GM readies Chevy Silverado ad blitz to recapture pickup share

July 2, 2013 - 12:01 am ET
DETROIT -- General Motors will kick off its biggest advertising campaign in
at least five years with an emotional tribute to hardworking Chevrolet
Silverado owners, the start of a campaign for the redesigned 2014 pickup
that's likely to top $300 million.

GM will air a 60-second, "anthem" style commercial on the Fourth of July,
exclusively in Texas markets. Commercials will roll out nationally starting
the week of July 15, during the broadcast of Major League Baseball's Home
Run Derby and All-Star Game.

The initial commercial is set to an original song created for Chevrolet,
"Strong," by country star Will Hoge. The spot features shots of real
Silverado owners, such as a carpenter using a power saw and a father
consoling his son after a Little League game.

The voiceover at the end says: "Strong. For all the roads ahead," a nod to
Chevy's new global marketing tag line, "Find New Roads."

GM unveiled the campaign in a statement today.

Chris Perry, Chevrolet's vice president of U.S. marketing, says Chevy is
staking out what he believes is fertile ground in the pickup segment through
advertising that plays to truck buyers' emotions and values.

"Those traditional truck, traditional American values, things like
selflessness, self-reliance, determination, commitment to family and
community," Perry said, aren't reflected much in advertising right now, with
most truck advertising focusing more on toughness and power.

Ram also hit on the hardworking theme this year with its buzzed-about
"Farmer" Super Bowl commercial, an ode to farmers and ranchers narrated by
the late radio broadcaster Paul Harvey.

Harvey Briggs, a consultant and advertising blogger who once worked on Chevy
truck advertising while at Detroit agency Campbell-Ewald, said Chevy is
going back to its roots by "focusing more on what the Silverado means
emotionally, not just functionally."

Briggs said Chevy is taking well-worn truck imagery and "redefining it in a
different context so that 'strong' means something broader."

He pointed to lyrics from the song: "'Everybody knows he ain't just tough.
He's strong.'"

Briggs said: "That's a clear shot across the bow at Ford."

GM is counting on the redesigned Silverado and GMC Sierra to help claw back
market share that it has ceded to Ford and Chrysler's Ram in recent years.
The outgoing trucks have been on the market with few upgrades since their
launch in the fall of 2006.

GM's share of the full-sized pickup market dwindled to 35.6 percent through
May, from 40.5 percent for all of 2008. Ford's market share shot up to 39.4
percent during that time, from 32.9 percent. Ram's market share was 18.5
percent, up from 15.7 percent.

Perry wouldn't disclose a dollar amount but said it will be GM's biggest
marketing launch in "the last five or six years at least" and will exceed
spending on the last Silverado launch.

GM earmarked nearly $300 million for the launch of the 2007 Silverado, the
last redesign, which began in the fall of 2006, Automotive News reported at
the time, citing sources familiar with the plans.

This week's advertising is the next phase of a Texas-centric marketing
launch. GM began a grassroots promotional campaign in the Lone Star State
last month that will include more than 60 stops featuring interactive
displays and some test drives.

"One in six pickup trucks are sold in Texas. It's an extremely important
market for us," Perry said. The July 4 launch is a tie-in to "American
values and American independence."

The 60-second spot that airs Thursday was made by Commonwealth, Chevy's ad
agency of record. Most of the rest of the campaign will be work from Leo
Burnett, which was awarded the Silverado account last year.

The commercial was directed by Robert Richardson, who was director of
photography on dozens of movies, including "The Aviator" and "JFK."

Some commercials that will run later in the year won't include the song but
will focus on "product strengths," Perry said, including the Silverado's
segment-leading towing capacity and fuel economy for a V-8 engine.

http://youtu.be/3ngOek2J65s