Honda, Toyota, Subaru, Nissan, Mazda; American car companies have always had fierce competition with their Japanese counterparts. But the American car company Chrysler is trying to change that with the recent release of a very clever commercial for their 2015 Chrysler 200 that respectfully acknowledges Japanese quality while at the same time turning heads in their own direction.
The commercial features a car being driven though very Japanese-esque landscape, shows a koi pond, cherry blossoms and iconic red bridges. The song, “The Fire” by The Roots adds to the Japanese atmosphere. Then, spoken in Japanese with English subtitles, a voice-actor lists off traits often attributed to Japanese brand cars, “Quality;” “Craftsmanship;” “Innovation;” “When a thousand-year-old culture uses state-of-the-art manufacturing…” This is when everyone is thinking, “Yeah, yeah, this is an ad for a Toyota or Honda.”
▼ Hey, that’s not a Japanese car logo!
But no! “Wait… what?!” The voice actor is even confused, “This is a Chrysler?!”
An American announcer then goes on to explain that Chrysler is back in business and better than ever, ready to out-perform their long-time competition from abroad. Yet, the commercial implies that part of their motivation was to reach and surpass the high-standards set by “Japanese Quality” (as the commercial is dubbed) vehicles. Very classy, Chrysler.
▼ Chrysler’s new catchphrase: “America’s Imports.”
I tip my hat to Chrysler for this one. Charming, respectful and overall very cute and well done. It not only appeals to Japan-fans, but it fits in quite well with Japanese humor too. A job well done!
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