Filed under: Trucks/Pickups, Marketing/Advertising, GM, GMC
Our Country, Our Truck: Vids debuted, no nukes
Late last night, the embargo on GM's new Silverado ad campaign was dropped and our friends over at the Jalop' were kind enough to let us in on all the glorious and controversial details.
Now that the actual ads are starting to break cover, we're finally getting a feel for how they, ummm, feel. Across the board, it's exactly what we expected from the new campaign, but it seems that certain images that were shown to the press earlier, didn't make it into the final spots we're seeing now. The two visuals that created the biggest stir involved a shot of the "Towers of Light" projecting from Ground Zero and an aerial shot of an atomic bomb explosion.
Jalopnik has the full explanation about what went down when they asked GM's PR flacks why the images were nixed at the 11th hour.
Make the jump to see the second video.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
dana 3:16PM (9/26/2006)
I'm surprised they showed black people in the 2nd video.
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Patricia 3:25PM (9/26/2006)
yeeeeeeeeehaw!
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Elliott 3:32PM (9/26/2006)
I get the impression that they aren't trying to gather "conquest sales" and are more concerned with keeping their current fanbase.
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Dave T. 3:36PM (9/26/2006)
and who doesn't love puppies? (first vid)
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Robert 3:40PM (9/26/2006)
I'm disappointed if Rosa Parks' estate signed off on this and even more disappointed with GM if they didn't. This is a jingoistic pile. The oilmen are absurdly ironic enough, but they actually had nukes in it!
GM should get one thing straight. Rosa Parks and 9/11 imagery should never be used to hock their products. Please show some respect and some brains.
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Mike 3:42PM (9/26/2006)
...AND THIS IS WHY WE ARE GOING BELLY UP!
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detroitGT 3:53PM (9/26/2006)
let's make all the GM haters happy.
Close the doors at GM.
more american's out of work.
THAT'S YOUR COUNTRY HATERS.
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carguy 3:54PM (9/26/2006)
Wow - looks like GMs truck demographic is shrinking. I guess if you're not a country music lovin', NASCAR watchin', beer drinkin', foreigner hatin' good ol' boy then I guess you'll feel somewhat alienated by GMs pitch.
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fizzandpop 3:59PM (9/26/2006)
Well that wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. The anvil with tow hitch made me laugh. They're pretty honest in admitting that they asked a bunch of roughnecks back in the seventies what they wanted from a truck and have taken until 2006 to deliver.
Plus, a car company really shouldn't be telling the world that they use their customers as a proving ground. Shouldn't they have developed the car properly before they released it on the masses? Will the buyers be helping to refine the vehicle through recalls? Strategically, that's a major blunder. But it's GM, so what did we expect?
And the quality of the stock footage was really bad, probably the Web conversion didn't help though. All-in-all, top marks for blandness and borrowed ideas executed with an astounding level of unoriginality. At least the ads for Ford's Bold Moves campaign live up to their promise, has anyone seen the divorced dude taking his kids back to the wife after his "visitation". Now that stopped me in my tracks.
So, bland, boring, instantly forgettable. Perhaps GM should get the "Jihad" guys from that Hyundai dealer if they want some impact.
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Bud the Stud 4:00PM (9/26/2006)
This commercial is too heavy. The patriotic card gone bad... Watch Michael Moore make a new documentary on GM's conspiracy to have the army invade the Middle East, steal oil, and prevent gay marriage.
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Noah 4:00PM (9/26/2006)
Is that a fog horn?
How about you let me know what you've done to improve the reliability or prevent rust.
How about you let me know if my alternator water pump and oilcooler are all going to fail at 125000m like clock work? Sure it's off warrent...
Seriously tho this ad is stupud it's like saying "If you buy a Toyota made in the States you're unamerican!" or "Buy American because it supports crab fishing" This is so lame.
You know what? How about I buy a Ford? That's american too.
--Noah
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Jeff 4:20PM (9/26/2006)
"GM should get one thing straight. Rosa Parks and 9/11 imagery should never be used to hock [sic] their products."
The word is "hawk"; from the dictionary.com definition of the verb hawk,
2. to advertise or offer for sale: to hawk soap on television.
I don't have a problem with this. I think using iconic imagery for advertising is acceptable, especially when you are a bit of an icon yourself.
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Rob 4:21PM (9/26/2006)
Obviously Detroit, you don't even know proper English grammar. So how is this your country again?
"7. let's make all the GM haters happy.
Close the doors at GM.
more american's out of work.
THAT'S YOUR COUNTRY HATERS."
Learn your grammar and THEN you have the right to call me an "American hater", idiot.
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Jamie 4:31PM (9/26/2006)
8. Wow - looks like GMs truck demographic is shrinking. I guess if you're not a country music lovin', NASCAR watchin', beer drinkin', foreigner hatin' good ol' boy then I guess you'll feel somewhat alienated by GMs pitch.
Posted at 3:53PM on Sep 26th 2006 by carguy 0 stars
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Well, don't stop there!
Tell us about your Toyota Camry and how smart you were in deciding to buy it, so we can give you our approval.
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carguy 4:32PM (9/26/2006)
detroitGT - there is nothing un-American about buying the product that appeals to you the most. It would we be, however, un-American if we bought second rate junk just because we felt sorry for the auto unions. And remember - the vehicle with the most American content is still the Honda Odessey.
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Jeff 4:44PM (9/26/2006)
I wish they would show more of the f*&#ing truck. That's what they're selling, correct? I don't give a shart for the clichés (the flowing flag is especially pathetic); I want to see how they've updated this new truck. Show me the interior, the chassis, the bed, or the engine and then rev the engine a few times so I can hear what it sounds like. That's how you sell a truck.
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fizzandpop 4:48PM (9/26/2006)
Sure beats Toby Keith. There I said it, oh yes I did!
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carguy 4:48PM (9/26/2006)
Jamie - don't feel offended because you feel yourself to be a member of the truck demographic. It's just that there is less of you every month so maybe GM and Ford should adapt to changing tases rather than produce jingoistic garbage like these videos which are crammed full of emotional references to just how American they are (rather than the quality of their products).
...and no, I do not own a Japanese car.
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GM WHO? 5:04PM (9/26/2006)
Our Country, Our Truck, OPEC's Oil/Gas! What's the slogan for Chevwoo's Aveo, Epica and Optra... Their Country, Their Car, They're Employed!
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rwdmtparkingonly 5:08PM (9/26/2006)
The "Buy American" pitch shows weakness. It implies that the product is inferior, but should be bought anyway to support the country.
These trucks are, from what I've seen, not inferior, and are actually best in class. GM should sell them on what they are, not where they are made.
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