Comments | rjwhite: *say nice things about detroit*

rjwhite

say nice things about detroit

Feb 07, 2011 10:00

Well, the Eminem Detroit/Chrysler ad was certainly something. It was well-produced, as it should have been, considering that Chrysler spent approx. $10 million on it, all told.

$10 million to probably not influence people much in the direction to actually buy a car.

I liked it- but mainly because it did some great branding of Detroit as this ( Read more... )

Comments 13

cherdt February 7 2011, 15:26:07 UTC

I felt much the same way. I loved seeing the familiar sights, but at the end I said: I would still never buy a Chrysler.

007donuts February 7 2011, 15:29:12 UTC

I JUST saw it online, well part of it, I made it about 30 secs in and was like, "what? there is more than a minute left?? fuck this, not only do I not care about football, cars, and the midwest, but I'm not going to sit through an expensive-looking, manipulative commercial that idealizes that sort of life - the kind of dull, pointless life that is ruining America and that anyone with a brain is running from," and so I turned it off and watched cats floating weightless in space...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O9XtK6R1QAk&feature=player_embedded

Poor kitties! tawdryjones February 7 2011, 18:19:16 UTC

The cats floating weightless video is more disturbing to me than that baby's smashed face in the homeaway Superbowl ad.

Re: Poor kitties! 007donuts February 7 2011, 19:30:04 UTC

I would like to know how the weightless experience affected the cats! - if at all?

Re: Poor kitties! tawdryjones February 7 2011, 19:37:05 UTC

I hope they weren't as scared as they looked.

faeryhead February 7 2011, 15:45:26 UTC

It made me as sad as those Pure Michigan ads, but in a different way.

I like the "we're tough" theme, but in the end it is just to sell cars so I feel silly getting emotional about it.

rjwhite February 7 2011, 15:47:30 UTC

Yeah- but that's the thing. You have this specific connection. Why did they make this ad for the general public? In what way is it supposed to incite folks to get cars? It's so strange and expensive.

faeryhead February 7 2011, 15:54:53 UTC

I guess I don't know how much they usually spend on ads and how that compares.

I think they were going for "in these tough economic times" the people should think we're with them and maybe the rich will buy our Detroit cars out of a sense of charity.

bakerloo February 7 2011, 17:03:06 UTC

Not having any connection to Detroit, I thought it was fairly moving.

tawdryjones February 7 2011, 18:21:29 UTC

Did you think that a nicely dressed Jack White would've lessened the effect? Seeing a schlumpy Eminem come out of a "luxury" car kinda ruined the moment, I felt.

cherdt February 7 2011, 19:09:57 UTC

I thought that was odd too, but I don't think they were going for Rittenhouse luxury, I think they were going for hip-hop luxury. Mercedes-Benz need not fear Chrysler, but the Cadillac Escalade might.

tawdryjones February 7 2011, 19:38:14 UTC

Ahhh, yes. I figured Eminem was Detroit enough and even if he was wearing a hoodie and sweatpants, he still had the famous thing going for him. I didn't consider the competition.

calamityjon February 8 2011, 16:20:55 UTC

I gotta say this much - for one thing, the voiceover robbed me of my opportunity to make an emotional connection with the film, as did the very twee synchronization of the church choir with the theme. A wordless introduction, the building music, the stinger "This is Detroit, this is what we do". That would have accomplished a great deal more, to me ( ... )