America’s Big Three automakers once sold over 90% of the cars in this country. Today, the three of them account for less than half of the total market share. We all know the story of how the Big Three lost their way, churning out ugly, unreliable, and boring automobiles for the last few decades of the 20th century.
No company has had a harder time than Chrysler, and everybody knows it. So rather try to hide their troubles in their marketing ploys, Chrysler is embracing the tough road they have gone down. This latest commercial, “See It Through” does a great job of delivering that narrative.
Set to a classic blues riff, the commercial begins with a credit to Edgar A. Guest, an English-born American poet who as a boy moved to Michigan in 1891. Growing up in the crucible of the American auto industry, guest worked as a reporter for The Detroit Free Press up until he died. His poetry was at once sentimental and optimistic, and this particular poem, “See It Through,” could not have been better tailored to Chrysler’s recent troubles.
The commercial itself features the Chrysler 300. But it really could be about the whole American automobile industry, and if you ask us, its the best commercial Chrysler has put out since the original “Imported from Detroit” piece.