By Mark Degnan, Director of Local Advertising and Marketing
I manage GM’s college purchase program, among other things. We’ve read the blogs, comments and Tweets. As a result, we’ve stopped running the cycling ad in college papers.
Let me explain, by going back to the beginning. We’ve had a college marketing program for more than a decade. A new college grad’s first car or truck purchase is a big deal – big as in important, and big as in the financial commitment. Our program is designed to help make the purchase easier.
Two years ago, when we were working on new ads, we talked to a lot of college students about their first new car purchase, and how to best reach students like themselves. Many students told us that they couldn’t afford a car while in school and they aspired to own one soon after graduating. A common remark was, “As soon as I get my first job, I want to get a new car.”
This campaign has appeared in many college newspapers and has helped raise awareness of our program. However in hindsight, our judgment was poor and the ads were poorly executed.
It was not our intent to make light of a healthy lifestyle and cycling. And, while we have not had any complaints until now, we have heard the community loud and clear. We will seek new ways to effectively communicate with college students regarding our new vehicle purchase program.
Thanks for giving us another chance.
Not good enough: The campaign website still has an anti-pedestrian image http://www.gmcollegediscount.com
Todd – the image you’re referring to has been removed from the site. Thanks for following up with us.
Tom Henderson
GM Spokesman
No it hasn’t been removed. It’s still there screaming “if you’re a pedestrian you suck, just like this poor sap getting splashed.”
Mark, where are you still seeing the photo? You may have to refresh the page/clear your cache. Let us know if you’re still seeing it and we’ll look into it.
When you go to gmcollegediscount.com, the banner at the top shows the girl getting splashed, and then fades to the vehicles which you can toggle…
No, sorry, you had one chance and you blew it.
There’s a reason you needed a taxpayer bailout and the fact that you thought this ad was sending the right message demonstrates exactly why you needed one.
The American people gave GM a second chance. Not that the lot of you deserve it. Especially your sociopathic CEOs that keep giving themselves record bonuses. The fact that this ad campaign even got approved shows the lack of foresight at your marketing division (which likely permeates your entire organization). So, good job GM. By the way, I doubt Americans will tolerate giving you another bailout.
I’m disappointed that this ad ever made it out. I am deeply offended by it and personally will never buy a GM vehicle. I have a car and I choose to commute to work by bike. I’ve been commuting for the past 7 years and, in my experience, most divers on the road are courteous to cyclists. However, there are the few that share the same bigoted and disgusting sentiment as displayed in your ad. Their reactions to bikes on the road put myself and other cyclists in danger because they choose to pass too closely, harass us, and even assault us. GM’s decision to publish such an ad speaks to the company ethos. I will never give my money to a company with such a hostile attitude towards bikes.
Mike, we definitely hate to hear you were offended, many apologies again.
Actually, I’m with Mike, who has put it very succinctly.
You haven’t just offended cyclists, you have taken steps that actively put us in danger by cultivating the rare but extremely frightening self-righteousness exhibited by a minority of drivers.
And yes, if I ever buy a car, it won’t be a GM.
Funny enough, I actually bought a car in high school, finished college and then gleefully ditched it for my daily bike commute. But really, with this campaign and then actually backing off and apologizing, no wonder the Asian manufacturers are kicking your teeth in. Before you go marginalizing large swaths of the population, remember that our money let you keep your job.
The job that likely pays more than I’ll ever make. And that’s the really sad part here. I share the road. You’re out there ginning up the anti-bike mentailty that left a friend of mine dead in a hit-and-run last month. At age 24.
This is not the end of the world and it is redeemable, however I’m sorry is a little lacking. You have single handedly offended a huge group of people that now think that you are completely against cyclist and bicycle advocacy. So what I propose to you is turn this into and opportunity to make good on a bad decision and donate a preferably large sum of money (in fact any amount would help) to a nation wide or world wide bicycle advocacy group. Several suggestions would be one world two wheels or bikes belong. I’m sure that a quick google search would be helpful in finding the exact group to donate to. Bicycles wether you like it or not, are a big part of the future development of road ways and I would suggest help out and not acting like ignorant jerks.
Most cyclists know what a A non-apology apology is.
Strike 1: My family owned an Oldsmobile Diesel. Remember those? Even if you do, I’m sure you wish you didn’t. NOT GM’s finest hour.
Strike 2: Saturn – “A different kind of car company”. Lots of hype but ultimately a lackluster car – I wish I had purchased a Honda or a Subaru.
Strike 3: Showing that you still don’t get it.
Nothing short of a sustained and genuine “share the road” campaign poking fun at your clueless and insensitive ads could possibly salvage your company’s reputation in my mind. I’ll own cars for 2 or 3 more decades but not one of yours.
