BY JULIE HINDS
DETROIT FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER
The script for the TV ad is meant to provoke. "I helped hijack an airplane," says one sports-utility vehicle driver. "I helped blow up a nightclub," says another.
The closing message: "What is your SUV doing to the world?"
The commercial, one of a series set to run in January, is a parody of the Bush administration's ads linking drugs to terrorism, says syndicated columnist Arianna Huffington, a familiar TV face from shows like "Politically Incorrect."
But Huffington's aim is serious. She's out to convince the public that guzzling gas poses a threat to national security. Along with Hollywood heavyweights like producer Lawrence Bender ("Pulp Fiction") and environmental activist Laurie David (wife of comedian Larry David), she's founded a nonprofit group that's behind the ads.
Clearly, she wants the Motor City to listen up. Her group, originally called Americans for Fuel Efficient Cars, is changing its name to the Detroit Project.
Speaking from her Los Angeles office this week, she talked about her campaign and her own switch from an SUV to a hybrid car.
How did this ad campaign start? In a column I did in October, I ended with a rhetorical question: "Anyone willing to pay for a people's ad campaign to jolt our leaders into reality?" When I wrote that, I did not intend to start a campaign. But I was inundated by over 5,000 e-mails from people saying, "Where do I send my money?" It really hit a nerve.
Why take an approach with these ads that's likely to alienate and offend SUV drivers? On the contrary, I think once people connect the dots, they'll make different choices. That's what happened to me. I was driving a Lincoln Navigator at 13 miles a gallon. It was after Sept. 11 when it really clicked in. I was taking my children to school in the carpool and I saw all these SUVs, one in particular with four American flags on it. And I thought, "Well, it would be much more patriotic to actually dump the thing."
Wouldn't doing that be unrealistic for most people? We realize people have leases, that people cannot literally give up their SUVs. We're asking them the next time they're getting a car, to think about what car they are they going to pick.
Who do you hope to reach with these ads? We have three target audiences. One is the consumer, who really has only been exposed to the other side, to the massive advertising promoting SUVs.
The second is Detroit. If Detroit wanted, they could be producing hybrid SUVs. Beautiful hybrids, different styles. The technology is there, the entrepreneurial spirit is there, why don't you make this a priority? That's really our question to Detroit.
The third is our political leaders. They have a huge responsibility here. For one thing, they've given no serious tax credits or incentives to automakers who would use the (hybrid) technology.
Are SUVs destined to become the new fur coat, in the way furs were targeted by animal-rights activists? There's a fundamental difference here, which is we want to inspire and encourage people. We don't want to demonize SUV drivers. Some of my best friends drive them. A friend picked me up for a hike in an SUV; that's fine. I'm not going to make her feel guilty. I'm just going to talk to her, see if she can see the point we're making.
You compare the mood of your SUV campaign to the consciousness-raising of the designated driver campaign.
That is exactly our model. The designated driver campaign was intended to change the public perception of drinking and driving. There was a time when getting loaded and getting behind the wheel was cool, macho. Then it became anti-social. With luck, we want the goal of our campaign to be that getting behind the wheel of a loaded gas guzzler will not be seen as cool. We want it to undergo the same transformation.
Up until a year ago, you drove a Lincoln Navigator. Now you drive a Toyota Prius, a hybrid car. Do you miss your SUV? Not at all. At first, when my two daughters got in (the Prius), they were making fun of my little car. "Mommy, this is like a golf cart with a hood." They're 11 and 13, so they weren't happy. But now, the car has become the cool thing at their school.
If you had 5 minutes to plead your case to a top automaker, what would you say?' I'd say, "Please be a patriotic leader." One of the three big Detroit automakers, I hope, will see this as a huge opportunity to become the new Henry Ford, to capture this national moment and be the pioneer. I would say, "This is going to be a win-win. This would be a huge boost to your bottom line, as well as a huge boost to the public interest."
DETROIT FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER
The script for the TV ad is meant to provoke. "I helped hijack an airplane," says one sports-utility vehicle driver. "I helped blow up a nightclub," says another.
The closing message: "What is your SUV doing to the world?"
The commercial, one of a series set to run in January, is a parody of the Bush administration's ads linking drugs to terrorism, says syndicated columnist Arianna Huffington, a familiar TV face from shows like "Politically Incorrect."
But Huffington's aim is serious. She's out to convince the public that guzzling gas poses a threat to national security. Along with Hollywood heavyweights like producer Lawrence Bender ("Pulp Fiction") and environmental activist Laurie David (wife of comedian Larry David), she's founded a nonprofit group that's behind the ads.
Clearly, she wants the Motor City to listen up. Her group, originally called Americans for Fuel Efficient Cars, is changing its name to the Detroit Project.
Speaking from her Los Angeles office this week, she talked about her campaign and her own switch from an SUV to a hybrid car.
How did this ad campaign start? In a column I did in October, I ended with a rhetorical question: "Anyone willing to pay for a people's ad campaign to jolt our leaders into reality?" When I wrote that, I did not intend to start a campaign. But I was inundated by over 5,000 e-mails from people saying, "Where do I send my money?" It really hit a nerve.
Why take an approach with these ads that's likely to alienate and offend SUV drivers? On the contrary, I think once people connect the dots, they'll make different choices. That's what happened to me. I was driving a Lincoln Navigator at 13 miles a gallon. It was after Sept. 11 when it really clicked in. I was taking my children to school in the carpool and I saw all these SUVs, one in particular with four American flags on it. And I thought, "Well, it would be much more patriotic to actually dump the thing."
Wouldn't doing that be unrealistic for most people? We realize people have leases, that people cannot literally give up their SUVs. We're asking them the next time they're getting a car, to think about what car they are they going to pick.
Who do you hope to reach with these ads? We have three target audiences. One is the consumer, who really has only been exposed to the other side, to the massive advertising promoting SUVs.
The second is Detroit. If Detroit wanted, they could be producing hybrid SUVs. Beautiful hybrids, different styles. The technology is there, the entrepreneurial spirit is there, why don't you make this a priority? That's really our question to Detroit.
The third is our political leaders. They have a huge responsibility here. For one thing, they've given no serious tax credits or incentives to automakers who would use the (hybrid) technology.
Are SUVs destined to become the new fur coat, in the way furs were targeted by animal-rights activists? There's a fundamental difference here, which is we want to inspire and encourage people. We don't want to demonize SUV drivers. Some of my best friends drive them. A friend picked me up for a hike in an SUV; that's fine. I'm not going to make her feel guilty. I'm just going to talk to her, see if she can see the point we're making.
You compare the mood of your SUV campaign to the consciousness-raising of the designated driver campaign.
That is exactly our model. The designated driver campaign was intended to change the public perception of drinking and driving. There was a time when getting loaded and getting behind the wheel was cool, macho. Then it became anti-social. With luck, we want the goal of our campaign to be that getting behind the wheel of a loaded gas guzzler will not be seen as cool. We want it to undergo the same transformation.
Up until a year ago, you drove a Lincoln Navigator. Now you drive a Toyota Prius, a hybrid car. Do you miss your SUV? Not at all. At first, when my two daughters got in (the Prius), they were making fun of my little car. "Mommy, this is like a golf cart with a hood." They're 11 and 13, so they weren't happy. But now, the car has become the cool thing at their school.
If you had 5 minutes to plead your case to a top automaker, what would you say?' I'd say, "Please be a patriotic leader." One of the three big Detroit automakers, I hope, will see this as a huge opportunity to become the new Henry Ford, to capture this national moment and be the pioneer. I would say, "This is going to be a win-win. This would be a huge boost to your bottom line, as well as a huge boost to the public interest."