Auto Industry Fuels Detroit Creativity

  You have to be in Detroit to understand it’s virtues as a vibrant, creative environment. The auto industry has produced a long, established sense of power and style on the world stage, from the actual designs of the cars to the creative industries they affect.

If you're in advertising and new media communications, Detroit is a Mecca. As the home of the American automobile industry, Detroit plays a major role in the world of advertising. And it's even more pronounced in the online arena. I am surrounded by the leading edge of new media communications as digital companies have sprouted up to service the massive budgets the auto industry has pumped into the online environment.

The city has an obvious love affair with the automobile. The city understands better than any other advertising capital the nuance of one’s relationship with one’s car and how that should be communicated.

I grew up in Detroit, but spent the last 20 years living in New York before recently moving back. Unlike New York, the Detroit advertising industry lives and breathes that phenomena everyday. And unlike Los Angeles, our city has had this relationship over many generations. The industry has produced a wealth of design talent that is produced and nurtured here. And that talent manifests itself in many different media. The power and innovation indigenous to the automotive capital of the world is not written about very often, but I have adapted very quickly to my new/old environment as a result of the ongoing creative stimulation that resonates in the area.

Car advertising is big business. This is The Motor City. This is Motown. We are the heart and soul of what’s hip at the nation’s collective core. As Detroiters we have to fight with every inch of our being to save the foundation of auto development as it morphs into the shape of cars to come. And we can't let the industry lose that essence of glamor or the power it brings us as Detroiters. When it's at it's best, it truly lives up to a full understanding of The Seduction of Style. It's what gives this city its vibe.

It's good to be back. Joan Abraham, Digital Account Supervisor

Comments

[M E B]

Like Denis Leary's latest book title "Why We Suck A Feel Good Guide to Staying Fat, Loud, Lazy and Stupid" - I think the auto industry and its agencies need to get a 'life makeover.' No diet. Just behavior modification. For years, we've believed we know cars simply because they were born here. Yet the pulse is faint. Hey, I love Detroit. And there is some damn good creatives out there. But change is needed. And whether we like it or not -- change is coming. And we need to realize we don't always get a trophy just for showing up. Somebody's gonna win and somebody's gonna lose.

[Mike McClure]

Good points, ME. It'll be interesting to see what happens today on capital hill.