Stellantis exec behind Eminem Detroit ad gets Advertising Hall of Fame nod

It was 2009, and Olivier Francois recalls that “everything is collapsing.”

The global chief marketing officer for Stellantis and head of the company’s Fiat brand is describing this moment from the past, when he was a newcomer to the United States, standing before an audience in New York last month for his induction into the American Advertising Federation Advertising Hall of Fame.

He’d arrived at Detroit Metro Airport, and a voice over a speaker said, “Welcome to Motown.” That prompted a momentary worry that Francois had taken the wrong plane.

That moment, however, highlights some keys to success for Francois, who was appointed that year to head the Chrysler brand and was also lead marketing executive for the Chrysler Group, according to his biography, at a time when the future of the American auto industry looked bleak.

It was the “power of arriving without the baggage of preconceived notions” and the power of being blissfully unaware of convention, he said.

Those qualities led to trying things that hadn’t been done before, like a two-minute Super Bowl commercial in 2011. That award-winning spot, called “Born of Fire,” showing a resilient Motor City and Eminem in a Chrysler commercial, was as much about the city as it was about a car. It was created in partnership with the Wieden+Kennedy firm in Portland, Oregon, and introduced the “Imported from Detroit” tagline.

In the years that followed, Super Bowl Sundays featured other big names and messages in Fiat Chrysler commercials from the likes of Bruce Springsteen, Clint Eastwood, Bob Dylan, Bill Murray and even voices from the past of Paul Harvey and Martin Luther King Jr.

In Detroit, 'You see the poetry of things'

Controversy followed in some cases, but all made a splash, in part because a number of the artists were known for typically refusing to appear in commercials.

Francois’ acceptance speech during the “biggest night in advertising” — he was one of seven inductees — allowed him to showcase a lively and lighthearted video made for the occasion seeking to answer the question, “Who is Olivier Francois?” A litany of Hollywood and music industry notables from Ben Stiller to Bono to Sean Penn to Sting offered accolades and some amusing stories along the way. His close friend, the musician Shaggy, handled the introduction.

In a call with the Free Press this week, Francois discussed his award as well as the inspiration that Detroit offered to a Frenchman who was unfamiliar with the U.S. market when he arrived from Europe.

“The city inspired me as it can only inspire probably a non-Detroiter. You see the poetry of things, the romanticism of things. I can’t really speak to Paris, France, because I probably don’t see the romance you guys see when you go spend a few days,” he said.

Francois, who now lives in Miami, said he should probably be sharing his award with his old boss, the late Sergio Marchionne, who made a “bold choice” to bring someone to the United States with a “very fresh set of eyes.” Marchionne, he said, provided the right dose of support and pressure.

A shift to the 'big net' of social media ads

“And he always told me, he said, 'Olivier, this is an experiment. It may really not work and no offense if it doesn’t. I’ll send you back, and you’ll still have a great job,' which is, by the way, the reason I was also a brand CEO for all these years. It was a kind of a fallback plan.”

In his discussion with the Free Press, Francois was able to highlight both of his roles as he discussed a new campaign with the Rosewood Creative agency for the electric Fiat 500e, starring star Spike Lee and Giancarlo Esposito.

Francois noted that the “Italy in America” ad spots offered plenty of opportunities for unscripted moments to the two longtime friends, with Esposito playing up his half-Italian heritage to the initial consternation of Lee.

The campaign is geared toward social media channels rather than TV, which, Francois said, is “like throwing a big net hoping you catch that one fish.”

TV, while effective, isn’t necessarily efficient, Francois said, and the company is trying to be smart and efficient.

A digital campaign also ties in with how the 500e is positioned, not as a mass appeal vehicle for the U.S. market, but as one targeted for city dwellers in places like New York, California and Miami. Fiat has a significant global presence but has been a low seller for years in the United States. Still, Francois said that if the volumes grow, perhaps TV will follow, but for now, that’s not the plan.

The 500e is geared toward the customer who can afford a second car and has a taste for European stuff, and it’s lightweight and agile enough to make city driving fun, Francois said.

One of the selling points is that parking on a city street isn’t the issue that it would be in some large SUV. That’s demonstrated in one ad called “Bigger is … Bigger,” where a 500e slides easily into a parking spot beside a gelato cart that a much larger SUV couldn’t manage.

That SUV, which Francois acknowledged was a Cadillac Escalade, could just as easily have been a Jeep Grand Wagoneer, he said. The point wasn’t to slam a competitor but to show that vehicle being challenged by a little Italian car.

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Contact Eric D. Lawrence: elawrence@freepress.com. Become a subscriber. Submit a letter to the editor at freep.com/letters.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Executive behind Eminem Detroit ad now in Advertising Hall of Fame