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GM ad has 'lots' to say
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July 23, 1998: 7:31 p.m. ET
A new national television commercial shows images of jam-packed dealerships
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - If a fleet of Cadillacs, Oldsmobiles, GMC's, Pontiacs, Buicks and Chevys on jam-packed dealership lots isn't the image that pops to mind when you think of General Motors' crippling seven-week strike - just wait until you see GM's latest promotional brainstorm.
In a new 30-second, national television commercial slated to air Thursday evening during NBC's Nightly News report, GM sends a singular message to those who might take the dire headlines about paralyzed production and irreconcilable impasses a bit too much to heart.
"In case you were wondering," a white-on-black-lettered message advises viewers in the silent ad's opening seconds, "your GM dealer still has lots…and lots…and lots…and lots…of cars, trucks and deals."
Lots of hogwash, you say? Look again.
Using footage GM says it shot just six days ago, the TV spot flashes images of dealerships from Seattle to Dallas to Atlanta -- all stuffed with all those familiar models from pre-strike days past.
The images -- which evoke a bountiful pumpkin patch more than a strikebound carmaker -- seem to take pleasure in mocking industry reports that GM's auto production fell by 227,000 vehicles in the second-quarter - leaving scores of dealers high and dry.
The same down-and-out carmaker?
They also beg the question whether this can possibly be the same down-and-out automaker that has suffered more than $1.2 billion in losses since strikes at two key parts plants erupted within a week of one another, starting June 5.
And that's exactly the point, GM says.
"As of this week, we have almost 600,000 vehicles at GM dealerships across the country waiting to be sold," said Phil Guarascio, GM's vice president and general manager of North American marketing and advertising.
"We want to dispel any perceptions that GM is out of vehicles and encourage consumers who are in the market for a car or truck to stop by a local GM dealership - they may be pleasantly surprised by the selection."
In more ways than one, said John Casesa, an auto analyst with Schroder and Co., based in New York.
Even at 600,000 vehicles, Casesa said, GM's inventory would still be about 40 percent below the roughly one million GM cars and trucks that normally fill dealership lots at this time of year.
Last June, Casesa noted, GM's end-of-month inventory was 1.16 million vehicles. Nonetheless, he conceded the ad campaign, which he had not seen but which was described to him by a reporter, is an "intelligent tactic", given the widespread perception that the strike has wiped out inventories across the country.
"They just want to make sure that people don't rule GM out," Casesa said. "But the probability of finding exactly what they want is probably pretty slim."
That is because the highly-popular large pick-ups and sport utility vehicles that have driven GM sales in recent months are likely to be gone by the time a consumer gets to the lot.
Casesa added that because the commercial doesn't promise too much, the carmaker may have little to lose by running it. "I don't know how much it's going to do for them," he said, "but they have to fight this battle with every tool they have."
But Donna Fontana, a GM spokesperson, said the vehicles in the dealerships shown in the ad are representative of the cars and trucks normally found in the dealerships. "You will definitely find a lower inventory on some of the SUV's (sport-utility vehicles) and Suburbans," Fontana said. But she added that inventories of these vehicles tend to be low since about 50 percent of them are bought on order and shipped from the factory.
Prime-time slots on networks
Fontana said as of Monday, GM had 640,000 vehicles in inventories across the country. That number has since dwindled to 600,000. Normally, she said, inventories range from 800,000 to 900,000 at this point in the summer.
The commercial was created by McCann-Erickson, an advertising agency that also does Buick ads for GM. It will air nationally for 10 days beginning Thursday on network and cable channels, including in prime time slots during NBC's Suddenly Susan, CBS's Promised Land, Fox's Millenium, and ABC's Good Morning America.
Guarascio expressed hope the campaign would help revive the automaker's battered image.
"Our customers' confidence in GM products had created a strong sales momentum and growing market share that was stalled because of the strike," he said. "This commercial is the first step in trying to rebuild that momentum and raise awareness of the selection of vehicles still available for consumers."
Shares of GM (GM) ended down 1-7/16 at 70-7/16 Thursday on the New York Stock Exchange.
--by staff writer Douglas Herbert
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General Motors
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