kansaiwalker1

DETROIT -- Can bathroom humor help sell a new sport-utility vehicle?

Executives at DaimlerChrysler AG's Chrysler Group think so, and apparently are willing to offend some consumers to promote the upcoming 2004 Dodge Durango.

In a television ad set to air next month, two men standing side-by-side at rest room urinals are overheard discussing how "size" matters -- only the object of their attention is a Durango poster on the wall.

The spot is the latest in a series of risque Chrysler ads that have implied wife-swapping among minivan owners and sexual relations in the back seat of a Concorde sedan.

To be shown only on late-night television, the suggestive Durango ad is either a bold move to cut through the advertising clutter or a new barometer of questionable taste in automotive marketing.

A Chrysler spokesman said the ad, first reported in Automotive News, an industry trade magazine, is a tongue-in-cheek attempt to illustrate that the redesigned full-size Durango SUV is longer and wider than the model it replaces.

"The target market is primarily men and their interest in a bigger, all-new SUV," Chrysler spokesman James Kenyon said.

The intent is subversive, "wink-wink" humor, and Chrysler isn't concerned that some viewers might perceive that the company's ad strategy has gone into the toilet.

"I don't think we're worried about it," Kenyon said. "Nowadays, no matter what you do, someone is going to complain about a particular ad."

With its U.S. sales down 6 percent this year, Chrysler is banking on the Durango to rev up Dodge sales and prove that the automaker has exciting new products in the pipeline.

Large SUVS are one of the last bastions of profit for Detroit's automakers in the increasingly competitive U.S. market. Dodge, tempting buyers with rebates as high as $4,500, sold 85,308 Durangos through September, up 2 percent from last year.

But playing Durango for laughs in the men's room is hardly a conventional approach to launching a mainstream SUV.

"It's new, it's different, and it's definitely taking a risk," said Alan Beim, president of the Pacific, Calif.-based firm, Ads That Work. "The question is, will it get people talking about the car?"

Chrysler believes it will. The company has said the Chrysler Concorde spot that alluded to a child conceived in the car's back seat was successful in connecting with potential customers.

An auto dealer consultant said the stab at raunchy, sexually oriented humor underscores Chrysler's struggles in the marketplace.

"This is pee-pee humor at its worst," said Jim Ziegler, a columnist for Dealer Magazine. "It's a desperate move, and it's not really that funny a joke anyway."

Kenyon said the 30-second ad, one of four different TV spots for the Durango, will debut in November on late-night cable and network television.

"It's an ad that's more appropriate for an adult audience," he said. "We're going to put it in places where kids would be less likely to see it."


You can reach Bill Vlasic at (313) 222-2152 or bvlasic@detnews.com.

Risky ads


A risque TV spot for the redesigned Dodge Durango is the latest unconventional ad from Chrysler. Past examples:

A Chrysler Concorde spot made a subtle joke about a child conceived in the car's back seat.

A Jeep ad showed the driver of a Grand Cherokee, with what appeared to be freshly-killed deer strapped to it, stopping to release the animals in a no-hunting area.

Minivan advertising hinted at wife-swapping.

Source: Detroit News research