Army of Davids Takes On ‘Smart Car’ And Wins!
Soon To Be Gone DaimlerChrysler Billboard in Johannesburg
Blogosphere 1, Multinational Corporations 0
I returned from my out of towner to find that the ‘Smart Car’ debacle (can I call it a debacle?) had bounced around the blogosphere and was picked up not just by the usual political bloggers but a number of auto and marketing blogs as well.
Some had questioned whether the photo was in fact real and not Photoshopped. Arthur Williamson, who first noticed this billboard on the Corlett Drive onramp to the M1 expressway in Johannesburg and forwarded the photo to me, took the extra step of going back and videotaping the offending billboard, in all’s it’s urban splendor (video)
Arthur, not an American but an owner of a Chrysler product, with his pictures and video in hand, notified DaimlerChrylser and forwarded them with his complaint. Arthur received this response from DaimlerChrysler (full .PDF) :
…. the intention of the communication headline of the billboard was never to reflect negatively on the American society, but rather to refer to the vehicles features and product characteristics. Whereas most American vehicles are famous for e.g. being large in size, the reference to “American Nothing” relates to vehicle manufacturing and most cetainly not to the American society. This message is clear, considering that “German engineering” and “Swiss innovation” also refers to vehicle manufacturing with no reference intended to the societies of either these countries.
….uh…OK, I can see how ‘engineering’ and ‘innovation’ can relate to manufacturing but I think it’s fair to say that it’s not at all intuitive that the word ‘nothing’ related to manufacturing, but I digress….
Although we appreciate the fact that all advertisements are open for interpretation by various individuals depending on their own personal opinions, we wish to state that none of the advertisements by DaimlerChrysler in promoting it’s brands are aimed to be discriminating or offending against any individual, belief, religion, colour, nationality, country or otherwise.
Having regard to the above, and without it being construed as an admission of guilt on the part of DaimlerChrysler South Africa in placing the billboard, it has been resolved to remove the billboard to avoid any further misconception and wrong perception as to the true intent of DaimlerChrysler South Africa in the promotion of the smart brand. We wish to apologise for any offence taken as a result of the misperception created by the billboard.
Weasel words for sure but the end result is that DaimlerChrysler decided to pull the billboards!
Marty Padgett from The Car Connection received an identical response (.PDF).
Actually DaimlerChrysler made two bad marketing moves with this brand: 1) The ‘American Nothing’ billboards, and 2) ‘The DaVinci Code‘ product placement. Maybe it was the same ad team.
I will credit them though for taking the blogosphere seriously enough to pull the boards. It’s more than some companies would do.
UPDATE: Arthur reports that the billboard has been taken down. 
WoodWorking
Oh, okay. So DaimlerChrysler’s response was that they weren’t intending to say American society was crappy- only American engineering, innovation, and manufacturing were crappy.
- The Celtic Semite
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