through a Vocational school that I deal with which does training for Chrysler, Gm, Honda and Toyota. That all the chrysler trainers have been laid off and schools for chrysler dealership technicians have been canceled. This came from the school management.

 

[29OUTLAW]

I wonder if we'll start to see outrage at racing sponsorhships such as NASCAR. Car makers claim that racecar sponsorship is a form of advertising.

 

[Viper rolls]

I agree - the sentiment was good, they are probably genuinely appreciative.

It's just such a make or break period for these guys - every money decision is an important one. Just seems to be more of the same unwise management decisions.

I am sure they thought it would be seen as a nice gesture at the time. Bad move but you can't please everyone.

 

[RedEnuf93]

I am sure they thought it would be seen as a nice gesture at the time. Bad move but you can't please everyone.

I'm sure that's what THEY thought. You dont need to please anyone when you are out of money... Especially trying to please me with MY money!
They need to stop wasting and start working on their problems, so that we dont need to bail them out again in two years...

 

[BlknBlu]

We better not see one commercial from the BIG 3 during the Superbowl.

Bruce

 

[Chuck 98 RT/10]

It's just advertising. It doesn't matter if the ad says "Thanks from Chrysler" or "Buy a new Chrysler". Are they not supposed to advertise?

 

[ViperTony]

It's easy to kick someone when they're down...I guess this makes some people feel better about themselves.

 

[Viper rolls]

Are they not supposed to advertise?

This is an important question, one that I've been thinking about ... I know I need to get a life.

On the one hand, they have to cut way back on everything. Across the board cuts. Some very deep. On the other hand, you have to advertise, you have to promote and have to try to generate traffic in the stores.

If you are in charge of Marketing for Chrysler, you have just been given a huge haircut on the budget.

Where do you spend the limited budget?

Is print better because it's cheaper than TV? Is everyone involved with decision making in agreement there on the same page?

My guess is that there are roaring debates on budget and expenditures. Most of it not fun or easy for sure.

In my mind, one of the top priorities for Marketing is to get ahead in public opinion quickly. I think they have to convince the public that they are worthy, smart and able to turn this around. No small task.

Another major priority is to promote in a way that effectively gets people into the showrooms to buy. No small task.

I may have been too quick to negatively judge the spending for full page ads - I don't know their full plans.

However, taken out of context like I did, spending for a full page ad to say thanks still doesn't add up for me. Thanks is good, spending less to do it is better.

The court of public opinion will be harsh - I hope for the best for Chrysler and all the people who work there. Just get it right and don't waste taxpayers money.

It's just advertising. It doesn't matter if the ad says "Thanks from Chrysler" or "Buy a new Chrysler". Are they not supposed to advertise?

 

[CCBrian]

Well the point of advertising is to get people to notice you. When was the last time a manufacturer said thank you? At first I thought is was stupid too, but after reading these responses, it worked. What they have been doing has not been working so maybe this is actually some new forward thinking?!?!?

 

[Viper rolls]

Actually I think the point of car manufacturing advertising is more complex than getting noticed.

 

[Chuck 98 RT/10]

Actually I think the point of car manufacturing advertising is more complex than getting noticed.

I really haven't seen any auto advertising complexities in 40 years. It's always...
SALE! SALE! SALE!
BUY NOW! BUY NOW! BUY NOW!

In fact, when it comes to advertising the auto industry is probably the most basic of them all. I really don't think they put a whole lot of thought into any of it. God help us if Billy Mays or the Shamwow guy starts selling cars.

 

[xjrguy]

Hahaha,

that was a hilarious reply.

If the Shamwow guy gets involved in Viper I am selling my car.

 

[Viper rolls]

Thats why you are not in marketing.

I really haven't seen any auto advertising complexities in 40 years. It's always...

 

[Nsane1]

Just an ad guys... Look at all the FREE press they are getting out of it. I'm sure they thought this one through very thoroughly.

 

[Chuck 98 RT/10]

Thats why you are not in marketing.

Please elaborate. Maybe I didn't understand what complexities you were referring to.

 

[xentec]

The marketing challenge for Chrysler is to try to change the current market sentiment. People are afraid to purchase cars from a company that is about to go bankrupt. They are worried they won’t get service. They are worried that the value of their cars will fall to nearly zero, like when Daewoo went out of business. Clearly these are not things Chrysler can change overnight or by short term marketing campaign. These are things that are earned over time.

In light that marketing budgets are relatively set in the short term and this money would have been spent on advertising anyway. What should Chrysler be communicating to the public? What will resonate with them? Clearly a ‘Buy Buy Buy’ campaign would not help resolve any of the main fears of the public. It obviously didn't keep them out of this mess. An advertisement that says ‘We are working really hard to make good cars’ would flop. Isn’t that what they are supposed to be doing?

So really what cards do they have left? Clearly a large demographic of the US population associates American made cars with some form of patriotic attribution. Perhaps the only real play they have left is to bring the public along. Something along the lines of “Hey America thanks for helping out this great American company” … “We can do this together”… “By helping us you are helping America”…

The hope of these types of campaigns is that people will feel some sort of connection to the company. They will overlook their fears to have the feeling that they are doing something good and patriotic by supporting this great American car manufacturer. If you help us … we will help you. Etc.. Etc..

