You've probably seen the recent DaimlerChrysler commercials trying to promote the "best of German and American engineering." The new "spokesperson" of this integration is Dr. Dieter Zetsche, affectionately known as "Dr. Z." I thought he was a fictitious character when I first saw the commercials, but it turns out he really is the chairman!
But now, DaimlerChrysler has launched a website that actually turns Dr. Z into a fictitious character. An animated "Dr. Phil" of the car industry, if you will. You can find the site at: www.askdrz.com. I have a few issues with the site.
First off, why the animation? It's totally inconsistent with the overall campaign. I get the feeling that some lawyers got worried about this stuff coming off as Dr. Z's actual opinions. Clearly, we can't let executive types actually SHARE their opinions...
Second, these answers aren't spoken. They're just written out. How boring. We see an animated "avatar" of Dr. Z right there... he even moves around a bit, but he doesn't speak. That's just creepy.
I'm chalking this one up to a good idea that fell by the wayside in execution.
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