You know-that mustachioed german guy who drives jeeps into walls? then snaps “any more questions? Auf wiedersehen”! I though the ads were pretty eye catching… and a german exceutive with a sense of humor? (“it’s a joke…”)-priceless!
He might be thinking of selling Chrysler.
Maybe these folks or this guy or maybe even this guy at Sports Illustrated told Chrysler to pretty please try to come up with a more original moniker for their flacks.
Well, since Dieter Zetsche has a REAL doctorate (in engineering) he probably has a bit more right to the name.
That’s a good question. Sure, he’s an actual Dr. Z, but does that give him, in a legal/trademark sense, the right to the name after others have trademarked it? Assuming one of those other folks has trademarked it, that is. Maybe it’s OK to have numerous Dr. Z’s as long as they’re in different fields, as all of these are.
Auf Wiedersehen!
The ads tanked. Most people thought he was a fictional character, not the real head of the company. Sales plummeted. They’ve stopped the ads and are considering a new direction.
I don’t think the American consumer bought into the German engineering angle. It seemed like a strange way to go for Chrysler at the same time Japanese auto ads are promoting their American factories. Buy American is still a pretty strong concept.