Panned by ad critics but popular with consumers, Chrysler's $100 million ad campaign starring Dr. Z may not be resuscitated, following a two-month suspension. The automaker is focused on its clearance
sale and new model launches this fall. Chrysler says the campaign will continue in some form, but might not feature new appearances by DaimlerChrysler AG's chairman and CEO Dieter Zetsche. "If we do
more of the same, people would say it was boring," says a spokeswoman. Millward Brown Research found that 76 percent of consumers who intended to buy a vehicle in the next 90 days said the ads were
memorable, and 73 percent said they understood that Chrysler's vehicles combined the best of American and German engineering and design. The Dr. Z ads also had 43 percent higher brand recall and 63
percent higher message recall than other Chrysler ads. But critics pointed to studies showing that many people didn't believe Dr. Z was a real person. Other observers feel that the days when CEOs like
Wendy's Dave Thomas or Chrysler's Lee Iacocca ruled the celebrity ad roost are over. "We are not in an era where CEOs are seen as rock stars," says Richard Edelman, president and chief executive of
the Edelman public-relations firm.
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