GMBUYPOWER on line with Oscar
19 March 1999
Internet Comes to Life in Launch Creative for www.gmbuypower.com; First Spot Debuts on Academy Awards, Sunday, March 21
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LOS ANGELES--March 19, 1999--General Motors debuts launch advertising for its benchmark online shopping and buying Web site, www.gmbuypower.com, during ABC's telecast of the Academy Awards this Sunday, March 21.
With GM BuyPower, consumers can shop anywhere, anytime, online. The first and largest manufacturer initiative of its kind and unequaled by any online buying service, GM BuyPower launched nationwide March 10 with Emmy Award-winning actor Jimmy Smits playing the role of the first consumer to test-drive GM BuyPower.
The Hollywood connection continues with the magical, special- effects-driven spot, titled "Lamp Posts," that consumers will see beginning Sunday.
The campaign, developed by DMB&B/Los Angeles, consists of two 30-second TV spots, two full-color newspaper ads. The launch also will be supported by Internet banner advertising developed by Zentropy.
The Creative
In "Lamp Posts," a guy browses at his home computer for a new car choice. Meanwhile, at a darkened GM dealer's lot, something unusual is happening. Juxtaposed with the man's mouse clicks for vehicle selection and color, the lampposts begin to sway and bend, finally uprooting and "hopping" to illuminate the exact vehicle the customer wants.
Add to this an enchanting, magical soundtrack and the takeaway is that consumers are in control of the car-buying process.
"Our strategy for creative execution is to bring the Internet to life for consumers in an entertaining, whimsical fashion that mirrors GM BuyPower's primary consumer benefits," said Ann Noel Blakney, national director of GM BuyPower.
"GM BuyPower puts consumers in control of the car-buying process. We bring control to life through demonstration. In both launch spots, unusual events occur on the dealer's lot and reveal that consumers browsing the www.gmbuypower.com Web site are making these events happen," Blakney said.
The second spot, to air shortly, is titled "Delivery Guy," in which a couple at a home computer discuss their next vehicle choice while a delivery guy arrives at the GM dealer's lot and is astounded by a flurry of unexpected events around him: cars and trucks changing color, metamorphosing from a sedan to a van.
The couple, meanwhile, click happily away before settling on their exact vehicle choice as the salesperson reassures the delivery guy, "It's our new Web site."
Both spots conclude with the URL: www.gmbuypower.com.
Quantitative testing of the spots shows that consumers feel they are clear and straightforward, present GM as fun and approachable and, most important, are motivating.
Bruce Dowad, whose substantial experience with special effects resulted in his being named 1998 Ad Age Director of the Year, directed both spots. Digital Domain ("Titanic," "Apollo 13," "What Dreams May Come") created the special effects.
"Production involved a week of shooting and a month of special- effects work," said Phil Odell, vice president, management supervisor, DMB&B/Los Angeles.
"The lampposts are really the heroes of the spot," said Odell. "The trick was giving the lampposts human qualities while retaining their dramatic size and structure."
The print ads combine simple but intriguing visuals with the headline "Now it really is an information superhighway." Copy provides additional information on benefits like the ability to get the best purchase price, apply online for GMAC financing and learn about current consumer rebates/incentives specific to the vehicle the consumer is looking for.
The lead creative team at DMB&B/Los Angeles included James Welborn, creative director; Steve Rood, senior art director; and Sariah Dorbin, associate creative director/copy writer.
The Media
GM BuyPower is a national consumer service, with more than 75 percent of GM's 7,800 dealers enrolled. Following the Academy Awards launch, network advertising includes prime, late-night and early-morning day parts. Cable TV includes CNN, ESPN, A&E, Discovery and MSNBC.
Newspaper will drop in USA Today and Wall Street Journal during the first two weeks of launch. An aggressive Internet plan is in place with national banner buys and presence on major portals, ISPs and search engines like AOL, EarthLink, Yahoo, Excite and Lycos, among others, and popular consumer auto sites such as Edmund's and Kelly Blue Book.
"Beyond banners, we will launch rich media to provide consumers highly animated, unique and more sophisticated messages," said Blakney.
General Motors is the world's largest manufacturer of cars and trucks. In 1998, General Motors sold 4,608,764 vehicles in the United States.
