UPDATE
The president-CEO of Chrysler’s brand division, Olivier Francois, announced today that Publicis Groupe’s Fallon has been awarded the creative account for Chrysler, replacing Omnicom Group’s BBDO which has had the account for many years.

Francois was apparently responding to the article on AdAge.com about the Chrysler TV spot that began airing yesterday. He explained that the commercial created by the Italian firm Armando Testa did not imply that Chrysler hired the agency.

It was a “one-time execution,” Francois said.

Will Chrylser’s new advertising push appeal to American buyers?
With Fiat now taking majority ownership in Chrysler, the Italian-based company is thinking globally regarding who they hire to take on the Chrysler advertising account, with BBDO Detroit set to lose the account and close their doors at the end of the year.

And with that, Chrysler Group’s Olivier Francois, the president-CEO of the Chrysler vehicle brand, has hired Armando Testa, the agency used for Fiat’s Italian Lancia brand.

The agencies first order of business was to take what they call a TV film they did for Lancia and re-purpose it for Chrysler. In both spots, the point of the commercial is not to advertise vehicles but call attention to the plight of Aung San Suu Kyi, Burma’s pro-democracy leader and Nobel Peace Laureate, who has been in and out of house arrest since 1989.

Convince Americans your brand is viable first
The point of the campaign will be a non-starter with American buyers. Do Americans care about the rights of others and the importance of their freedom? Of course. But do most Americans know who Aung San Suu Kyi is? Absolutely not. Will many Americans have a problem with an ad agency’s Detroit office losing a lucrative contract with Chrysler to an overseas competitor, especially after providing the car maker billions of dollars of tax dollars? My guess, is yes, Americans will have a big problem with it.

In a prepared statement, Mr. Francois said, “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.”

“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.”

Social causes require a strong brand
Peter DeLorenzo, founder of Autoextremist.com and a former BBDO creative on Dodge, has an excellent idea.

“If Chrysler was bent on social causes, the brand should have contributed to food banks in the region surrounding its suburban-Detroit headquarters,” he said. “At least there would be a shred of relevance in that gesture.”

He went on to call the spot by Armando Testa “patently absurd.” He said, “I’m sure the hundreds of people from BBDO who are being blown out the door are going to just love this, not to mention the U.S. taxpayer.”

I think Mr. DeLorenzo has it right but it’s very likely Chrysler management isn’t listening. Any point Chrysler should be making in their advertising is convincing American buyers the brand is on track and to look forward to new and exciting models. Ford has come a long way to repair their image. Unfortunately, both GM and Chrysler have yet to present any viable plan in repairing theirs. This spot will only further muddle things with state-side consumers. Once Chrysler has rebuilt their brand, then they can use it to strengthen the causes they believe in.

I’ll attach the new Chrysler spot here and you can decide for yourself. Does this do anything for Chrysler’s brand? Does it make you feel better about buying a Chrysler product? Let me know with your comments below.

Armando Testa/Chrysler spot