First US Ad For the Fiat 500
The Fiat 500 is not a new car. At least, it’s not a new car elsewhere in the world. You can buy one in Vietnam, in fact. But by many estimations, the reborn Cinquecento’s US debut is aimed squarely at MINI in its largest market. The actual threat from Fiat’s throwback-mobile is a discussion for another post. What we have here is the first bit of advertising for Fiat’s foray back onto American soil, and it’s hardly threatening. Frankly, it’s a bit of a mess.
The ad is a string of rather uncompelling clichés that aren’t just implied, but actually spelled out explicitly across the screen in big letters. The production value is kinda there — in as much as it’s at least nice b-roll. Bottom line, it’s a pretty good example of the difference between being cool, and saying that you’re cool. While it couldn’t rightly be said that every single MINI ad has been brilliant, thinking back to how MINI debuted on US shores, I can’t help but chuckle a little bit. For me personally, those early MINI advertising efforts went a long way toward peaking my interest in the car. I doubt any future Fiat 500 owners will look back at this ad and think, “Yeah, that was the moment.”
<p>I agree with you Nathaniel. This looks like an ad for Target. They should have talk to Don Draper before releasing this thing…</p>
<p>Yeah, the add sucked. I did like all the FIAT badges over time though…. But then “the SUV backlash starts now” sucked for me as well. I had an SUV before my MINI and still do….</p>
<p>Matt</p>
<p>La bella macchina Cinquecento! Actually I thought the advert was not bad. Not gangbusters but just trying to establish a feeling for the brand upon its return to the USA. It doesn’t matter if the Fiat is available in Vietnam or anywhere else. For the USA market the car is essentially “new” just as the MINI was back in 2002.</p>
<p>Fiat and Mini/MINI have coexisted and complemented each other in the international market for a loooong time. And 500 Abarths are “cool”. I think there is room for both vehicles without one brand or the other feeling threatened and the MINI owners I know are interested in the Fiat as a complement and not as a replacement. I don’t think there’s too much to worry about honestly and although this post is ostensibly about the production value/quality of the advertisement and not about marketplace positioning I can’t help but come away still feeling that the subtext is actually about MINI’s superiority (to be expected on a MINI centric site) – hence the Fiat’s “threat” value as subtext.</p>
<p>I’m a car aficionado first and foremost and I’m all for a bit of Italian flair in the marketplace downmarket from supercar territory. Heck, I may even add an Abarth SS if/when that comes to the USA. The Fiat would NOT replace my R53 John Cooper Motorsport modified JCW.</p>
<p>I’m reserving judgment to see how Chrysler/Fiat will do with the overall marketing of the car before dismissing the initial effort.</p>
<p>Cheers.</p>
<p>we got to see one up close at SEMA. It actually looks much better in person than in pictures. Will I trade my MINI for one? no.</p>
<p>Actually, looks like an ad for Health Insurance with all the generic footage of “lifestyle”. Fonts used were really weak… it was as if someone just learning Final Cut put it together for their freshman year MarCom class.</p>
<p>Let the competition begin!</p>
<p>Great little cars that are in many ways much closer to its roots than the MINI is. Both are great cars for sure but likely to be very similar to Europe where the 500 has taken a healthy bite out of MINI’s base cars. As a advertising I don’t think its horrible. Does not hit the highs of some of the great adds MINI has done, yet still light years ahead some of the turkeys that MINI has produced. If I were Fiat I would be on the doorstep to the advertising group that MINI used for the first many years that did some great hits.</p>
<p>No competition at all.</p>
<p>The Mini Cooper /-S is better about everything, the higher price is logical. End of the story.</p>
<p>horrible ad, and even if i’m italian, horrible car. based on a panda, try to drive it.. very cool looking externally, and nothing more, sadly.</p>
<p>Has this been confirmed as a legit ad? It looks like something someone put together with the video editing software that came with their PC… They just discovered the kaleidoscope feature and went overboard…</p>
<p>Lisa: OK, I finished editing the gardening sequence. . .
