I gotta question for you. What does Chrysler know about the power of story? More than most. Chrysler proved it with a powerful Superbowl ad commercial with Eminem that stirred the soul.
Imagine the usual car commercial:
A fast car blurs through the floor of Death Valley, spewing sand and causing lizards to take cover. The look is sleek, and the announcer sounds like somebody from a Batman movie. There’s a pretty person driving the car, and the announcer says “Introducing the 2011 ____. A hot car for hot times.”
Okay, that is my personal composite of most new car commercials, but you get the idea. During the Superbowl, Chrysler blew us away with a new approach. Rather than focusing on the product, they told the story of the people behind it.
They showed pictures of Detroit while the announcer syas it’s “a town that’s been to hell and back.” They alluded to the Wizard of Oz, stating that it’s “no Emerald City,” juxtaposing the glittery perfection of the fictional city with the gray reality of a place that is filled with people who work hard to survive.
How many CEOs would be willing to admit that a company has been to hell and back? Instead we get milquetoasts who talk about “challenging times.” By telling the truth, this commercial hits a chord in all of us, and allows us to pull for the hard working underdog.
Knowing it’s a question that viewers might ask, they addressed, head-on, “What does this city know about luxury?” And they answered it by saying it’s the “hottest fires that make the hardest steel.” They didn’t duck the question with some platitude, they showed the smoke stacks of daily commitment. Suddenly, we feel like Detroit knows what they’re doing.
They used the powerful, audible beat and vision of Eminem, a Detroit son that provides a known face to the city. They showed people ice-skating, doormen nodding as the car drives through the city, and choirs singing. Suddenly, Detroit was humanized.
Their logo was short and to the point – “This is motor City and this is what we do.”
Brilliant. CEO’s, take note. If you really want to promote your company, then do it by telling the story of the people who work hard for it every day. If you want to motivate those workers, tell them the stories of the people behind the company every time you speak to them. Pay attention to what they do. It’s their hands that mold the product of your company, and it’s their voice that creates your reputation.
The Chrysler 200 was the second biggest “trend” online today. People are looking at the product, because they now care about the people behind. Chrysler gets it. Do you?
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Yes, great assessment!
They left us with “Imported from Detroit”
It’s about the people, not the quantity or as a number, but as who they are. It’s about what the people have traded to do what they have done and what they continue to do. They are not just a number at a desk or a work station, they are people who have chosen to include this company, this task or challenge into their world.
And we can all relate down deep to the trade off’s and commitments along with the everyday stuff of the people who made them.
John – thank you for your comment. I repeat that to my clients every day. “They are people, not numbers.” And people do give up vacations, and time with family to make a company work – and all they want is to feel appreciated!
Donna, I gave that commercial a high rating too. It’s always about the story and the people. Nice post!
Thanks Gary – I really did get on-line and check that car out the next day. Amazing what appealing to emotion will do!