Jennifer Lopez and Chrysler may have deceived customers in a Fiat 500 commercial that's essentially about authenticity. Specifically, The Smoking Gun is reporting that instead of using the real Jennifer Lopez in a recent ad for the 500, Fiat used a body double for scenes filmed in her old neighborhood. "Jenny from the Block?" Not so much. Update!
The commercial is called "My World" and it shows a smiling and "inspired" Lopez driving from the glossy world of Manhattan back to her real old neighborhood in the Bronx, where barbers chop hair all day long and happy black children play in fire hydrants.
Fiat's Olivier Francois explains how all of this plays into Lopez's life, and the Fiat brand:
"The commercial tells the story of how the simple elements of our upbringing can help explain who we are, where we're going and serve as a source of inspiration to achieve our goals in life. That drive and determination is the comment thread that is shared with the Fiat brand..."
Apparently, all those "simple elements" convinced Lopez it's probably best to avoid the Bronx altogether as well-documented by TSG in interviews with individuals who appear in the video.
A close look at the commercial shows a lot of close-ups of Lopez and a few long shots, but nothing indicating she's actually there — you know, on the block.
We expect this from car companies, sure, but not from the woman Chrysler describes as an "actress, entertainer, philanthropist and entrepreneur" — Jennifer Lopez.
UPDATE: Fiat confirms Jennifer Lopez wasn't there in their own PR-speak way.