Commercial pushes for release of Burmese political captive

BY GREG GARDNER
FREE PRESS BUSINESS WRITER

In a bold and risky move aimed at getting people talking, Chrysler has launched a new ad for its flagship 300 sedan that includes combines product placement with political activism not characteristic in automotive advertising.

It’s a stark contrast with earlier, more mainstream Chrysler 300 commercials, including one that featured rap star Snoop Dogg and former Chrysler CEO Lee Iacocca.

The new 30-second spot ties Chrysler’s namesake brand to a worldwide human rights campaign to free imprisoned Burmese democracy advocate, Aung San Suu Kyi.

Now 64, Ms. Suu Kyi was elected prime minister of Burma (now Myanmar) in 1990 with 59% of the vote. But a military junta prevented her from taking office, and has kept her under house arrest for 14 of the past 20 years. She won the 1991 Nobel Peach Prize.

Fiat’s Lancia brand has run a version of the ad in Europe.

“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,” Olivier Francois, president and CEO of the Chrysler brand said in a statement. He called the ad an effort to use the Chrysler brand in “the fight for peace.”

“This is a chance to use our brand image to join others in the fight for peace and to knock down the walls that divide us.”

Featuring images of Nelson Mandela, former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev and former Poland President Lech Walesa, the spot also shows a Chrysler 300 driving through a replica of the Berlin Wall.

The ad closes with the car going up the steps of Berlin’s Town Hall, which hosted an annual gathering of past Nobel Prize winners last month. There’s also a close-up of an empty back seat. The audio notes that someone is missing, Aung San Suu Kyi, who is still lingering in a Burmese prison.

The jury is out as to whether this very European approach will sell cars in the U.S.

“This is an unusual fish to throw out there,” said Mike Bernacchi, professor of marketing at the University of Detroit Mercy. “The objective is to get a attention, but you’re kind of left wondering ‘what was he (Francois) thinking?’”

Others were less charitable.

“If they’re so hell-bent on taking on social causes,” said Peter De Lorenzo, creator of AutoExtremist.com, “why don’t they take the money and make a contribution to the food banks in and around this region instead?”

Last month, Chrysler’s former advertising agency, BBDO announced it would close its Troy and Windsor offices early next year, leaving about 500 people out of work.

New Chrysler ad features 300, social conscience

Alisa Priddle / The Detroit News

It's not your typical Chrysler ad.

A television commercial for the Chrysler brand debuting today features the Chrysler 300 while calling for the release of Burmese pro-democracy leader and 1991 Nobel Peace prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi who has been under numerous house arrests since 1989.

Chrysler taps into an ad that was originally created for the Lancia brand of partner Fiat SpA. Olivier Francois is the head of both the Chrysler and Lancia brands and is head of marketing for both automakers.

The content for the commercial was created as part of Lancia's sponsorship of the 10th World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates in Berlin last month and first aired Nov. 12. It opens at Germany's Brandenburg Gate and taps into an international effort to raise awareness of the Burmese woman's plight.

"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."

The ad can be seen on the Chrysler Web site -- www.chrysler.com -- and will air today on FOX News' "O'Reilly Report," "Hannity's America," and "On the Record with Greta," and on Bloomberg's "Market Today."

The automaker is also inviting Web site visitors to add their voice to the call to free Aung San Suu Kyi by linking to yourfaceforfreedom.com.