Staying true to its new ownership (Fiat), Chrysler Group’s president-CEO, Oliver Francois, has hired an Italian ad agency for Chrysler’s US market. Francois’ intent is to have the ad agency, Amarndo Testa, rework an Italian Lancia commercial for US consumption.
Armando Testa was hired to re-create a specific 30-second commercial for the 300C sedan, which went live today on national TV. The commercial is reportedly modeled very closely after the original Lancia commercial in which there was a call for the release of Aung San See Kyi, the pro-democracy leader, who has been in and out of house arrest since 1989.
Kyi was also a 1991 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, and the latest iteration of this commercial was intended to be part of Lancia’s sponsorship of the 10th World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates which took place in Berlin last month.
“We produced the TV film in honor of all those who put their lives at stake in the hopes of making the world a better place,” Francois said. “For Chrysler , this is a chance to use our brand image to join with others in the fight for peace and to knock down the walls that divide us. We at Chrysler believe in doing the right thing and making a difference.”
News of the change from Chrysler’s long-time ad agency, BBDO, to an Italian-based agency has created controversy among critics. Chrysler received billions of dollars of US tax payer’s money in recent bailouts, and shifting several hundred jobs from American workers to an Italian agency has some questioning Chrysler’s bold move.
Dallas-based agency Richards Group has been awarded the new Ram truck brand starting in the fourth quarter.
