A Superbowl Preview that doesn’t talk about football…
So, I've already touched on the GM marketing strategy for the Superbowl in a previous post: all Chevrolet! Originally, the thought was that Chevrolet would not share or screen their new commercials before the big game (unlike the majority of their automotive marketing competitors who began sharing commercial clips weeks ago on video sharing websites), but that has all changed. This week, a few different Chevrolet Super Bowl commercials have leaked out on YouTube, and two of them are of particular interest to me (and, probably, to you also!). Why are they of particular interest, you ask? Because they feature the Chevrolet Camaro in all of its beauty and glory.
The Chevy marketing team has done great work with these commercials and has provided two different ones--one which focuses specifically on the car, and another which combines the vehicle's hype with the hype for the new Transformers film coming out this year--for a tandem of hilarious marketing spots. The direction of the marketing team is obvious: humor. Each of these commercials is almost certain to elicit a good chuckle from you, especially as each presents a farcical approach to standard commercial formats. One highlights the standard ridiculousness of car commercials (and uses this highlight to its advantage to go above and beyond in the ridiculousness), and the other pokes fun at the standard used car lot commercial format. Each is funny, well-made, and most importantly features a Camaro. So, here they are, the day before the Gigantic All-American Super Fantastic Marketing Football Extravaganza Event itself, for you to watch and enjoy!
New Camaro Brazil Commercial
Well, I have to hand it to the Brazilians: their marketing people are awesome. The first commercial filmed and released for the Camaro out of Brazil was the gorgeous and fun short I posted up here a few weeks ago about the son taking his parent's Camaro for a joyride. One of the most entertaining pieces of advertisement I've ever seen in any language, Camaro Brazil set the bar high for themselves. Apparently, they recognized that and came back strong for their second Camaro commercial. If the song sounds familiar, it's a modern, electric reworking of the classic 1970's Chevrolet jingle "In The Silence of my Chevrolet" just, you know, in Portuguese. A fun commercial that does a great job of high-lighting how much fun the Camaro can be in less than a minute's time. I wish GM would make commercials like the Camaro Brazil ones for our stateside TV audiences.
More GM Marketing News
In business it is typically understood that when profits drop, marketing allotments are one of the first things to follow. So, the recent news that GM is ramping their marketing budget back up to pre-deficit numbers must be a good thing! This year GM will see a rise in their marketing budget of 5%. That number is also, surely, a testament to the faith that the company has in their new head of marketing, Joel Ewanick. Ewanick has been with GM right around 3 months now, and in that time has begun to make large strides forward. The first major sign of his progress was the recent Corvette ZR1 national ad campaign which began, but that is just the beginning. This year will also mark the beginning of a new, full-scale, Camaro marketing campaign. This campaign presents faith in both Ewanick and the Camaro, and is a positive sign for GM moving forward. Ewanick has also announced that GM, and specifically the Chevrolet brand, will be returning to the Super Bowl. Last year, during their financial troubles, GM sat out the Super Bowl marketing blitz completely. The return this year presents more positive news for the company's economic outlook. Rounding out Ewanick's big moves is his new Cadillac marketing scheme which will begin this year. Cadillac is being given a new brand slogan, and with this new slogan will come a national marketing campaign as well. The slogan, "The new standard for the world" is catchy, but a little long-winded. I am no marketing genius, mind you, but I can't help but wonder if simply "The new standard" isn't a catchier slogan. It seems to me that adding the "for the world" at the end of it creates a little redundancy. Of course, the second part may be included to highlight Cadillac's high-end performance battle with companies like BMW and Mercedes. Their CTS-V, which puts of 556 HP stock and provides an incredible combination of luxury and performance, and definitely put a little fear in the eyes of BMW and MB as it outperforms equivalent priced vehicles from those competitors line-ups (see BMW M3, 5 Series, and MB S-Class). All in all, this set of news coming from GM and their new head of marketing is incredibly positive and points towards fairer pastures ahead. Here's to you, Mr. Ewanick, and the bright future you bring.
New Camaro Marketing Campaign
Chevrolet hasn't given any details concerning what the campaign will entail, just yet, but they have officially announced that Septmer of 2010 will bring about an all new Camaro ad campaign. The new Chevy ad blitz is, undoubtedly, Chevy's way of battling Ford's Mustang, as its sales have slightly surpassed the Camaro the past couple months (they sold 3 more units nationwide this past month, so the gap isn't exactly large). I imagine we'll see Camaro take a commanding lead of the sales battle with the Mustang once this marketing campaign hits.
Also, the Camaro is now hitting British shores. With its release there, a lot of British car reviewers have begun weighing in on the vehicle. We know our neighbors across the pond can be snobby, but the Camaro reviews have been very positive over there, thus far. Here are two of my favorite ones, and many more will undoubtedly follow. The guy in the first one is definitely having a whole lot of fun driving that Camaro, too!:
Transformers 3: Bumblebee Camaro
A lot of images and videos have been leaking from the Michael Bay filming of Transformers 3, but these here of the Camaro are some of the cooler ones. Great pictures and videos of the new Camaro, which supposedly shares a lot of traits with the new Z28. Worth a look, to see the Camaro, even though after the second Transformers film, there's not much about this movie that excites me. Here are some cool videos, check them out and I hope you enjoy!