A few weeks ago I posted about a viral contest that Chevy was running
in support of the new Tahoe, a mammoth full-size SUV. In partnership
with Donald Trump’s "Apprentice" TV show, the contest allowed you to
cobble together an advertisement for the Tahoe, including the somewhat
unlikely privilege of writing your own copy. As it happened, I used the
occasion for sarcasm. Apparently, I was not alone. And now GM is the
laughing stock of the Autoblogsphere. And the Enviroblogshpere. And probably
some others. And all this in a week where the General had to sell the
majority stake in its only remaining profitable enterprise (GMAC) to fund the
cost of benefits paid, much of which goes to workers long retired–a burden
that costs the company more than $1,400 per vehicle. Then they had to send
the top brass to do damage control on 60 Minutes before the few remaining
shareholders start throwing rocks at the Renaissance Center.
But the
best of the "protest" videos probably come from the envirobloggers. Whoo!
Some of these would bring a chuckle to Bill O’Reilly himself. Just for the
corporate schadenfreude of it all. GM’s online marketing division
is apparently locked in a panic room somewhere trying to remove these
from their servers as quickly as possible before Mr. Lutz gets a looksee. So
get ‘em while they’re
hot.
http://www.alaskaaction.net/tahoe/
http://www.autoblog.com/2006/03/31/chevys-make-your-own-tahoe-commercial-not-exactly-going-as-pl/
http://www.metafilter.com/mefi/50539
http://www.treehugger.com/files/2006/03/make_your_own_s_1.php
Dan Turman
Comments
Connections
This debacle will undoubtedly lead to a backlash against Consumer Generated Content (CGC). That’s unfortunate, because it can create incredible buzz.
The reality is that this dog should lead to a backlash against whomever it was that provided the abysmal raw footage for these spots.
The sunflowers, the craggy outcropping in the middle of nowhere, the bad CG of the pistons pumping. No cliché was spared.
This thing was begging to be mocked.
$1,400 per vehicle?! Wow, good thing those cars are built by machines now. Now if those old farts would just hurry up and die!
Still think Lutz is upset about this campaign??
Fastlane Response
Contrary to your commentary that GM is the laughingstock of the blogosphere, they have come out ahead as a result of this campaign. As marketers, I would expect you to understand the importance of transparency in today’s environment. Would you have truly advised them to do any different than they did? Would you have suggested they censor the ads?
Thank God you weren’t in charge.