Not surprisingly you don’t see any of the big financial institutions making this play. The big I-Banks like Goldman Sachs have no incentives to bring consumers or the general public along.

As for justifying the way they spent the money. I have no opinion either way… what I do know is that if their marketing campaigns go dark and they don’t start kicking ass trying to counter the negative market sentiment they will defiantly go out of business. The general public is pounded daily by negative automotive news which only exacerbates Chrysler’s problem. There needs to be some beacon that is putting something out to counter the negative chatter.

 

[Neil - UK]

I wonder if we'll start to see outrage at racing sponsorhships such as NASCAR. Car makers claim that racecar sponsorship is a form of advertising.

GM are still spending big $$$ :

Corvette Racing program manager Doug Fehan is quick to reconfirm Corvette Racing's GT1 program in the first half of the 2009 American Le Mans Series.

"The primary focus of the race team is the 12 Hours of Sebring, Long Beach and, of course as it always has been, the 24 Hours of Le Mans," Fehan said. "We tested the GT1 car at Sebring in November. And we will be utilizing Sebring and Long Beach to put the final touches on the Le Mans effort.

We're continuously developing the car and package for fuel mileage, efficiency and new materials from our various suppliers. We want our last GT1 appearance at Le Mans to be successful. The team understands the importance of a victory at Sebring, Long Beach and Le Mans to close the GT1 program."

The highly anticipated GT2 Corvette is still scheduled to debut at Mid-Ohio in early August, Fehan added.

"Engineering and fabrication continues to focus on the GT2 program," he said. "We expect the first actual race car to be completed in early February and will be testing that car in the spring."

 

[Viper rolls]

Well put - I could't agree more about the focus has to be on changing the current market sentiment.

The marketing challenge for Chrysler is to try to change the current market sentiment. People are afraid to purchase cars from a company that is about to go bankrupt. They are worried they won’t get service. They are worried that the value of their cars will fall to nearly zero, like when Daewoo went out of business.

Clearly these are not things Chrysler can change overnight or by short term marketing campaign. These are things that are earned over time.

In light that marketing budgets are relatively set in the short term and this money would have been spent on advertising anyway. What should Chrysler be communicating to the public? What will resonate with them? Clearly a ‘Buy Buy Buy’ campaign would not help resolve any of the main fears of the public. It obviously didn't keep them out of this mess. An advertisement that says ‘We are working really hard to make good cars’ would flop. Isn’t that what they are supposed to be doing?

So really what cards do they have left? Clearly a large demographic of the US population associates American made cars with some form of patriotic attribution. Perhaps the only real play they have left is to bring the public along. Something along the lines of “Hey America thanks for helping out this great American company” … “We can do this together”… “By helping us you are helping America”…

The hope of these types of campaigns is that people will feel some sort of connection to the company. They will overlook their fears to have the feeling that they are doing something good and patriotic by supporting this great American car manufacturer. If you help us … we will help you. Etc.. Etc..

Not surprisingly you don’t see any of the big financial institutions making this play. The big I-Banks like Goldman Sachs have no incentives to bring consumers or the general public along.

As for justifying the way they spent the money. I have no opinion either way… what I do know is that if their marketing campaigns go dark and they don’t start kicking ass trying to counter the negative market sentiment they will defiantly go out of business. The general public is pounded daily by negative automotive news which only exacerbates Chrysler’s problem. There needs to be some beacon that is putting something out to counter the negative chatter.

 

[Mopar Boy]

It's just advertising. It doesn't matter if the ad says "Thanks from Chrysler" or "Buy a new Chrysler". Are they not supposed to advertise?

Excatly. It is still getting to companies name out there. Look at most forms of advertising. People do not always read the message. It is about seeing the brand name everywhere. So in this case they are still getting their name out there so to speak.

I wonder if we'll start to see outrage at racing sponsorhships such as NASCAR. Car makers claim that racecar sponsorship is a form of advertising.

I read that Honda is dropping out of F1 due to the current economy........

Robert

 

[Chuck 98 RT/10]

GM are still spending big $$$ :

Corvette Racing program manager Doug Fehan is quick to reconfirm Corvette Racing's GT1 program in the first half of the 2009 American Le Mans Series.

"The primary focus of the race team is the 12 Hours of Sebring, Long Beach and, of course as it always has been, the 24 Hours of Le Mans," Fehan said. "We tested the GT1 car at Sebring in November. And we will be utilizing Sebring and Long Beach to put the final touches on the Le Mans effort.

We're continuously developing the car and package for fuel mileage, efficiency and new materials from our various suppliers. We want our last GT1 appearance at Le Mans to be successful. The team understands the importance of a victory at Sebring, Long Beach and Le Mans to close the GT1 program."

The highly anticipated GT2 Corvette is still scheduled to debut at Mid-Ohio in early August, Fehan added.

"Engineering and fabrication continues to focus on the GT2 program," he said. "We expect the first actual race car to be completed in early February and will be testing that car in the spring."

LOL Not laughing at you Neil, laughing at GM and their GT1 ALMS run. They could run their GT1 Vets with a 4-****** and win. They are the only entries in it!!! Wow! Great job GM. LOL Go get 'em. LOL