According to Autonews, the two companies may end their collaboration when the current contract will expire, in January next year. The rumor was denied by a BBDO representative, but drew no reaction from Chrysler, who is in a type of "silenzio stampa" until its newly approved five-year business plan is announced on November 4th.
The rumor about the two taking their own, separate paths has been around since September, when Chrysler announced it plans to hire new advertising agencies for creating a fresh boost in the fourth quarter. This shortly led to speculation that BBDO is on its way out. As a result of this endeavor, Publicis & Hal Riney received a Chrysler contract, while Richards Group got control of the Dodge Ram truck strategy.
BBDO was responsible for the advertising campaign of the new Chrysler. They are the ones behind the "We're building a new car company" slogan. When the ad campaign was launched, it was a bit blurry and forced Chrysler to explain why the main image of the ad featured two concepts and only one production car.
"The ad is intended to remind customers and the general public that the company is still in the business of selling cars, SUVs, minivans and trucks, despite announcements last week regarding the Fiat alliance and bankruptcy filing," Chrysler said at the time.
Meanwhile, Fiat did take control, although officially it is the minority shareholder. Some two weeks ago, the company's new CEO met BBDO Worldwide's CEO, Andrew Robertson, leaving even more room for speculation that the contract may be over.
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