Jason Vines: 'What Did Jesus Drive'
Posted by John Minnis
Jason Vines, author of “What Did Jesus Drive: Crisis PR in Cars, Computers and Christianity,” was the guest speaker at Rotary of Grosse Pointe's luncheon meeting Dec. 8. He was introduced by John Conway. After the meeting, above, he signed his book Rotarians, including Lina Bowman, while Bill Scott looks on.
Tom Walsh of the Detroit Free Press called Vines "Detroit’s most provocative public relations showman in memory."
During his years as a public relations "fireman" for the automakers, Vines has found himself embroiled in many of the industry's biggest controversies — the Ford Explorer and Firestone, to name a couple. "I seem to always find myself in crappy situations," he told the Rotarians. He has even found himself outside the industry helping to clean up the tarnished images of the likes of Peter Karmanos of Compuware and Zondervan, the world's largest Christian bible publisher — hence the "Cars, Computers and Christianity" in the title of his book.
Vines riveted Rotarians with automotive anecdotes, such as "Bill Ford's mother was Firestone. They did not want to go to war with Firestone." He also told of his campaign to counter the ill-conceived "What Would Jesus Drive" campaign to shame drivers of SUVs. He succeeded by locating an actual "Jesus" — Jesus Rivera — living right here in the Detroit area, who drove two SUVs. His USA Today full-page ad read: "What Would Jesus Drive? We asked him. It's an SUV."
Named the top PR man in the industry by the Automotive News, Vines shared some words of wisdom: "If you think you're immune to a crisis, you're already in one." Or, "If the safety and satisfaction of your customers is not your guiding principle, you're in trouble." And, "Listen to your enemies." Lastly, Vines admonished, "Don't shy away from the truth. ... Americans are very forgiving. When you own up to your mistakes, we forgive you."
Following the luncheon, Vines hung around to autograph his book for the many Rotarians who purchased what is sure to be a page-turner — especially in the Motor City.