Fiat Upstages Rival With Google Street View PR Stunt

Source: MSNBC.com

Fiat went global with a brilliant PR stunt that piggybacked on the all-encompassing reach of Google.

According to several reports, the Italian automaker pulled a fast one on one of its biggest rivals, Volkswagen, with an especially clever use of Google Street View. Fiat learned when a Google Street View car was going to pass by Volkswagen’s Swedish headquarters in Södertälje and parked a Fiat 500 by the front doors. So now if you search for the building on Google Maps via Street View, you’ll get a nice look at the Fiat 500.

Unfortunately for Volkswagen, there won’t be an opportunity to blot out the Fiat from Street View until next year, when the Street View car makes its rounds once again, according to Gawker’s cars Web site Jalopnik.

This may have been intended as just a smart little prank to play on its chief rival, but the news coverage that the stunt has generated must be coming as a happy surprise to Fiat. The company elected not to comment on the matter when Resume.se asked about the ploy, which in itself may be another smart move. Just let the news and the laughs play themselves out.

Follow Sahil Patel: @sizpatel

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