GM, if you truly regret your ad denigrating bicyclist. Then you should commit to releasing technology that detects and prevents a collision with a bicyclist. If sensors can spot a deer in the ditch then they should be able to spot a person riding on the shoulder who is around a blind corner.
I agree with the general sentiment of the above comments. Sorry, GM, but this post was not an apology. The ad you chose to run was atrocious and required an apology to put it right, as well as some material redress to show that the company was willing to take some real (if small) financial hit to prove its contrition.
Instead, you tried to turn this controversy into a PR opportunity. You failed. There is such a thing as bad publicity, and you’re getting it right now.
What bothers me (as a person who cheers for American industry) is how completely GM missed the zeitgeist. It is not only that GM caused offense (you are reaping that harvest) but that it so bafflingly misread American culture.
What baffles me most is that the imagery lends to the disgustingly irrational and contemptuous perspective a**holes hold for anything other than their own preferences and ideals. The fact you thought for one SECOND that promoting contempt as a means to sell vehicles speaks volumes for your attitude as a marketing department and a company. A half winded apology attempting to explain away lack of foresight makes no concession to anybody. The ad shows clearly what the attitude of your company is… so why would anybody think that you’ve changed in any way? Having experienced the “quality” craftsmanship of your cars I didn’t think I could have any less respect for your product or your company.. but man, did you guys ever prove me wrong. -slow clap-
Until a few days ago, I was OK with GM. Now, after seeing the banal, out-of-touch advertisements, I am ashamed that my tax dollars went toward bailing GM out. I am deeply disappointed that I helped contribute to the employment of the people running this program. Here’s why.
First, this has been a tremendous disservice to GM’s image. And since GM is an important part of our economy, its image matters. Mark Degnan’s non-apology above is further proof of how GM (at least, the people on this team) quite simply do not get it. It’s not a matter of “bikes vs cars, blah blah blah” or “darn we put our collective feet in our mouths.” Your campaign fully represents how one group, led by ignorance and myopia, can decimate a very important discussion. We are at a pivotal point in how we as a society get from point A to B. Economically and environmentally, we are in bad shape with the status quo. GM itself will not survive based on the status quo. And all these ads convey is a one-dimensional, degraded view of a very important issue. Moreover, they are targeted to kids in college, whose decisions will be with us as a society for a long time. Shame on you, no GM products for me.
How dare you say you’ve had no complaints about the ads??? That’s why you are “apologizing”… and very poorly I must add.
I agree with the other comments: you’re just not getting it. You put pedestrians and cyclists in danger with this campaign, by giving the idea that cars are the ones who rule the streets, and if you really mean to apologize, you should contribute to a campaign for pedestrians and cyclists rights on the streets… you know, those rights that you completely ignored while approving the ads.
I currently own a GM vehicle (a last generation Equinox, great car btw) and was planning to replace it with a Volt sometime over the next three years. i love the fact that innovative automotive technology is being built right here in the US.
but i also get around by bike, and with these ads, i’ll have to rethink that purchase. it’s mind boggling to me that ads encouraging cars to splash pedestrians and snicker at cyclists could make it from the drawing board to publication. if no one at GM looked at these ads and thought, “hey, don’t you think these ads are incredibly inappropriate?”, then GM needs to completely overhaul their marketing department and perhaps their entire corporate culture.
i suppose my next car will have to come from another automaker, maybe a Prius plug-in instead of the Volt.
Mark,
As the Director of Local Advertising and Marketing, I would like to ask you a question. How would you ever allow such an advertising campaign to move forward? Now look what you’ve done; you have alienated a whole market segment that might have gave GM a look when it came time to buy a car or truck. Good move on your part, by the way. As a person who rides a bike, I won’t be looking to Gm for my future car purchases. And just to give you a clue; I’m in sales and average about 35 to 40 thousand miles per year on a vehicle. Your marketing departments shortsightedness has really enraged the biking community, this is all over the biking forums, and folks are pissed to put it lightly. As a taxpayer I’m disgusted to see this is what my hard earned money went to at GM, basically more GM garbage. I don’t know how you still have your job as millions are without theirs.
Well, if you haven’t received any complaints, consider this a complaint from the owner of Chevy Volt #1715. Your anti-bicycle ad makes me realize that most of GM still doesn’t have a clue about where the future of transportation is headed. All of the cars I buy the rest of my life will be plug-in, but you’re gonna have to work very hard to every get me to step foot in a GM showroom again.