Homer: OK, from here we star wipe to a glamour shot of Flanders paying his bills, then we star wipe to Flanders brushing his teeth…
Lisa: Dad, there are other wipes besides star wipes…
Homer: Why eat hamburger when you can have steak?
Lisa: I’m taking my name off this thing.</p>
<blockquote>No competition at all.
The Mini Cooper /-S is better about everything, the higher price is logical. End of the story.</blockquote>
<p>You don’t believe it will take sales away from MINI? It’s happened in Europe.</p>
<p>Hard to watch and almost embarrassing. I can’t remember the last time I saw that many overt cliches in a automotive commercial. Truly bottom feeder advertising. Clearly Fiat has either the wrong agency and/or the wrong people working on this business. Likely both.</p>
<p>The video is laughable. Clips of almost any product could have been inserted where the car sequences are shown. Bad advertising aside, the car is just plain fugly!</p>
<p>I’d bet that isn’t an ad – looks much more like the kind of video ad agencies put together for pitches to set the tone for the creative to be presented. Now, even those videos – some are good, some aren’t. and this falls into the “aren’t” bucket – but it’d be very surprising if this was meant for public consumption.</p>
<p>Bad commercial or not, with Mini’s countryman direction, trading my Cooper S for a smaller Cinquecento sounds more and more appealing. I have seen them in Europe and they look amazing. They also are known to be quite a blast to drive. Thank you FIAT.</p>
<p>I’ve seen worse ads from MINI the past couple years than this – guess it depends on what side of 20 you are on.</p>
<p>What side of 20 would you have to be on to think this is good advertising?</p>
<p>The recent MINI ad mimicking one of those commercials for collections of old corny music is one of the worst ads I’ve ever seen. It was just stupid and an embarrassment for MINI owners. After that I can’t really complain about this Fiat ad, or any other for that matter.</p>
<p>The AD said more about lifestyles than driving cars. Sort of dumb… The phrase of, “Fix It Again Tony”, is looming large on the horizon!</p>
<p>I like some Fiat cars but this just doesn’t do much of anything for me. The add should have found the car’s “money shot” or maybe I missed it. I just saw an eco car putting around side roads…</p>
<p>Horrible ad. I hardly saw the car until about 2/3 of the way through, even then only glimpses.</p>
<p>That was really pretty terrible! I thought the only part of the commercial that was good was the segment at the very end where we saw all the various FIAT emblems from the last xx # of years. To me that communicated heritage. Aside from that, I have to say EPIC FAIL!</p>
<p>Super disappointing commercial. Actually makes me less interested in the car. Also, showing 2 motorcyclists riding without helmets would never fly in the US TV spot. And, why doesn’t the Fiat USA site have any real specs for the car?!</p>
<p>Have to agree that while this is VERY mediocre, MINI ads since 2002 have not been any better. The badge montage was pretty cool, though. Did I miss the Abarth scorpion?</p>
<p>For me “the moment” with MINI was that 2002 JCW Tuning Kit video with the Mike Cooper voice over and the BRG/W Cooper S. Very pedestrian production value, but some good mechanical p0rn. It made me WANT one so bad. So bad, in fact, that I ordered one and then watched the video 1000 times while I waited for it to arrive.</p>
<p>Kills me that I cannot find that video anywhere. Anyone?</p>
<p>@Melis, That is not necessarily true. Here in CT. we have no helmet law for Motorcycles. Motorcycle ridersride around with Sunglasses and Bandana’s.</p>
<p>This seems to be more a FIAT ad then a 500 ad per se. It’s (re-)introducing FIAT as a brand to the USA. It’s not so much to sell the 500 in my opinion. I saw a 500 in September in Montreal on display. It’s a nice little car. It will definetely cut some into the mini pie. If I was buying right now rather than a year ago I’d consider one</p>
<p>Talk about rip off Mini intro video you find on YouTube.
