As new dawns go, it was something of a damp squib. When Gordon Brown and Lord Mandelson unveiled their vision for the country's industrial future in the unlovely environs of Loughborough University a few weeks ago, there was barely a glimmer of acknowledgement from the stock market.
So odd was the timing - the strategy was unveiled just two days before the most crucial Budget statement in living memory - that some people suggested that Brown and Mandelson had got the New Labour trick the wrong way round by burying good news instead of bad.
There is, however, another minister marketers ought to be following closely, particularly those who earn their crust in the car industry: step forward, Lord (Mervyn) Davies, minister for trade.
It isn't often that an entire sector of the economy has good reason to laud a member of HM Government, but the £2000 scrappage scheme has brought motor manufacturers around from a bout of existential angst.
The latest figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) explain the hand-wringing - car registrations were down 30% in March. During 2009, the SMMT expects sales to slump to below 1.7m.
Car dealers are warning that a slump in adspend by manufacturers has undermined their efforts to breathe new life into the market. According to figures published by Marketing in March, Ford, Vauxhall, Toyota and other big car marques slashed their adspend last year.
Can marketers do anything about this dire backdrop? The evidence for a positive response seems flimsy.
Chrysler filing for bankruptcy last week (leaving Omnicom Group's BBDO network as one of the biggest creditors), and the imminent break-up of General Motors, both underline the seismic nature of the upheaval.
Even so, from the ashes of recession, marketing opportunities will surely arise. If ever there were a time to encourage national champions - not through protectionism, but by creating an environment in which high-quality domestic companies can thrive - it must surely be now.
Given the decimation of British car manufacturing, there isn't a lot left to aim at. It may no longer be British-owned, but Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) is an obvious candidate for such an effort.
Its 15,000-strong workforce is based largely in this country, and it is engaged in high-end production. Moreover, the prospect of losing our last remaining big, indigenous carmaker, and the associated skills base, is a sobering one.
Importantly, this is the view taken by people in the City, as well. JLR's parent company, Tata Motors, is facing a severe cash squeeze. It is warning that it will be obliged to cut more jobs and reduce its commitment to spending on research and development, unless it receives state support in the form of loan guarantees running to several hundred million pounds.
Stepping in with yet more taxpayers' money after our banks have already drained the national coffers is not a tempting option. So here's another solution, which could at least give the public some upside from an eventual recovery in the industry: as a condition of government support, oblige Tata to sell new shares in Jaguar Land Rover on the stock market.
My guess is that investors would have a huge appetite to buy into the company's future, which is closely linked to the future of the entire manufacturing sector. The revival of a British automotive icon would be a story worth marketing to the City and the world beyond.
Mark Kleinman is City editor of The Sunday Telegraph
30 seconds on Chrysler
- The Maxwell Motor Co was reorganised by Walter Chrysler to become the Chrysler Corporation in 1925.
- It currently has three worldwide vehicle marques - Dodge, Jeep and Chrysler.
Chrysler was bought by Daimler-Benz in 1998. The German company then sold 80% of its stake in 2007 to private equity firm Cerberus. - The carmaker has a 54,000-strong workforce based in the US, Canada and Mexico.
- Chrysler has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, allowing it to continue trading while it rearranges its affairs. It is hoped that a new entity will emerge in 30-60 days.
- Under a deal brokered by the US Treasury, Italian car giant Fiat will take a 20% stake in Chrysler. This will rise to 51% if loans are repaid on time.
- Fiat is expected to share its expertise in building smaller European-style cars and will gain a toe-hold in the US.
- Chrysler will receive a total of $8bn in government aid.
- The company was bailed out by the US government when it faced bankruptcy in 1979. It had repaid its loans by 1983.