Why did Chevrolet even go there? The weirdest thing about the big advertising story du jour—which involves people taking advantage of Chevy’s make-your-own-ad offer to create negative ads about the Tahoe—is Chevy’s “Yeah, we knew this was going to happen” response. (Here’s a link to one ad.) On the one hand, you can say the company is enlightened in its decision not to make a big stink over the anti-SUV ads. On the flip side, the fact that people would abuse the brand given the opportunity is so painfully obvious that you have to wonder why Chevy decided to play in this arena, with this brand, at all. Just because consumer-generated media is all the rage doesn’t mean advertisers are obliged to play with it. Like everyone else, we’ve been reading the headlines about GM out of Detroit. … Is this some sort of death wish? —Posted by Catharine P. Taylor

April 4, 2006 | Permalink

Comments

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Chevy made a mistake. But they're trying to do something different. So mistakes are going to happen. This isn't the PR nightmare people make it out to be - either you love SUVs or hate them. This won't change that. And I give them credit for trying, even if it wasn't the most well thought out idea. It's still a thousand times better than being safe and invisible.

Posted by: okay. | Apr 4, 2006 9:53:37 AM

The bigger story here is how incredibly small-minded this idea is. Ego-driven crap created by either in-house marketing dicks or an agency jumping on the user-generated bandwagon. There is nothing interesting about this nor does it evolve the brand online. They should have allowed consumers to help design a new Tahoe model, features or think of new ways to power one w/o relying on gas. That's content that makes sense. Not a commercial.

Posted by: BK King | Apr 4, 2006 11:35:46 AM

Maybe this will help GM to understand what the public think about their brands.

Posted by: Anonimous | Apr 4, 2006 12:46:48 PM

People who would drive a Tahoe won't give a minute of consideration to the ExposeExxxon versions of the ad. Anyone purchasing a brand new SUV isn't concerned about oil addiction. Isn't it possible that Chevy understands this? And that perhaps they understand their customers (what left of them), better than any of the ad blogs believe?

Look at all of they eyeballs and ink this is getting. Only those of us who already understand the harms of "SUV America" laugh at the anti-Chevy versions. Many chevy-loving americans will likely write these versions off as "liberal freak propoganda". It's possible that the anti-chevy versions could generate even MORE Chevy loyalty to the die-hard Chevy fans - confirming their brand loyalty. Have you ever tried talking about oil addiction to someone driving a Tahoe? Deaf ears.

Posted by: darryl | Apr 4, 2006 8:58:41 PM

Hi Cathy!

Just posted this reply on Peter's blog in response to yours ...

I'm in London (have been back in Europe the past 4 years) and would love to hear from you. george at i-boy dot com.

~G~

==========================

Hi,

I don't see why a campaign for the Chevy Tahoe is an inappropriate use of social media. I'm critical of *how* they did it, not *why* they did it. See my post above.

There are very passionate SUV owners out there - some of whom own a Chevy Tahoe - and there is no reason why social media can not be used effectively to market to them.

Was Burger King wrong to use social media (in the form of viral marketing) when it launched the Subsurvient Chicken? Surely, there must be some anti fast food folks out there other than Morgan Spurlock to rise up and complain. Hell, even PETA could have taken issue with it, and they're mighty vocal. Should BK have balked?

Was it inappropriate for Converse to launch the Converse Gallery? Who knows where their shoes are made, how much their labor costs, and what the working conditions are like? Should they fear the same backlash?

What about Nike's Joga Bonita campaign? It is a MySpace-like open community for people to talk about football (soccer), but they're not afraid of potential problems. They even have a Frenchman as a lead character. Mon dieu. Quel scandal!

The list is long ...

Sure, controvertial topics/brands bring out people who "slag your brand," but it often brings out "silent advocates" who often counter those attacks.

What is obvious is that GM is experimenting with social media, and while they won't get everything right they should be applauded for their efforts. The FastLane blog, the Apprentice site, and now their new FYI Blog (a participatory blog for all GM employees) send a clear signal.

Instead keeping conversations behind closed doors (or inside paid sites like Adweek), GM knows that there is value in open spaces. Half kidding. ;)

~G~

Posted by: George Nimeh | Apr 23, 2006 11:30:22 AM

u guys that bag on chevy are seriously a bunch of faggots and should go on and fuck yourselves

Posted by: fuck anti chevy | Mar 21, 2007 1:23:17 PM

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