Where is the creativity people?</p>
<p>It’s cheesy alright, but the last Countryman teaser ad wasn’t much better either … similar stuff just slightly more polished.</p>
<p>RKW yes it will take sales away from Mini, those customers who would buy a One/Cooper just for the look</p>
<p>Plenty of customers don’t care about what the Mini is made of, just the look : and the Fiat is brand new, not the Mini anymore</p>
<p>The Audi A1 is the real danger for Mini…</p>
<p>Gosh, I thought it was fine.</p>
<p>Not sure why it has to be compared to any MINI ads? What’s the point?</p>
<p>@…Nathaniel & Gabe…. though I value your opinions I think you are both off base here. Bashing Fiat ads because they aren’t as quirky as the MINI ads. Nor do I see the missing quality that you both seem to find? Maybe Fiat doesn’t want to do quirky ads, we all haven’t loved all MINI ads now have we.</p>
<p>Fluffy Macy’s style advert for sure but I found them as these models are [Lounge, Pop, Sport] light. Now if the Abarth ads aren’t a bit more aggressive I’ll be let down.</p>
<p>Saw them at the LAAS… a bit of a let down compared to the build quality I saw in Holland last year. If they still are a crappy build when the Abarth shows it’s head in the USA, I won’t buy, as planned.</p>
<p>My thoughts, RB</p>
<p>RB,</p>
<p>It’s a terrible ad completely on its own merits. Neither Gabe nor I made a direct comparison to any MINI advertising. Nor did either of us actually say anything about the quality of MINI advertising past or present.</p>
<p>I mentioned in the post that MINI advertising helped get me interested in the car, but that’s it. The “bat boy” cover of the Weekly World News made me laugh, which is why I linked to it, but I’m not making any sort of apples-to-apples comparison. This ad isn’t bad because it’s not the way MINI does things. It’s bad because it’s a messy string of clichés, and poorly executed to boot.</p>
<p>This one came out pretty good … it has a bit of old school Italian vibe to it</p>
<p><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z3xtyPbAlkM" rel="nofollow ugc">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z3xtyPbAlkM</a></p>
<p>On another point… “Actually makes me less interested in the car”… HUH!?
A commercial would decide whether you buy a car… Boy I really don’t get that, at all???</p>
<p>Nowhere near as clever as MINI’s “Bobby in America” ad. But, I can see where this Fiat ad does a decent job of introducing an affordable Italian brand to the US mass market.</p>
<p>No, its not very good. You go from these clips of people living a spirited life to the 500 just driving down a road – not doing anything exciting like the people that this is supposed to be pitched at? I got a complete disconnect between the car segments and the lifestyle segments.</p>
<p>They had a grain of an idea here – they hinted at the italian people having a verve for life. They could have played that up with images of italian street festivals and soccer fans mixed in – and if they wanted to take a shot at Mini they could contrast that with stuffy Londoners. But they totally missed the target here.</p>
<p>That is a terrible ad. It seems to me Fiat may have focus grouped it without all the call outs and respondents may have said they didn’t understand the ad. Hence, all the call outs.
To your point, the ad is a mess. I don’t see what about it is Italian. Where’s the great food, the great wine, the great car marques?
Blech!</p>
<p>Very boring ad that misses a real opportunity to launch this car in the N.American market. Not sure who the ad agency is doing this but they should be sent home to “think about what you’ve done” and not come back until they can name the following issues:
– italian culture is about passion and all sorts of “fine living” items (food, coffee, vespas, etc.) but to summarize it as just that seems like a trite commercial for a third-rate “Italian travel package”.
– car shown in white?! really? not red which not only is associated with all sorts of italian hardware and fashion (and the ad makers knew this because they do show a bunch of that colour including the screen template…) but also JUST SO HAPPENS to flatter the 500 much more than appliance-boring white (which emphatically does not flatter it the way it did the original cinquecento)?
