You can take Cadillac out of Detroit, but you can’t take Detroit out of Cadillac

By now you might all know about Detroit getting gutted once again by industry flight. 

This time it’s not the auto industry splitting town, but the ad industry. GM dropped its long-time local creative agencies and hired out-of-town shops, which means lots of Detroit creatives are losing jobs and production companies and other vendors may be shutting down. 

Lots of Detroit creatives are losing jobs and production companies and other vendors may be shutting down. 

I just did a call with some of my favourite EPs and producers, and they all let me know, “Most of us probably won’t be here next week.” 

Above: Detroit, the Motor City, is once again facing turbulent times. 

Social media is buzzing with anti-GM vitriol, mostly from locals who feel they’ve been left behind, abandoned. They argue they weren’t dropped for lack of creativity, they were dumped for political and money reasons by a new CMO regime that is beholden to the GM bean counters. 

The GM decision has been made. The deed is done. The question is, how do we move forward?

It’s down and dirty, for sure but, as a local, long-time Detroit commercial director, I’m here to say, quoting Lord Tennyson: “Ours is not to wonder why, ours is but to do or die.” The GM decision has been made. The deed is done. The question is, how do we move forward?

The advertising and creative scene in Detroit has been around a long time, for as long as cars have been rolling-off the assembly lines. My production company (and coffee shop), Eightfold, occupies a former film studio space that had been in constant operation since the 40s. Next door is the old PearlX studio with a basement film morgue that has hand painted 8mm, 16mm and 35mm films. Nearby is The Jam Handy, a legendary former film studio and, across the street, is the Howrani Studios, still in operation and hanging on. 

Above: "The advertising and creative scene in Detroit has been around a long time, for as long as cars have been rolling-off the assembly lines."

According to my friend and colleague Stu Moutrie, Detroit’s historic expertise and consistent 'Midwest work ethic' will keep this town alive. He is now an EP at VML in Chicago, on their Mazda account, but he’s been close to GM for quite some time. As far back as 2004 he worked with Campbell-Ewald on GM’s Chevrolet business, and was still there in 2010 when they lost the business after 91 years to Publicis in Seattle. 

"This balance of blue-collar work ethic coupled with great creative ideas is what the Big Three automakers thrive on and still need." 

“I think what works best for most GM brands is that Midwest work ethic that you only truly realise is a ‘thing’ once you start working with people on the coasts,” Stu told me. “So many people in LA and NYC, over the years, would remark on how much they loved working with most people from Detroit, because we bust our ass, we have strong creative sensibilities, and we treat people with genuine respect and empathy, especially our production partners. And this balance of blue-collar work ethic coupled with great creative ideas is what the Big Three automakers thrive on and still need.

Above: 2012's Chrysler spot, It's Halftime in America, saw Clint Eastwood reference Detroit's fighting spirit. 

Another colleague and friend, Craig Crawford, a brilliant creative who led the Cadillac business at Leo Burnett Detroit for two years before his role was eliminated by the brand’s departure, also gets down to earth on the issue: “Geography is not the issue. It is the culture,” he wrote me. “When men first walked on the moon, they did it clumsily, because they had spent their entire lives in Earth's gravity, and the moon's gravity is different. 

"So, it's impossible to replace the instinctive understanding of generations of talent who grew up in the gravity of General Motors. Now, these are skills that can be learned, and these nuances can be appreciated over time, but make no mistake, the difference is cultural. If you want to succeed in Detroit, you must have grit, determination and a point to prove. Detroit creativity isn't about beauty and vanity, it's about survival. In Detroit, your success is in your fight.”

You can take the advertising business to other agencies outside this city, but you still need this city to make great work. 

It’s true. You can take the advertising business to other agencies outside this city, but you still need this city to make great work. You still need our deep talent base of local creatives and filmmakers, long immersed in Detroit’s automotive culture, and the creative infrastructure at their fingertips. 

You still need access to General Motors facilities. The cars and the design are still happening in this city. They do most of their shoots on their own tracks, in their design buildings, in their facilities. A lot of the GM work I’ve done over the years has been interviewing engineers and other people who are a part of their operations. They’re not going to fly them out to California for an interview. They’re going to have to do this work in the city.