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Mitsu Who? Well, now we' ve really gone and stuck our foot in it. Last week, Adrants broke the story of our Mitsubishi pitch and once again our servers were awash with visitors from McCann, Interpublic, Deutsch, and every other agency who might be considered and interested party. We also got peaks from Ford and Mitsu's former overlords DaimlerChrysler AG. |
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But we are only going through all of this for you guys, our loyal weekly readers. So we dropped the Mitsubishi part of the column out for the first two days after the Adrants story, so they would come visit and find bupkis. Then we popped it in. Heh, heh, heh. Anyhooo, we pulled out the big guns this week and drove our 12 Mitsubishi' s up Pacific Coast Highway to Monticito and a three day intensive work fest which yielded a BFB (Big Fucking Brainstorm). It's huge, boys and girls. Totally awesome, dude. My teeth are still chattering from the magnitude. |
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I love to read your e-mail. Is it real or do you make it up?.- JoyAnne C, Allentown, Pa. I could never make up a name like JoyAnne-HW |
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I notice that right after you cover a story or write about something in your column all these big companies in that industry get listed as readers. Is the readers list bull**** or can you really tell who comes to your website. If so, what program tells you that kind of stuff-Dan M, LasVegas NM Urchin Web Stats. -HW |
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And brother if anybody ever needed a BFB the folks at Mitsubishi Motors, Japan's only money-losing car makers, are the ones. Here' s a little backstory. By now you all know that Ian Bevis, their head marketing guy bailed a few weeks ago. Last week, Diane Hong, their head of advertising followed suit. Kevin Mayer, formerly product marketing manager, has been named her successor and he will now oversee the review, according to AdWeek. But that' s the least of their problems. Back in Nippon, the former president of Mitsubishi Motors and the former chairman of its truck unit are on trial separately for two fatal accidents, which are suspected of being caused by concealed defects. Both have pleaded not guilty. In one accident, a wheel fell off and crushed a pedestrian. In the other, the brakes failed and the driver died after crashing into an embankment . Recently, hard pencil boys, Phoenix Capital Partners bought out DaimlerChrysler AG (38% of their 40%. ) Phoenix, backed by Chase Morgan, has been known to tighten the screws when it comes to driving down costs. Factories are being closed in Japan, Australia and here in the U.S. That pesky though landmark sexual harassment suit from a few years back keeps surfacing in the news. An anticipated restructuring plan was postponed this week for the third time. And now there seems to be the spectre of Nissan creeping up on the horizon. Meanwhile, new CEO, Mr. Finbarr O'Neill, who was credited as the "Golden Boy" in the Hundai turnaround, is firmly in control of the ship that seems to be taking water from enraged dealers, sub-basement sales figures and a disastrous zero percent interest, no money down and no payments for a year program that left the company holding the bag for a fleet full of repos. Mr. O'Neill is counting on a three-year reorg plan to make Mitsubishi rebound to profitability by 2007 from an expected $1.1 billion loss this year. As Automotive News put it, "things can only go up from here." Mitsubishi has seen its U.S. sales fall from 345,111 units in 2002 to 256,810 last year. It's on track to sell only 164,300 vehicles here this year, with 11-month sales of 150,458 units. Mitsubishi plans within a year or so to introduce vehicles including a new pickup truck based on the redesigned Dodge Dakota, a sporty new station wagon and overdue sporty Eclipse coupe and convertible, although some have reported it may have been pushed up by at least 6 months to mid year. The first thing Mr. O'Neill did on his watch was institute a10-year/100,000-mile powertrain warranty program, which had worked like gang-busters when he was at Hundai and is touted to do even better at Mitsubishi, based on fairly low "things gone wrong" ratings on most of their models. This should go a long way towards rebuilding consumer confidence. Mother Mitsu back in Japan is very ego involved in the success of their automotive nameplate and has rallied their various corporate entities and zaibatzu brothers in support of their fallen comrade. Mitsubishi Tokyo Financial Group, and others are reportedly mulling providing ´100 billion (R5.5 billion) in aid. However, history does not hold proof of tolerance for money pits at the mother ship. Once upon a time there used to be an American operation called Mitsubishi Cellular. They had a long string of promising joint ventures with majors like Microsoft and AT&T. But after a six year run in the cut throat telecom biz the parent company handed them their short sword and instructed them to climb Mt. Fuji. Corporate Seppiku. Their operations were taken over by Mitsubishi Electric and they sunk beneath the waves leaving nothing but the hollow hulk of a dead website. The stakes are high, no doubt. The "DoubleThink" team has opted to cancel their Holiday plans and work through the end of the year to have our campaign ready for the world to see on January 18, 2005. Mitsubishi spokeswoman Janis Little said Mitsubishi Motors North America is "refocusing efforts on marketing, with an emphasis on sporty performance and style. We don't intend to compete directly with outfits such as Toyota and Honda. Our vehicles are for those who are young or young-at-heart -- who want something a little different, with more style and design features.'' On the other hand, auto analyst Gordon Wangers, president of California's Automotive Marketing Consultants and son of our buddy Jim Wangers ( "Godfather" of the first Pontiac GTO) said, Mitsubishi "doesn't have many media dollars to work with.'' Word-of-mouth thus is partly needed to help sell Mitsubishi vehicles.". As we see it, Mr. O'Neill has less than 90 days to come up with a BFB that can turn his business around. I don' t know what kind of silliness the big guys are going to Pass off as "genius," but I do know this. "Doublethink" is right now sitting on the sho' nuff' really-dealie blockbuster for the Mitsubishi nameplate. So if you know Mr.O'Neill, suggest he get with us before we release it to the world, so he can still get to take credit for it.