– that Moby song utterly sucks (on its own and definitely used in this application)… and was played out and lackluster on its release… no matter it’s Moby it also happens to be a track that is commercial top40 “indie” sounding… this matters a LOT.
– font is wrong… looks like font used in an Ikea or Target commercial or perhaps for a second-rate show on FoodNetwork.</p>
<p>To be fair, they got one segment right – the logos evolving over time was cool and shot well.</p>
<p>Overall this ad is utterly lacking in “edge”… it looks like how toyota would try to communicate with how they perceive the target demographic… the ad is UTTERLY MAINSTREAM and dare I say it SUBURBAN in its sensibilities… any one who actually does consider themselves remotely “edgy” or at least independent-minded and even was predisposed to like the 500 because of its small size (something MINI could take a lesson from, frankly) just cringed when they saw this ad. :)</p>
<p>But whatever, I do like this car quite a bit (in red!) and look forward to taking an essesse model out for a proper tear at my local dealer and comparing it to my beloved (and missed!) R53 JCW.</p>
<p>I loved the video clips strung together but don’t know what they have to do with an automobile.</p>
<p>What does FIAT stand for anyway? Fix It Again Tomorrow?</p>
<p>That ad was really uninspiring and seemed quite amateur in execution. On the whole MINI vs. 500 debate… the real clincher for MINI will be its range in cars and bigger sizes. Americans still have a fear of small vehicles, and for some, even a MINI is too small for comfort. Most will probably look at the FIAT and like its looks, or what have you, but will be completely turned off by its tiny size.</p>
<p>I heard that “this video is for promo use at auto shows and will not be broadcast on TV (either edited or in full).” Not exactly an ad, more of an atmospheric piece since the car will probably be sitting right there.</p>
<p>I saw this car in person at the LA Auto Show. I’m sorry but this car truely reminds me of an actual clown car – shape and size. With the Fiat 500 on the road, our MINIs will not be referred to in this way anymore!</p>
<p>fix it again Tony ~ fiat</p>
<p>Charlie while we are talking less than reliable history would have to point out not taking a head gasket with your classic Mini on a trip would be plainly silly. Yes its true that Fiat has a storied past in the states Mini wasn’t known for its awesome reliability either.</p>
<p>Today however they do a decent job producing a good quality car. Can say if you wonder about MINI in comparison just look to the number of issues over the years with all sorts of issues from the R50 on.</p>
<p>I think that gokartride is correct that this is not ment for a commercial but rather for the autoshow circuit.</p>
<p>I went to the LA autoshow and they had a Fiat 500. I actually thought I would like this car when I saw it in person. I had liked all of the pictures, etc that I’ve seen on the internet.</p>
<p>However, in person it didn’t do anything to keep me interested. Once I got inside, it was much worse. cheap plastic in the mini? well get ready for cheaper and worse fitting plastic interior of the 500.</p>
<p>The final straw for me was the seats. You sit so high that any headroom space you think you might have due to the tall roof line is erased. I personally like to sit as low as I can in my cars and I felt like I was in a minivan when I sat in the 500. For the record I spent good 15mins trying to adjust the seat to go down lower.</p>
<p>I’m not trying to say the 500 sucks or that mini is perfect. Just that in my opinion, the 500 didn’t do anything for me and that the mini is far superior when it comes interior material/fitment and the seat/seat positioning.</p>
<p>oh my friend who is 260lbs felt the seats were more comfortable than the mini to which i agreed… except for the very high sitting position to which he agreed.</p>
<p>Wow just simply wow! I have never seen so much ignorance and utter disdain but I see right now in these comments. Look its not MINI okay we get it. I understand brand loyalty but, damn ripping on a new comer with no knowledge of how Fiat builds cars now is a little over board. Go to Fiatusa.com and just see the price of one and some of the options you can get on one. I tell you the big one that MINI is going to have a hard time competing with is the stand alone WIFI. It won’t help Fiat in the fact of small car market because companies like Smart who just are not practical for the US market but, they have and brace yourselves old school Fiat loyalty. I don’t know if this ad is real don’t real car because there is one thing that is very true about it and that is “some people just live their lives and others take control of their lives and live with passion” sounds pretty damn much like what a lot of MINI people do. I see now why my friend hates MINIs he says we are starting to turn into to a bunch of uppity Evo drivers.</p>
