The Paczki Principle
Have a cola and a smile.
A very likeable, sweet scent. Do the "smell" test!
Fizzy, with genius for marketing and a bit of a dark side — the world's most popular carbonated beverage or Lee Iacocca? This legendary auto executive, who helmed both Ford and Chrysler during his long career, was one of the most beloved, or reviled, personalities in Detroit.
The Pennsylvania native became a vice president at Ford at 36, and four years later made the cover of both Time and Newsweek for steering the new American muscle car, the Mustang, into a must-have frenzy. Aimed at young drivers — with the postwar baby boomers just turning 18 that year — the fast little Mustang featured a snazzy design and a lot of horsepower, and quickly became the emblem for the generation. By early 1966 the car had reached the one-million sales mark, and Iacocca was hailed as the genius behind the success.
Some at Ford later noted that design and plans for the Mustang were well underway within the company when Iacocca "found" it, and that he unfairly took credit for a launch that was not his due. Behind the scenes at Dearborn's Glass House, his only real rival for power at Ford was Henry Ford II, who made him president in 1970 and then unceremoniously fired him in June of 1978.
Undaunted, Iacocca took over at Chrysler later that year. It was a job no other auto exec in Detroit wanted to take, for the company was on the verge of bankruptcy. True to form, Iacocca was soon hailed as the No. 3 automaker's savior, in part by securing $1 billion in federal loan guarantees from the Carter Administration and Congress. Using the bailout money wisely, Chrysler launched the minivan in 1983. The economical, practical Dodge and Plymouth models once again demonstrated Iacocca's genius for tapping into the desires of the baby-boomer set, now preoccupied with growing families.
The star of company commercials for years, Iacocca has been the subject of numerous books, including his own best-selling autobiography, and was one of corporate America's first celebrity CEOs. Taking a page from Lido's famous marketing genius, if you can find a better candle, buy it!
