Note the lack of tire tracks, or is that a mirage too?
The Fiat brand in North America launched a new global advertising campaign with Sean “Diddy” Combs this month dubbed “Mirage.” The ads introduce the latest Fiat 500L tagline, “Unbelievably Big,” which given the size of the still tiny car is the latest advertising stretch of the truth beyond the stretch of the car. (See FIAT USA YouTube page)
With two more doors, accommodations for five, smallish people and 42% more interior space than the regular 500, it’s hope that the larger car will boost sales from the 36,000 500 models sold during 2013, which represented a -18% decline year-over-year. So far in January 2014, the newly introduced 500L has sold 729 compared to its intro late in 2013 when 7400 were delivered.
In the new commercial, two guys, lost in the desert, see two Fiat 500Ls pass by, one with “Diddy” inside, who calls out to them, but they dismiss him as a mirage. The pair ultimately stumbles upon a desert oasis where an unbelievable party is in full gear. “Diddy” greets them and encouragingly says, “Welcome to the soiree.”
However, the pair rejects his invitation to the party, attributing the whole thing again as a mirage, after pointing specifically to the Fiat 500L, believing that “Fiat doesn’t make a four-door car.”
About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, editor and publisher of AutoInformed, is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn.
He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe.
Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped during a downshift and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap.
AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks.
Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.