What Makes A Guy Like Me, A Guy Like Me? It's funny, how at the end of the year, people always seem to think about beginnings. A lot of the people who read this column, or blog, or whatever the hell it is, spend a considerable amount of time, wandering around the archives. Who knows what they hope to find? Anyhow, I've been getting a handful of questions about how I got started in this business, so against my better judgment and since this is the last column of the year, here goes. First of all, what I am about to tell you is the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. Or at least one of the truths. I guess I should start with letting you know which one. Having a rich fantasy life, I find it difficult to maintain the concept of absolute truth for fear of tipping myself over into self-destruct mode and going supernova before sunset. So my truths seem to run in two and sometimes three or even four somewhat parallel tracks. Professional Truth ( I am what I do) Personal Truth ( I do what I want) Social Truth ( I am not alone in the world). Generally I can keep these three realities somewhat balanced with the more troublesome Dark Truth (I don't give a fuck). So here is how these truths ( which are not necessarily self-evident) have played out thus far, to get me where I am. This is the Professional Truth. I was born and raised in one of the most violent, crime ridden armpits in America. Newark, NJ. When, is none of your business. My mother was determined that I would not suffer the fate of the generation of subteen felons that made up my contemporaries. She sent me to a less poverty-stricken area to go to school. This meant I had to walk three miles through the criminal zone to get an education and three miles back to get home. My real education came as a result of the journey. Every day I got my lunch money lifted. Every day I went hungry. One day I decided to leave my lunch money at home. That's when I found out how the world worked. From that point forward, every day I got my ass kicked by the kids who had come to count on me for their lunch money. Cause meets effect. Fortunately I learned the importance of saving money-even under duress. When I saved up ten dollars, I went to a hardware store and bought an 18" length of lead pipe and had them drill a hole in one end. Through this hole I strung a length of clothes line just long enough to tie around my wrist. The next day that I encountered my assailants, I dropped the pipe out of my coat sleeve and began swinging it at anything that moved. Four thugs went to the hospital that day. The fifth thug became my best friend and protector until he was killed in an armed robbery attempt three years later. Once I had secured my right to earn money, I began to use my artistic abilities to paint signs, pinstripe cars, and ultimately to design safety posters for the Lackawanna and then the once-mighty Pennsylvania Railroads. Because I was now accepted by the criminal element in my neighborhood I also began a thrilling, though short-lived career as a sub-teen car thief. As a result I became the wealthiest kid in my neighborhood and a chronic truant. My mother, realizing I lacked discipline in my life promptly sent me to Catholic School. The first time the Nun showed me her paddle, I snatched it out of her hand, through it out the window and walked out of class. My mother, not one to give up easily, then enrolled me in Arts High School. Good choice. I immediately added to my riches by becoming an artistic gun for hire, doing other kids homework in exchange for their weekly allowance. At 15 I got bored and ran away from home to work on the railroad. My job designing safety posters took me as far west as Chicago, as far north as Boston and as far South as Washington, DC. One day, while traveling to DC I chanced to meet Congressman Adam Clayton Powell. He was impressed with my ability to draw, undisturbed by the rocking of a 90mph express train. He asked me to join him for lunch in his offices on Capitol Hill. I was now 16 and not easily impressed. I declined. A nearby Porter pulled me into the parlor car bathroom and asked me if I knew who I had been talking to. I shrugged. He informed me that Powell was the most powerful member of Congress and a confident of the newly elected President Kennedy. I wasted no time rectifying my mistake. Over lunch Cong. Powell told me that earlier that day a Church in Birmingham Alabama had been bombed and three little girls had lost their lives. I was the end of November and the Congressman wanted to send a Christmas Card commemorating this tragic event to the other members of Congress and the Senate. I told him I would do it right there in his office and later that night it was on the GAO presses. What I didn't realize was that the landmark Civil Rights Bill had just been introduced into Legislation, right before the Holidays, in hopes that the membership would ignore it on their rush to get home for Christmas. That Christmas Card forced the issue and was instrumental in getting the Bill through Congress before the close of session. I had learned that there was power in my artistic ability as well as a means to earn a living. I had also learned the value of powerful friends. The next day I went back home to finish my education. Two years later, while working on the March On Washington for Cong. Powell I met Smokie Robinson backstage at the Howard Theater. He and Levi Stubbs of the Four Tops were engaged in a heated debate pertaining to the fact that the Four Tops debut album had been held up from distribution because Bernie Yezin, Motown's off again, on again Art Director had not been to work for the past three weeks. Of course I chirped up and said I could do them an album cover over night. Being just a kid, they all laughed and went back to their discussion. Obie Benson, one of the Tops didn't laugh. He gave me three of their lobby shots and told me to meet him the next day. I did. They were blown away. Within 24 hours I was on a United Flight headed for Detroit and my first real job. Art Director of Motown at 19. The rest as they say is history. Have a Joyous Holiday.
Stay Tuned. |
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