<p>@Mark Smith I ride and I know some states don’t have helmet laws, but 20 states require helmets, 27 require riders under 17, and 3 have no laws. I don’t remember seeing more than a few commercials with riders not wearing helmets.</p>
<p>@DUDE! Commercials are supposed to get you interested in the protect they’re selling. I’ve watched the Fiat 500 being reviewed and the only one I’d consider is the Abarth. I’ve seen the 500 at NY Auto Show and it was on a rotating platform with Booth Babes. I think they were the only manufacturer rocking Booth Babes that were for ‘display only’ How cliche. Ya, sure the other companies had them too, but at least they could talk about the cars and not just to be in the photos.</p>
<p>There are other cars other than the MINI and yes, the 500 isn’t a MINI, but maybe they’re just trying to be some other small car than someone considering a Cooper because its small, not because its fun would consider buying.</p>
<p>I hear where you coming from Tryon, for me MINI has been more about the smile on my face than any sort of uppity view about the brand. I did not buy the car because of any commercial rather as a major fan of the original I fell in love with the redesign the first time I saw a image of the concept.</p>
<p>I am quite sure there will be a loss of sales to those looking for something eclectic. MINIs are not Honda but they are anything but uncommon these days.</p>
<p>In 1976 I bought a new 1975 131 Brava 2 door sedan. I liked the car very much. I was a poor man’s BMW 3-Series. However, the reliability was suspect. I had it for 4 years. It went through 3 master cylinders, a seat of seat covers (they flaked like dandruff), 4 timing belts and the doors rusted. After waxing, the paint would oxidize in about a month. But, it was fun to drive. It has been a while since Fiat exited the US market (about 1980, I think) so maybe there are not that many people who remember that they left under a cloud…</p>
<p>DUDE(RB) and Tryon, Thank for your writing it. This site (comments and opinions by both editors and posters) has turned into snob city (was that way for awhile back in 2005 too then got better).</p>
<p>“If it ain’t a Mini – it’s no good” – motto on here by many. Owners of other car brands I’m sure feel different.</p>
<p>Well there are a lot of Italians in Italy who love the cars as MINI has taken a dive there since they were introduced.
Once I was told by a wise man “never rubbish the opposition. Just say yours is better than their’s.”
Remember this car was designed by none other than Frank Stephenson!</p>
<p>Not quite as cutesy but this ad reminded me of the Dodge Neon ads with the “hi” theme aimed at girls. History seems to show that cars advertised to guys will also sell to girls but far less guys will buy a car targeting girls. In my opinion, that is the problem with this video.</p>
<p>@ GregW – Good quote and good philosophy… wish politicians did the same thing (not “rubbishing” their opponent but rather showing they are better). But overall I think few MINI owners are rubbishing the 500. Myself, I’m very keen to drive it. I love the way it looks more than the current R56 hatches, inside and out – it simply has more and better detailing and is reminiscent of the R53 cars that Stephenson wowed the world with. I don’t expect it to drive as sporting as a MINI, mind (especially due to the seat height apparently feeling like it is several metres off the ground).</p>
<p>But the ad is a miss. :)</p>
<p>Laaaaaaaame…. Let’s try again FIAT!</p>
<p>MELLIS…. I loved the early MINI commercials, but really would never have any commercials dictate my buying of anything… That being said I do allow design to dictate my choices and have been stung by that need many times. I saw my 1st MINI in Germany back in early 2002 and went home and bought one 2 weeks later, never saw a MINI commercial until 6 months after that.</p>
<p>Nathaniel… I looked at the commercial again and really don’t see all the flaws that you, and so many others are slamming. And, personally, I do still think you are comparing it to MINI’s brand, though I will say maybe I misspoke suggesting some of what I did.</p>
