Chrysler Adds Eminem Mentor Dr. Dre To Its Advertising Ranks

Eminem and his mentor Dr. Dre will forever be linked due to their individual and combined accomplishments in music. Now the mentor and mentee will be linked yet again in another venture – this time not inside the studio but in the world of advertising.

Detroit rapper Eminem and his recent success as a pitch man for Chrysler has no doubt spawned the Michigan-based automaker to seek out the services of Eminem’s mentor Dr. Dre in an upcoming series of ads alongside lauded National Football League Detroit Lions defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh. Chrysler’s bold foray into incorporating the much maligned bad boy of hip hop as part of their current campaign has not only bolstered interest in the car company, but also has shaken up the advertising industry in a most stylish fashion.

Some will recall that Chrysler debuted their mid-size sedan model 200 vehicle in a two-minute clip during this year's Super Bowl Championship showing sweeping images of the working class city of Detroit, backed a hushed instrumental version of Eminem’s Academy and Grammy Award winning smash hit “Lose Yourself.” Featuring Michigan native son Eminem in the clip was a fitting marriage of triumph over despair, capturing a vision of redemption for Em and resilience for Chrysler.

Chrysler noted a spike in website hits and sales shortly after the ad was aired and reported earlier this month that March sales of the 200 sedan jumped to 191 percent from February – no doubt a result of their successful run with Slim Shady. Reports also state that while still a struggling carmaker, the company is showing signs of health again.

Chrysler hopes to duplicate that magic with Dr. Dre. In recent times a pitch man for soft drink beverage company Dr. Pepper and computer manufacturer Hewlett-Packard, the good doctor should be a natural at this by now as music has taken a bit of a backseat for the legendary producer although the long promised release of his final opus Detox remains eminent. Dr. Dre’s successful “Beats By Dre” headphone line also enjoys a firm place atop sales in the fast-growing high end headphone market.

What do you think of Dr. Dre joining Eminem in the Chrysler ad campaign? Is it a good look for Dre at this point of his long career? Tweet to us at @MTVRapFix or leave us a comment below.