Chrysler is still a brand that seems to be comfortable with a dark
and brooding urban presence, as exemplified in its "Imported From
Detroit" campaign. But increasingly, the city it's representing isn't
just Detroit. And now it's Gotham City — as in the New York of fables in
the Batman comic-book and movie series.
For the July 20th release of The Dark Knight Rises, the final piece of the Warner Bros. prequel trilogy, Chrysler has launched an "Imported from Gotham City" contest that allows fans to help create an original co-branded TV spot featuring Chrysler and Batman.
The Dark Knight Rises Director/Producer/Writer Christopher
Nolan will select the winning ad, which will debut on TV to help promote
the release of the film, and welcome the winner to the red carpet at
the movie's NYC premiere.
Contestants can use a "suite of assets" including Chrysler 300 car
footage, clips from the film, and music stems from the trailer. They'll
have until June 29th to remix everything for their own stab at a
25-second TV commercial. Chrysler will reveal its own 30-second
co-branded spot using the "Imported from Gotham City" tagline, which is
set to debut Tuesday night on NBC while a 60-second spot will run on the
brand's YouTube channel.
“The 2012 Chrysler 300 featured in this marketing and advertising
campaign was created intentionally to look as if it could be driven on
the streets and fit in to the nightlife of Gotham City; it’s clearly a
vehicle that stands out and makes one take notice,” stated Saad Chehab,
President and CEO of the Chrysler Brand, in a press release.
Affiliating with The Dark Knight Rises is an interesting strategy for the Chrysler brand. It has been veering away from its 2011 Super Bowl Eminem-rapped "Imported from Detroit" positioning since its Clint Eastwood-narrated
"Halftime in America" follow-up debuted during the 2012 Super Bowl.
"Imported from Gotham City" seems to be an attempt to squeeze a little
more life out of a mood that performed wonders for revitalizing the brand but is becoming, well, a bit tired.
But there's nothing in the movie business like riding the Caped
Crusader's tails: The Batman movie franchise alone has been worth an
estimated $2.6 billion worldwide since the 1989 release of Batman.
And the Chrysler 300 featured in the Dark Knight campaign indeed has
the feel of something that Batman might have driven in his early years,
before the Batmobile — an urban and slightly overstated vibe that, in
the car's comeback incarnation several years ago, bordered on "gangsta"
styling.
Of course, when it comes to the Batman franchise, you can't expect
Chrysler to have the Gotham cityscape all to itself as the sure-to-be
summer blockbuster looms. PepsiCo's Mountain Dew brand already is cross-promoting the movie's launch, including announcing a website with four different "environments" that tie into The Dark Knight Rises.
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