New FIAT Ad

[sjmst]

Have you seen the ad on Youtube?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bXdaVgRysmE

Many people hate it!  

I don't think it is so bad, but looks like I am in the minority.

[FiatGal]

I think it's brilliant, but then I'm biased. It's the anti car ad. It' an ad about the people who drive the car, not so much the car itself. Sure: That's me. Maybe not doing yoga on a mountaintop, but close.

[Mike S]

There was a link here a few days ago for it. I think I like it but I think something more in your face like

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dwek-BZeQSE&NR=1 

would say "Were Back"! Fiat usually has some good commercials. I'll try to dig up "Fiat Summer" and post a link.

[sjmst]

Whaaa??!!!  

[ciddyguy]

sjmst wrote

Have you seen the ad on Youtube?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bXdaVgRysmE

Many people hate it!  

I don't think it is so bad, but looks like I am in the minority.

I think the idea is a good one, but the execution needs to be rethought out some, we hardly see the car, which is what  it's all about, but in this instance, I think what they are trying to convey is that Fiat is back, but without saying so, which they should've done and be a bit less oblique about the message other than the pure passion of life and a few glimpses of the car itself.

[Fiat500USA]

They are trying to spark interest and curiosity by just showing a taste of the car.  

Sell the sizzle, not the steak. Think of this as the first wisps of a beutiful aroma...

 

[sjmst]

Fiat500USA wrote

They are trying to spark interest and curiosity by just showing a taste of the car.  

Sell the sizzle, not the steak. Think of this as the first wisps of a beutiful aroma...

 

Well put.

[ciddyguy]

Fiat500USA wrote

They are trying to spark interest and curiosity by just showing a taste of the car.  

Sell the sizzle, not the steak. Think of this as the first wisps of a beutiful aroma...

 

A very good point but obviously, not everyone is getting it and I can see what they are trying to do but I still think the execution isn't working as well as it should for too many people are going what?

It seems in this country at least, subtlety does not always work, or so it seems.

[sjmst]

Yes. Though I have to say, you have to take reactions on the internet witha grain of salt. I read:
"The internet: Everyone is an expert and no one likes anything"
Some truth there.

[Fiat500USA]

There was an interview with Laura Soave where she described the marketing of the car. Of course I can't find it now(!). It was very interesting, and I think what you'll see in the beginning will be geared to get a conversation going.

The marketing will also be done in non traditional ways, so keep an eye out for that.

As for the commercial, it was about the joy of being alive and living life with passion. Living life in an Italian way, the Fiat way.

I thought it set the tone of the 500, a joyful, fun, cheery car. I liked it.


Also, I don't think they want to say "we're back".  Fiat is being marketed as a new brand. The "we're back" brings up conversations of the past and they are not going there.  I like the old logos in the commercial, I thought it was a nod to us old timers who know and for others it showed change and this is a new Fiat.  I think it was just enough.

[ciddyguy]

Fiat500USA wrote

There was an interview with Laura Soave where she described the marketing of the car. Of course I can't find it now(!). It was very interesting, and I think what you'll see in the beginning will be geared to get a conversation going.

The marketing will also be done in non traditional ways, so keep an eye out for that.

As for the commercial, it was about the joy of being alive and living life with passion. Living life in an Italian way, the Fiat way.

I thought it set the tone of the 500, a joyful, fun, cheery car. I liked it.


Also, I don't think they want to say "we're back".  Fiat is being marketed as a new brand. The "we're back" brings up conversations of the past and they are not going there.  I like the old logos in the commercial, I thought it was a nod to us old timers who know and for others it showed change and this is a new Fiat.  I think it was just enough.

What you are saying  may be true, that Fiat is trying not to revert back to the issues they  had in their past, especially here in the US where dealer support, build quality and general reliability were virtually non existent, which is understandable and on that ground, a valid concern and while it seems to be causing a lot of huh's? from many, the fact, as you say, it is causing conversation may be enough to get things started but still, the message could be a tad clearer so we know exactly what they are saying, that Italians love passion and live life that way. I agree, going back through their past logos is a nod to their history in general and that while they are NOT the Fiat we all once knew, they are still FIAT.

