New GM ad campaign breaks up with oil, tries to stay friends

With its E85 vehicles, new dual-mode hybrids, and the upcoming Chevy Volt, recently GM has been pouring a great deal of resources into developing cars that consume less gas. Having previously touted some of its achievements in Chevrolet's "Gas Friendly to Gas Free" ad campaign, now the automaker is planning an even bigger media push -- in a new set of TV spots, GM will "break up" with big oil as if ending a bad relationship.

Scheduled to debut during NBC's Meet the Press on June 22nd, the ad will resemble a "Dear John" letter as an announcer reads, "Dear Oil, we've had this great relationship for many years. We think we will both be a lot happier and healthier if we see less of each other." With regular costing upwards of $4 a gallon, instead of skirting the issue the automaker wants to take the gas-price problem head on. A new set of Chevy advertisements focusing on green topics will also launch soon, and GM plans to heavily promote its eco-credentials while sponsoring the 2012 Olympics on NBC.

However at the same time another aspect of the company's green marketing strategy -- its "Live Green, Go Yellow" advertisements -- are being phased out. According to corporate marketing director Katherine Benoit, the E85 spots have been canceled partly because of problems with availability, but also due to the automaker's recent commitment to developing cellulosic ethanol that isn't derived from corn.

With vehicles like the 2009 Saturn Vue 2 mode hybrid in the pipeline and incentives available on the company's full-size hybrid SUVs, GM is making a major push toward reducing fuel consumption across its lineup. However time will tell whether this break up with oil sticks, or like so many bad relationships the company just winds up crawling back for more.

Source: Automotive News (Subscription required)