Ask The Best And Brightest: Who Killed The Fiat 500 Launch?

Edward Niedermeyer
by Edward Niedermeyer

With today’s official confirmatio n that Fiat’s US market brand boss, Laura Soave, has been replaced by Timothy Kuniskis, there’s more than a little attention being paid to the Fiat 500’s stateside sales and marketing. Which is something of a curious state of affairs; after all, when the 500 was introduced to Europe, it was quite well-received by the press and public. In hopes of tracking down some kind of explanation for this discrepancy, I hit Youtube looking for ads introducing the Fiat 500 to European markets. The first spot I found can be seen above, and it encapsulates how I feel the 500 probably should have been introduced to the US: with one simple, smart, timeless ad. Instead we got a flurry of disjointed, uncoordinated efforts, with Jennifer Lopez eventually dominating the Cinquecento‘s image almost by default. Could this explain why the 500’s US sales have disappointed?


If so, it’s not entirely clear that Ms Soave is to blame for the debacle. Here, she talks up precisely the values encapsulated in the immensely successful UK ad, and shows off some print ads that seem to deliver similarly timeless messages. But remind me again, who reads print ads? As for the entire “drive-in” concept, I’d hazard that idea had its genesis with Impatto, the since-dumped, event-focused marketing firm that helped lead the 500 launch. Clearly it was not the memorable TV ad that the 500 needed, and clearly Soave should have thought twice about an event-focused launch, especially one centered on such a spurious “urban fad.” But the “drive-in” ads were merely weak; what has dominated perceptions of the 500 in the US is Jennifer Lopez.

And, as we’ve mentioned before, the celeb-happy, J.Lo-synonimizing aspect of the campaign apparently came from Chrysler’s marketing honcho Olivier Francois, not Soave. Back in September, when Fiat was dumping Impatto, AdAge reported

“I respect what she [Ms. Soave] did so far. I may have my opinions about the brand, and they are well known so I’m not going to get into anything here,” said Mr. Francois. “But when you are working with limited resources, you have to invent some out-of-the-box stuff which I am trying to do.”

One out-of-the-box play was working with Ms. Lopez on what former auto-marketing exec Peter DeLorenzo called “quite possibly the worst automotive spot of the last decade, hands down.” Mr. Francois defended the push and said it was not a commercial at all but rather a “trailer” for Ms. Lopez’s new video for the single “Papi.” Mr. Francois said it came about after a discussion he and his friend Ms. Lopez had with her manager Benny Medina, in which they talked about having the Fiat 500 used as the car featured in the chase sequence of the video. Afterward, Mr. Francois said he asked Mr. Medina for the footage and said Fiat would put together a 30-second trailer for the video

Francois is already well-known for his commitment to unabashedly over-the-top marketing, including the Eminem “Imported From Detroit” ads, which do seem to have been more effective than the J.Lo experiment. At the time he defended early negative reaction to the initial Lopez shot by calling it a “trailer.” Of course, the reaction hasn’t improved with the full ads, and negativity hit a breaking point last night, in the wake of Lopez’s 500-themed AMA performance. Clearly Francois’ gamble on Lopez’s starpower has fallen flat, and it would be shocking to see any further collaboration between the two…. and yet Soave, who apparently has had nothing to do with the Lopez decision, is the one being replaced. Why? Well, Francois is close to the big boss, Sergio Marchionne, and worked with him well before the Chrysler takeover. Don’t believe the J.Lo ads had Francois’s French fingers all over them? Check out this Lancia spot he approved a few years back:

Edward Niedermeyer
Edward Niedermeyer

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  • Indi500fan Indi500fan on Nov 22, 2011

    Does anyone know why the fuel econ is so mediocre given the light weight and the much hyped "multi-air" engine? 27/34 with an auto doesn't seem to be much of an engineering feat. The Cruze Eco is 26/39, the Focus is 27/37, and the Civic HF is 29/41.

    • Angus mackenzie Angus mackenzie on Nov 23, 2011

      because the engine is full of burritos? even the new Mazda3 is throwing out huge mileage numbers, in a heavier, better equipped, more powerful car. How many checks is that in the negative column now? LA Auto show release of the Abarth...and not a JLow in sight! http://youtu.be/-UcvFDOzyY4

  • FJ60LandCruiser FJ60LandCruiser on Dec 28, 2011

    Gee, an overpriced European city car with an anemic engine, choppy ride, and sloppy handling--filled with Italian "reliability," made by a company that gutted Mopar and crapped all over its grave. At least Daimler built Chryslers with balls.

  • Dukeisduke Is the Volvo EX30 even on sale yet? It was pulled from the NACTOY awards because they were having software problems with the vehicle.
  • Wjtinfwb If you've only got 5k to spend on transportation, I cannot imagine a worse way to spend it than on a GM orphan from Sweden that's 15 years old with 150k on the clock and limited plus expensive parts availability and dwindling techs who'd even want to work on it. Go find a similar vintage Camry or Accord with 150k miles or even a Ford or a Chevy, whatever. Hell, even an old Jaguar is less of a crapshoot than a Saab. At least you can still get parts.
  • Kwik_Shift Brands that were considered from China include BYD, Dayun, Great Wall Motors, Maxus, Nio, Omoda/Chery, Seres, XPeng, and Zeekr. KG Mobility from South Korea also made the list of candidates.That's a lot of car companies from there ready to head here.
  • Analoggrotto Clean sweep and unanimous victory for the world affluence engine of 22nd century : Hyundai/Kia/Genesis. Toyota and Lexus, for 120 years of history have not been able to capture the zenith superlative status of Hyundai Motor Corporation the most awarded, decorated and revered automotive corporation in the history of historical. Featuring best ever, first ever and greatest ever e-ATPs the Hyundai Genesis Kia lineup is posed to become the envy of every country club, ivy league college and fortune 500 corporation in the world. I've been taking a roadtrip in my loaner Elantra N, visiting colleges from east to west, elite universities of higher learning to inspect their parking lots. WHat did I find? Leagues of Genesis models, outnumbering Lexus 3 to 1. When I interviewed faculty and staff at these places of greater learning, their response was unanimous : they chose HMC for the ATPs.
  • Mikey 2019 Chevy Impala Premier FWD with 20 inch factory Bridgestones. I'm looking at replacing tires at the 65,000 KLM's (40,000 miles ) mark ....It doesn't thrill me .. I'm pricing Michelin Cross Climate 2 tires ouch !! ..Up here in Canuckastan ....Big $$$$$
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