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[News Feed]

Within Italy, Fiat has started to promote the new Panda in a way that echoes recent Chrysler and Jeep ads, more than traditional Italian or Fiat ads. The new 90-second Fiat Panda spot started airing yesterday. In the ad, Fiat is shown as leading a new era of growth and development, calling on Italians to join. A release from the company says, ... there are many Italys in the collective imagination: a nation of art, invention and creative talent not to mention great industrial and technological enterprise. To dispel the quaint image of Italy and the negative stereotypes that are still often portrayed today, the spot shows powerful images of workers at the Pomigliano d’Arco plant where the new Fiat Panda is made. These workers are symbolic of the Italy that never gives up, even in the most difficult moments, but rather has the will to take its future into..

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[patfromigh]

I didn't know the guy from the Ram ads spoke Italian.

[Dan Minick]

OF's influence.  A good thing.

[artsybob]

On the subject of Chrysler's Super Bowl ads from last year, I think they clearly inspired these new H&R Block ads I see on TV all the time:



Maybe that's why they show what looks like a junked 1975-77 Chrysler Cordoba or Dodge Charger at the 0:14 mark so as not to anger Chrysler

Edited by artsybob, January 23, 2012 at 08:27 pm.

[MudTJ]

Starting at 2:30 its the same as the Dodge Journey Commerical.

[RVC]

Dan Minick, on January 23, 2012 at 11:21 am, said:

OF's influence.  A good thing.

I tend to strongly disagree. you mean the J-Lo guy? The girlie Lancia guy? The "Luxury is a right" tag line that had to be removed after 2 days and replaced with "elegance is a right" becaus eit pissed off too many people? That guy?!?

I predict that 90% of Italians will reject this ad specifically. Launching this type of ad in Italy means simply lacking the basic understanding of the local market, and more specifically of the customers, you are trying to reach. They will be pissed because they can see right through the cynical way the message is trying to make them react in some sort of patriotic way: that ain't never gonna happen.

OF should be kept under strict control. He had one hit with the Super Bowl Troit ad, but then it was only misses. Same tng with Giolitto, the guy that styled the 500: that was a hit, everything else he has done has been a severe miss.

[MoparNorm]

RVC, on January 26, 2012 at 08:02 am, said:

I tend to strongly disagree. you mean the J-Lo guy? The girlie Lancia guy? The "Luxury is a right" tag line that had to be removed after 2 days and replaced with "elegance is a right" becaus eit pissed off too many people? That guy?!?

I predict that 90% of Italians will reject this ad specifically. Launching this type of ad in Italy means simply lacking the basic understanding of the local market, and more specifically of the customers, you are trying to reach. They will be pissed because they can see right through the cynical way the message is trying to make them react in some sort of patriotic way: that ain't never gonna happen.

OF should be kept under strict control. He had one hit with the Super Bowl Troit ad, but then it was only misses. Same tng with Giolitto, the guy that styled the 500: that was a hit, everything else he has done has been a severe miss.

Why should a company and OF that can't understand it's most popular brands customers, be expected to understand an entirely different country?... after all even Marchionne keeps insisting that he is Canadian...

[chewie402]

I do like the Fiat 500 Abarth spot:

[RVC]

I loved that viral ad campaign too! But look into it and you'll find that my point stands: the video and the underlying concept were created by Dallas-based Richards Group, and AFAIK OF had (thankfully) no part in it, other than taking credit for it when it became a success story.
Don't know, I just disagree with the guy pretty much every time he opens his mouth. His handling of the Chrysler/Lancia thing was piss-poor on both sides of the Atlantic. Then he got switched to FIAT and see what he did with the J-Lo ads and product placement...we'll see, he might surprise me in the future, but somehow I doubt it.

[Dan Minick]

RVC, on January 27, 2012 at 08:01 am, said:

I loved that viral ad campaign too! But look into it and you'll find that my point stands: the video and the underlying concept were created by Dallas-based Richards Group, and AFAIK OF had (thankfully) no part in it, other than taking credit for it when it became a success story.
Don't know, I just disagree with the guy pretty much every time he opens his mouth. His handling of the Chrysler/Lancia thing was piss-poor on both sides of the Atlantic. Then he got switched to FIAT and see what he did with the J-Lo ads and product placement...we'll see, he might surprise me in the future, but somehow I doubt it.

