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Consumers Respond To Eminem-Chrysler Ad

DETROIT (WWJ) - The Eminem-Chrysler ad made a big splash among Super Bowl viewers as well as Detroiters -- but what about Chrysler dealers?

Walled Lake Chrysler dealer Bob Shuman was at a conference in San Francisco at the time the ad hit the air.  He tells WWJ Newsradio 950's Ron Dewey he knew there would be a big commercial by Chrysler-- but he didn't know what to expect beforehand, let alone after.

"The whole room kind of got silent and we all just kind of stood there and watched it, all being people from Michigan and Detroit -- and it just seemed to resonate with everyone in the room," Shuman said.

"Then, immediately afterwords... a couple of minutes later, all our phones started to go with Facebook updates, you know, messages and text messages from customers and from friends saying what a great spot it was," he said.

"We got a lot of comments and questions and people in the showroom Monday,  Monday night being one of our bigger nights during the week. We got people in here looking at 200s. And that's what a spot is supposed to do -- so, so far it's been very successful," Shuman said.

Shuman said their first sales call Monday morning was an inquiry about the Chrysler 200 in direct response to the two-minute Super Bowl ad.

The ad -- entitled "Born of Fire"–was shot entirely in Detroit, and used Detroit-based voice actor.  It showed the city as hard-working and gritty.  There were a number of familiar scenes, culminating with Eminem walking into the Fox Theatre. 

See the video and listen to Jeff Glibert's interview with Melissa Garlick, Chrysler Advertising manager, at this link.

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