Sunday Times report on Chrysler South Africa’s complaint to the
Advertising Standards Authority.Chrysler South Africa has lodged an objection against rival Mahindra South Africa’s advertisement claiming that its vehicles are better than the iconic American Jeep. Chrysler SA is accusing them of “abusing the trust of the consumer and exploiting the consumer’s possible lack of experience, knowledge and credulity”. The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has yet to issue a ruling on this complaint.
Chrysler SA’s national brand manager Guy Franken states that “Mahindra briefly held a licence to build a small part of the world’s Willys production in the late ‘40s. Consequently, any role in the development of vehicles is incredulous”. They believe that vehicles should be sold on current merits and value propositions rather than tenuous and brief historical associations.
Mahindra SA’s chief operating officer, Terence Gregory, said the company has contested the objection to its advert. He argues that by 1964 Mahindra had produced over 50 000 Willys Overland Jeeps and that many of their products have been based on the original proven design. The company stated in a “Public Declaration of Fact” print advert that it had defended the content and the accuracy of its heritage advert and is confident the ASA’s ruling “will be in our favour”.
