The View from Harvard Business

GM's New Ad Strategy Has a Problem: The Spokesman

Posted in:

Marketing

GM's new ad touting a money-back guarantee features Chairman Edward Whitacre as the spokesman. Ed, you're no Lee Iacocca. I'm sure Mr. Whitacre is a nice guy and a cracker jack executive, but on TV he comes across as the stereotypical middle-aged 69-year-old White Guy Corporate Suit.

Harvard Business School marketing expert John Quelch seems to agree that Whitacre might not be the best, ahem, vehicle for GM's message.

"Can he connect with the average consumer, female or male? Can he champion small car design? Given the current public antipathy towards business, using the hero chairman as the company spokesperson seems out of sync with the times."

And I'll just add GM is trying to reposition itself as a car company for modern times. Ed seems like old times to me. Writing on Harvard Business Publishing, Quelch runs down an interesting list of the strengths and weaknesses of the new campaign. The Good: The ad shows that Whitacre, who was appointed by the government, is taking charge; it probably plays well to the sales force; it begins to rebuild customer trust ('Put us up against anyone'); it offers a money-back assurance to customers; and it starts rebuilding the brand umbrella. The Bad: The money-back guarantee is full of small print; the ads don't show the product, and, as discussed, Whitacre is not Mr. Charisma. Read Quelch's blog post, How GM's Chairman Aims to Please. I'm interested in what you think of TV ads that turn the brand over to the personality of the top exec. We've got plenty to work with, starting with Col. Saunders and including Dave Thomas for Wendy's, Dieter Zetsche of Daimler Chrysler, and Orville Redenbacher of popcorn fame. More recently, Walgreen's Gregory Wasson and Sprint Nextel's Daniel Hesse have come in front of the camera. When does the CEO spokesman work, and when not? Who was the best, and who was the worst? Would you want your chief executive going HDTV?

posted by Sean Silverthorne
October 29, 2009 @ 6:53 am

Previous Post: Readers Find Time for Creative Sabbaticals
Next Post: Leadership Brings Joy at Work

Last 10 posts:

Black Friday: Your Big Chance to Win Back Customers (11-23)
What is the Value of U.S. Citizenship? (11-20)
Going Rogue: Three Times to Ignore 'Best Practice' (11-19)
Bet on Santa to Defeat the Recession (11-18)
The 'Public Option' Fix: Let States Do It (11-18)
The Problem with Making English a Business Standard (11-17)
Most Managers Failing Their Duty During Crisis (11-16)
Most Important Social Media Trends for 2010 (11-13)
The Netflix of High Fashion (11-12)
Splitting Chairman/CEO Roles is Overkill (11-11)