- Mark Dolliver

NEW YORK Let's face it: People aren't uncritical fans of advertising in the best of circumstances. But advertising by a company that has gone bust? You'd expect to find scant enthusiasm for such efforts, and that's what you do find in a poll conducted for AdweekMedia among LinkedIn members to assess sentiment toward advertising by a bankrupt Chrysler (before the company began to make its quick U-turn out of that status).

Respondents were asked to complete a sentence beginning, "A bankrupt Chrysler's new ad blitz will," with the choices being "ignite a brand comeback," "turn off consumers" or "have no lasting impact." It should probably count as good news for Chrysler that "turn off consumers" ran a distant second to "have no lasting impact" (17 percent vs. 69 percent). Then again, fewer still (12 percent) predicted an ad blitz would "ignite a brand comeback." (For full results of that poll, go here. And to participate in another ad-related LinkedIn poll for AdweekMedia, go here.)

With a bailed-out Chrysler functioning as something of a ward of the state, respondents in Washington, D.C., might have taken a significantly more indulgent view of an ad blitz by the company. But they didn't, as 78 percent said it would have no impact, 12 percent said it would turn off consumers and 10 percent said it would ignite a brand comeback. Respondents in Detroit had an above-average number saying an ad blitz would start Chrysler on a comeback (20 percent). But it also had an above-average number saying such an effort would turn off consumers (21 percent).

Engineering professionals who participated in the poll said a bankrupt-Chrysler ad blitz was more likely to turn off consumers than to ignite a brand comeback (14 percent vs. 11 percent). Marketing professionals, by contrast, were almost twice as likely to foresee such a blitz sparking a comeback (17 percent) as alienating consumers (9 percent).

Women were more likely than men to say such an ad effort would turn off consumers (23 percent vs. 15 percent), though they were also more apt to say it would spark a Chrysler comeback (14 percent vs. 11 percent).

In a breakdown of the findings by age cohort, the 35-54-year-olds were the most likely to say such an ad effort would have no impact (73 percent). The 18-24s were the most likely to say it would turn off consumers (22 percent), while the 55-plusers were the most likely to say it would ignite a brand comeback (16 percent).


Related:

"Chrysler Launches Brand Blitz"

 "Chrysler Fallout Sign of Things to Come?"

Join the Chrysler discussion on TweetFreak