I can't wait to actually see a 500 in person early next year...

[Mike S]

I hope you can find the interview with Laura, was it the one in Detroit?

Yes, the commercial does set the tone I expect for the 500 and I think it will make people smile just like the (old) New 500. BUT, this company is not just "The Fiat 500 company". There are some excellent cars to come after this.
Is Fiat being marketed as a new brand? It's not a new brand, and everybody knows that. It was a good brand that stumbled a bit in the 90's. It was fine when Fiat was sold here and not really much different from the other brands sold in the same era. Rust? Yes, just like Ford and Chevy. How many Ford Pintos and Chevy Vegas do you see on the street from the 70's? I don't see any but I do see some Fiats, Alfas MG's and TR's. Those were all called crap too!

They may not want to say "We're Back" in a bold way but I think it is a mistake to ignore the fact that they were here in the past. "We'e Back", is that negative? Are you referring to "Fix It Again Tony" for FIAT? Shortly followed by "Found On Road Dead" (FORD) and other clever responses by people with nothing to add to any conversation except something they've heard? These are NEVER the people that anybody asks for an opinion when buying a car.

I found Fiat Summer, here is a link.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cu9Wi2CK2o4&NR=1
The Italian way.

[sam500]

*edit*

Just saw this yesterday, posted on the FIAT USA Twitter page in response to aolauto asking why no release dates.

@aolautos This was simply a promo video that was created to play exclusively at the #LAAS display. By no means is this our first public ad.
10:47 AM Nov 30th via web

From AOL:

Why doesn't the ad mention that the car will be available in the US? Assumed? http://aol.it/eYHtHf cc @fiatusa

[sjmst]

Wow, that IS interesting. That's probably good. The response seems heavily biased toward negative by friend’s, family and strangers.

BTW, I thought my twin 3 year old girls would be captivated by it (catchy tunes and images always "grab" them).
Nope. No interest. Now, they are not the target market, but still...

[Mike S]

That does make sense. But it's almost an ad.

We are so hungry for information that we jump on anything. How often have we heard that Fiat or Alfa is coming back next year? It's always "Maybe next year". Makes everyone feel like a Chicago Cubs fan.

We're tired of waiting, more scraps please.

[Fiat500USA]

Mike S wrote

I hope you can find the interview with Laura, was it the one in Detroit?

Yes, the commercial does set the tone I expect for the 500 and I think it will make people smile just like the (old) New 500. BUT, this company is not just "The Fiat 500 company". There are some excellent cars to come after this.
Is Fiat being marketed as a new brand? It's not a new brand, and everybody knows that. It was a good brand that stumbled a bit in the 70's. It was fine when Fiat was sold here and not really much different from the other brands sold in the same era. Rust? Yes, just like Ford and Chevy. How many Ford Pintos and Chevy Vegas do you see on the street from the 70's? I don't see any but I do see some Fiats, Alfas MG's and TR's. Those were all called crap too!

They may not want to say "We're Back" in a bold way but I think it is a mistake to ignore the fact that they were here in the past. "We'e Back", is that negative? Are you referring to "Fix It Again Tony" for FIAT? Shortly followed by "Found On Road Dead" (FORD) and other clever responses by people with nothing to add to any conversation except something they've heard? These are NEVER the people that anybody asks for an opinion when buying a car.

I found Fiat Summer, here is a link.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cu9Wi2CK2o4&NR=1
The Italian way.

The Laura interview was from a newspaper. It might have been a Detroit or Chicago paper.

The statement that they are marketing Fiat as a new brand was taken from the video interview on Autoline  Detroit.  I don't think they want to talk much about the past.  That's how I take it. We'll see the old 500 and Abarths, but I don't know about the 124s and 128s, etc.

Personally, I love seeing the old cars, for me, there's nothing to apologize for. They made some of the greatest cars in the 60s and 70s and I've been fighting Fix It Again... for years.

You know the cars, I know the cars, It (sadly) just might not be that relevant any more to most folks. I think they are going to spend most of their energy on the new stuff and might be afraid to bring up the past (I can understand their concern).

Having said this, the advertising blitz will start around March and who knows, maybe we'll see  124 Sport Coupes  and a 73' 124 sedan jumping from building to building.  I'll love every second!

