Chrysler Wins Against Flakes"
Just received this email from Chrysler Communications in my Outlook. It starts: “Dear Bertel: Who won the battle between the flakes of last week and the four-wheel drives from Chrysler Group LLC?”
Now that raised my interest. Did some folks with an Explorer or a Denali call out Dodge to a duel? Or did I just miss another RAM Challenge? And Chrysler PR calls the other guys “flakes?” Are the gloves coming off?
Imagine my disappointment when the flakes turned out to be … snowflakes. The flaky ad is scheduled to air in select markets (guess those with the most snow) tomorrow and then go national Monday. And what’s with “We are never neutral?”
Bertel Schmitt comes back to journalism after taking a 35 year break in advertising and marketing. He ran and owned advertising agencies in Duesseldorf, Germany, and New York City. Volkswagen A.G. was Bertel's most important corporate account. Schmitt's advertising and marketing career touched many corners of the industry with a special focus on automotive products and services. Since 2004, he lives in Japan and China with his wife <a href="http://www.tomokoandbertel.com"> Tomoko </a>. Bertel Schmitt is a founding board member of the <a href="http://www.offshoresuperseries.com"> Offshore Super Series </a>, an American offshore powerboat racing organization. He is co-owner of the racing team Typhoon.
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What's "sno"? - Flybrian, from West Central Florida
Loved this ad, and not just because I have an AWD Dodge, but mostly because of the grocery store riot scene. Exactly what it was like earlier this week here in mid-Michigan
"Never Neutral"? Really lame. The ad however, while in need of some improvement, does make me chuckle as I live in an area that gets snow, but usually not too much. Certainly not enough for me as I consider snow to be like money - you can have too much, but its hard to - but the panic shopping is for real. Eggs, milk, bread, and the most current trend: the empty Redbox DVD rental machine. I laugh when the weather folks spread panic and a red warning bar crawls at the bottom of the TV for a day. I made it through the snowiest January on all season tires on an Altima. Stuck a total of 0 times. Close calls: One, when a 2wd Ranger was fishtailing up a very modest grade and I had no choice but to go around him. Good thing that was o'dark thirty and there was no oncoming traffic. Around here AWD is not necessary, but when I move to New England, I think I will have a AWD winter rat so the performance car can sleep the winter away. Regarding modern cars and slippery conditions, I have mixed feelings about all the electronic aids. It is too easy to become reliant on them instead of good driving skill. Remember when ABS spread to most car line and there was no statistical improvement in crash involvement? I suspect the same may apply here to a varying degree. I also don't like the lack of control - I feel I'm kind of a Captain Dunsel - my driving choices are being overridden. At slow speeds, it is damn near impossible to get the car to rotate on a snow coated road. You can't even get real wheelspin...Richard Daystrom's M-5 won't allow it. Maybe it's just a hybrid thing, but while it may save a life at high speed, at low speeds it is annoying.
Anywhere I go in North America, the single biggest problem with drivers of 4/all wheel drive vehicles is for some strange reason, most never take into account that their vehicle takes just as long (far) to stop as a similar 2 wheel drive vehicle on snow and ice. Bullet proof mentality.