Chrysler dealers, psyched by the Super Bowl spot featuring rapper Eminem, are trying to turn the commercial's buzz into sales.
They are buying local ads, blasting e-mails to customers, printing T-shirts and reaching out to customers in other ways to ride the wave.
The commercial, created by Chrysler's new ad agency, Wieden + Kennedy of Portland, Ore., has been viewed more than 5 million times on YouTube.com. The spot -- an anthem to the tenacious spirit of Detroit and its comeback-minded auto industry -- combines gritty scenes of the city, Eminem and his music and a compelling new tag line for the brand: "Imported from Detroit."
After selling a Chrysler 200, which was featured in the commercial, the day after the Super Bowl, dealer Tom Vann fired off e-mails to 10,000 potential customers.
The next day a woman who had received one of the e-mails bought a 200.
"We never sold Sebrings," says Vann, who owns Team Hillsdale Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep in Hillsdale, Mich. "Now -- boom, boom -- we sold two 200s this week." The 200 replaced the Sebring.
Following is a roundup of how dealers reacted to the commercial -- and how they are trying to turn the spot into sales.