[ciddyguy]

Fiat500USA wrote

Mike S wrote

I hope you can find the interview with Laura, was it the one in Detroit?

Yes, the commercial does set the tone I expect for the 500 and I think it will make people smile just like the (old) New 500. BUT, this company is not just "The Fiat 500 company". There are some excellent cars to come after this.
Is Fiat being marketed as a new brand? It's not a new brand, and everybody knows that. It was a good brand that stumbled a bit in the 70's. It was fine when Fiat was sold here and not really much different from the other brands sold in the same era. Rust? Yes, just like Ford and Chevy. How many Ford Pintos and Chevy Vegas do you see on the street from the 70's? I don't see any but I do see some Fiats, Alfas MG's and TR's. Those were all called crap too!

They may not want to say "We're Back" in a bold way but I think it is a mistake to ignore the fact that they were here in the past. "We'e Back", is that negative? Are you referring to "Fix It Again Tony" for FIAT? Shortly followed by "Found On Road Dead" (FORD) and other clever responses by people with nothing to add to any conversation except something they've heard? These are NEVER the people that anybody asks for an opinion when buying a car.

I found Fiat Summer, here is a link.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cu9Wi2CK2o4&NR=1
The Italian way.

The Laura interview was from a newspaper. It might have been a Detroit or Chicago paper.

The statement that they are marketing Fiat as a new brand was taken from the video interview on Autoline  Detroit.  I don't think they want to talk much about the past.  That's how I take it. We'll see the old 500 and Abarths, but I don't know about the 124s and 128s, etc.

Personally, I love seeing the old cars, for me, there's nothing to apologize for. They made some of the greatest cars in the 60s and 70s and I've been fighting Fix It Again... for years.

You know the cars, I know the cars, It (sadly) just might not be that relevant any more to most folks. I think they are going to spend most of their energy on the new stuff and might be afraid to bring up the past (I can understand their concern).

Having said this, the advertising blitz will start around March and who knows, maybe we'll see  124 Sport Coupes  and a 73' 124 sedan jumping from building to building.  I'll love every second!

I'm well aware of it's checkered past and recall 2-3 years ago being interested in seeing what Fiats were imported here and saw some of the then new models and was a bit surprised at what I saw then, cars looked less odd ball, if you will and looked much more modern than I recall them ever being but contrast that with what is currently on sale, they've come a long way.

That said, you make some good points but in the end, once they make a good impression (assuming that's the case), then they can delve into their past some because Fiat is NOT a new brand, but they CAN market themselves as a new rebranded(oh how I hate the term branding) company with new, exciting products and that they've shrugged off their checkered past by addressing the issues that plagued their older models, I mean, not only were they selling unreliable cars here in the US, but in Europe too for years so their reputation has indeed been a checkered one but I see them working towards erasing that distinction with new models that are also fairly reliable and I know it's easy to just try and forget the past ever happened but sadly, that can't be done and eventually, they will have to play into their past with some of the more iconic cars such as the 124, 124 Spyder, the 128, the 500 etc.

I think if they were proud of some of their past accomplishments, such as leading the way towards the modern FWD car we all know today with the introduction of the 128 in 1969  along with other innovations all while stressing that without those innovations, cars like the Fiat 500 being sold today would probably not have come to fruition so there is a fine line to tow here but in the end, I think gradually they will have to revisit the past in some fashion - especially if the demographic are those of us old enough to remember the old Fiat, for better or worse.

The main difference between Fiat and GM is that Fiat is willing to shrug off it's past and start anew with new manufacturing techniques, invest in new technologies etc and try to maintain a balance sheet and are doing everything possible to survive post bankruptcy and seem to be doing well working with Chrysler to help them, then it's worth investing in them, even if just to buy the cute little car if nothing else whereas GM still seems to be stuck in its old ways and nothing there has really told me they are really changing things significantly enough to sway me to look into their product. Ford has with the new Fiesta and I test drove that car last spring (nice car and like it) and I'm not a Ford fan to be honest but they garnered my respect for how they are doing about making changes necessary to survive.

Anyway, will be interesting to see how this plays out as the cars begin rolling into dealerships early next year.