<p>You all have the right to like or dislike anything you want… I’m just stating how I feel as a designer and a “Car Guy”… I liked the ad, you didn’t well OK then, that’s why it’s called comments not agreements. Do I think someone I respect is way off base… yup!</p>
<p>Whoever did the song sounds like Matt Damon when he did the theme for the Bourne movies…</p>
<p>The 500 is a big succes over here in Europe. But is in a totally different league then the Mini. There should be room for them both. A shame that they didn’t use the ad that we had 2 years ago.</p>
<p>For the record folks, I think the Fiat 500 is a very cool little car. Its lines were penned by Frank Stephenson, the same guy who designed the R50/R53 MINI. I’m glad it’s coming to the states, as we need all the interesting cars we can get. <strong>This post was supposed to be about the ad, not the car.</strong> I want Fiat to have better advertising than this. Period. Hell, I want <em>every brand</em> to have better advertising because it’s my profession and it makes watching TV more fun.</p>
<p>I mentioned MINI’s advertising not because it’s 100% always brilliant (which it isn’t and few have been more critical of it in the past than yours truly), but because <em>this is a MINI-oriented website.</em> What other context should the discussion be in? Lastly, we’re not the only automotive blog covering this. Fiat’s taking a beating over how bad this ad is all over the internet. So while I’ll proudly count myself a big fan of MINI, that has nothing to do with why I think this is a bad commercial.</p>
<p>I’ll take this one, please.
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UpAFi9nIJVQ" rel="nofollow ugc">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UpAFi9nIJVQ</a></p>
<p>this doesn’t look like an actual ad to me – it looks like an internal sizzle piece for a marketing presentation or company meeting. we make a ton of these every year for the network where I’m employed. the song is a dead giveaway. this is to make the company feel good about themselves and the new product they’re bringing to the US market. besides the kaleidoscope graphics, there’s nothing appealing to the consumer.</p>
<p>Yeah, definitely looks like a bunch of idiotic stock footage.</p>
<p>That said, I’m pretty excited about test driving an Abarth whenever they show up.</p>
<p>Kinda reminds me of the ads used for the SMART fortwo!</p>
<p>The Ad sucks, but the car is very cool. I checked one out at the LA autoshow. My wife really wants one, so looks like the MINI will be sold or traded in for one and I’ll get something else later while I drive her R32.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>@…Nathaniel & Gabe…. though I value your opinions I think you are both off base here. Bashing Fiat ads because they aren’t as quirky as the MINI ads.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Re-read. I’m not comparing it to anything. I’m just saying it’s embarrassing as someone who is a Creative Director at an Ad Agency.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Nor do I see the missing quality that you both seem to find?</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Well…</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Maybe Fiat doesn’t want to do quirky ads, we all haven’t loved all MINI ads now have we.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Who’s asking for quirky? I wrongly assumed it would just be something of quality. This first one clearly isn’t.</p>
<p>“This post was supposed to be about the ad, not the car. I want Fiat to have better advertising than this. Period.”</p>
<p>True, but sometimes I wonder if the advertising people have a whole different understanding of the product than their customers do…</p>
<p>Well the ad has been taken down so I missed it. But when I searched for FIAT 500 spot USA Automobilismo I found <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xp1Dcz0KEdM" rel="nofollow">this.</a></p>
<p>Is it the same thing? Anyway of the one that I had found, I think that it is more saying this is who we are as a company. Get to know us. They have an opportunity to define themselves before the blogs say Hey, I had one 20 years ago and owned it four years, three head gaskets, rusted to heck but it was fun to drive.</p>
<p>That is my take on it.</p>
<p>As always, quality blog, top notch reporting.</p>