Sorry, but I have to disagree with you on OF.  To date, I think he's done well overseeing creativity/marketing, and to date Chrysler+Lancia has been ok.  I never would have thought of meshing C+L, but I think it can and will work.  I do agree though that Lancia needs to 'butch' it up a bit (if that makes sense).  They used to be a serious contender in rallying and sport, until Alfa came into the Fiat family.  They have gotten too 'feminine' recently.
Can everything he does be hits?  No, there will be some misses.  Lets see what he does to revitalize Fiat in Europe.

[RVC]

Dan Minick, on January 27, 2012 at 09:22 am, said:

Sorry, but I have to disagree with you on OF.  To date, I think he's done well overseeing creativity/marketing, and to date Chrysler+Lancia has been ok.  I never would have thought of meshing C+L, but I think it can and will work.  I do agree though that Lancia needs to 'butch' it up a bit (if that makes sense).  They used to be a serious contender in rallying and sport, until Alfa came into the Fiat family.  They have gotten too 'feminine' recently.
Can everything he does be hits?  No, there will be some misses.  Lets see what he does to revitalize Fiat in Europe.

No problem, we can agree to disagree
Regarding Lancia, they were a serious contender in Rally until they stayed in there, and they raced with the Delta integrale even after Alfa came into fold. Alfa and Lancia were never really direct competitors because they went after different customers: the actual reasons behind what has happened to Lancia under the old fiat would take too long to discuss in this post.
But since you touched that point, one of the most memorable phrases that has made OF the darling of the Lancisti community worldwide is the one regarding "Lancia not having racing in its history" (other than being the most successful rally marque ever in the history of the sporting guess), or about the new Ypsilon being "superior to all its competitors"( guess he didn't notice the shortcomings in the interior that pretty much every single journalist noticed), or about how the new Thema reflects a perfect blend of "italian and american styling" (do I REALLY have to comment that?!).

As for revitalizing FIAT sales in Italy, it ain't happening until all the shares from VEBA are purchased. See, the way that deal was set up, FIAT can exercise options to buy shares from VEBA starting July 2012. The valuation for the shares is tied to FIAT's EV/EBITDA, ,which means that Marchionne will do everything to keep that value (and therefore FIAT sales) as low as possible. See if you use that multiplier (which right now is at 1.25 times), it means that Chrysler's equity value is 2,6 Billions, which is a value that means an EBITDA of 4,6Billions in 2012...whereas the general inverment bank consensus is for a value of around 10Billions.

So OF is a pretty safe bet: the more he screws up with FIAT, the sweeter the deal becomes for FIAT group when it comes to buying Chryco shares from VEBA! It's a very (financially) elegant deal Marchionne made, hats off to him.

[Dan Minick]

RVC, on January 27, 2012 at 01:27 pm, said:

..FIAT can exercise options to buy shares from VEBA starting July 2012. The valuation for the shares is tied to FIAT's EV/EBITDA,...

INTERESTING.....

These are the discussions that take place off site, away from boards, away from stockholder meetings... IF, SM has the long term ok from Elkann/Agnelli--then all is good, as long as things gone bad can be blamed elsewhere.

Edited by Dan Minick, January 27, 2012 at 02:27 pm.

[Cdnautowrkr444]

MoparNorm, on January 26, 2012 at 10:59 am, said:

Why should a company and OF that can't understand it's most popular brands customers, be expected to understand an entirely different country?... after all even Marchionne keeps insisting that he is Canadian...

Whats wrong with being Canadian?

[RVC]

Dan Minick, on January 27, 2012 at 02:24 pm, said:

INTERESTING.....

These are the discussions that take place off site, away from boards, away from stockholder meetings... IF, SM has the long term ok from Elkann/Agnelli--then all is good, as long as things gone bad can be blamed elsewhere.

Not really, it's all public domain information. It's just a matter of connecting the dots

Edited by RVC, January 28, 2012 at 08:52 am.

[John Rogers]

Cdnautowrkr444, on January 27, 2012 at 04:13 pm, said:

Whats wrong with being Canadian?

Seriously? You guys drive on square tires!

[MoparNorm]

Cdnautowrkr444, on January 27, 2012 at 04:13 pm, said:

Whats wrong with being Canadian?

Nothing, you need to read every post IN CONTEXT.
The Italians are calling Marchionne a Canadian because they think he is moving Fiat HQ to North America.
Marchionne has started calling himself Canadian in his press conferences to lessen the impact of Chrysler building Dodges and Jeeps upon Italian platforms. The joke, if you need it diagrammed was in reference to OF and Marchionne not getting the advertising gist in America because they are not Americans...it was satire...
If you read all of the posts and the accompanying background you will (maybe) get the irony...and the humor.

Edited by MoparNorm, January 28, 2012 at 04:50 pm.