“If I were school principal for a day …”

It’s a popular childhood meme.

But what if kids ran a dealership for a day?

That was the crux of Chrysler’s recent effort to drum up publicity for the 2017 Pacifica.

In essence it was business as usual at Southern California’s Victorville Motors on Sept. 14, except that the 12 families who came in to shop were catered to by Chrysler’s PacifiKids — Izzy (10), Miles (11), and Harper (8), and their young staff of eight.

Hidden cameras recorded the action as part of the digital and social media stunt.

 “Kids today are influencing their parents’ purchasing decisions more than ever, from the clothes they buy, to the music they download, to even the cars they buy,” said Tim Kuniskis, head of passenger car brands — Dodge, SRT, Chrysler and FIAT, FCA – North America. “So we thought, why not let children, the ones who are informing those major family purchases and for whom the Chrysler Pacifica is built, take over a real FCA dealership for one day to show moms and dads why the all-new 2017 Chrysler Pacifica is the best vehicle for their family.”

Over the course of two-and-a-half days, the dealership was transformed into a work-meets-play environment, from colorful walls and toys on desks to beanbag chairs and a slide leading into a ball pit.

Each family who visited was given a hands-on tour of the Pacifica, with the PacifiKids highlighting the minivan’s features.

“It will completely park itself,” a young salesgirl tells a family of three — prompting the husband to tell his wife: “You need one of those!”

The hidden-camera stunt, viewable at the top of the page or by clicking here, was the kickoff to a six-week digital and social campaign for Chrysler.

Consumers in Dallas, Los Angeles and New York can fill out a “permission slip” that will make one family from each market eligible for a daylong “field trip” to videotape their experiences with the minivan. Entry ends Oct. 17.

The videos will be posted at www.thePacifiKids.com on Nov. 12, and customers throughout the U.S. cam vote for their favorite video. The family whose video gets the most votes will win a 2017 Pacifica.

And one person who votes for a video will be randomly selected to also receive a 2017 Pacifica.

Additionally, consumers in 10 markets — Atlanta, Cleveland, Dallas, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, Minneapolis, New York, Phoenix and San Francisco — can also submit “permission slips” for a weeklong extended test drive in a 2017 Pacifica. Twenty-one families will be chosen. Enter until Oct. 26 at www.thepacifickids.com.