You would have thought GM’s institutional memory would have remembered the 2003 “Creeps & Weirdos” print ad that implied nobody but creeps and weirdos use public transit, and the backlash that ensued from it, before approving its “Reality Sucks” ad. Google is your friend. Just use it and search for “Creeps & Weirdos” and you’ll find your 2003 ad.
Implying cyclists are dorks to be run off the road, and that pedestrians should be assaulted by elitist car owners who are ENTITLED to do such things because they’re driving a car is as despicable as the “Creeps & Weirdos” ad 8 years ago. How is it we can remember it, but YOU (GM) cannot? GM didn’t “Get It” then, most assuredly DID NOT learn from it then, and doesn’t “Get It” now!
Was going to buy a Chevy this Fall . . . NOT NOW . . . NO GM products for me! THAT is something GM will comprehend, and apparently it’s the ONLY thing it can comprehend, loss of revenue. Gee, GM, that reality sucks, doesn’t it?
I’m a car enthusiast and a cycling commuter, amateur bicycle racer (track, road, and cross). My commuting miles alone are more than 600 miles per month. I attend PCA track days with my 911 Carrera several times a year. The add with the cyclist and the pedestrian is just another example, in a 40 plus year stream of examples, that show such deep problem in GM culture that break my heart. I really do want GM to succeed, but clearly they still haven’t figured it out. The best thing would probably have been for GM to have been sold off, piece by piece, so that a fresh start team of people could have made something with the assets. Although I would love to, I currently don’t own a domestic car. GM simply doesn’t make a car I want. At one point in the 90′s, GM had an add with a train full of cars, each a different model. The add bragged that there were one hundred and 20 something different models to choose from. I remember thinking…yeah, but none of them are designed for me…Other companies make less than 8 models and more than one of them are compelling to me. Examples like the 3 series, the 911… GM briefly brought the Pontiac G8 to the US, a promising but unfinished car…but it was in the middle of the economy spiraling into the Great Recession. With no marketing, a bad economy, and 40 years of bad reputation dragging it down, the car didn’t sell well and GM falsely concluded that Americans don’t want cars with nice performance and good handling. Ford’s new Escort and Fiesta looked promising. But the Fiesta gained almost 400 pounds when it came to the US. The Mazda 2 didn’t. It seems the Cruze could have been a little more enthusiast oriented, but failed…again. I always get my hopes up, only for them to be dashed. Then it’s back to Porsche, MINI, BMW, Audi, Honda.
I was raised in a GM family. I’ve always wanted GM, and the entire domestic auto industry to succeed. For my entire life, I’ve watched GM’s accelerating decline (I’m 43), culminating of course in the 2009 bankruptcy. It has always been a source of sadness to watch. My parents always had GM products, a steady stream of Impalas and Caprices. They were all fine cars…for my parents. Where is the car that shows they understand ME? What I want? Isn’t it ironic that the foreign companies understand what Americans want better than the American companies? How can this be? Where do they recruit their talent? I’m guessing that they go to the same sources and look for good old boys in waiting. They probably hire straight laced boys who are already fans of what GM is doing. The probably love the Silverado, aspire to own a Tahoe, maybe they have an old Camaro that they tinker with. They walk into GM and fit right in and joke about those dorky cyclists in their nerdy helmets around the water cooler…And they ride the GM train straight to bankruptcy.
As you keep on claiming you had no intention of using “humour” to make cycling look nerdy, can you explain exactly what you were trying to do? Also, where you went so wrong that literally thousands of intelligent students and others took offense?
It would be interesting to know which students you supposedly “worked with” in setting up your ad campaign thought that keeping fit by riding, travelling quietly without paying for and consuming expensive oil or causing noise and pollution was an inferior method of travel compared to driving (which achieves none of those benefits).
Thanks everyone, for your comments. In the past several days, we’ve read all of them and are fully aware that, in retrospect, our ads for GM’s college discount program were poorly conceived and executed.
The entire ad campaign for this program has been stopped.
Hindsight is a good thing and a bad thing. Unfortunately, you normally encounter it when things have gone wrong. But with it, you have the opportunity to learn.
We apologize if we offended you.
I’m a driver/cyclist that wasn’t offended by this ad so much as entertained. I’d just cycled home from work passing miles and miles of cars backed up due to a traffic signal out on a California expressway. It doesn’t surprise me that GM doesn’t get it, plenty of motorists don’t either. (I consider my time more valuable than sitting around).
I’ve never owned a GM product simply because nothing they build is what I’m looking for (I have an AWD wagon that’s a blast to drive, used to get 30 MPG before they added so much corn to our gas). The Volt impressed me as a good first attempt at forward thinking. I won’t say I’ll never own a GM, but I will mention I just bought out my GMAC home mortgage (after offering plenty of opportunity for them to update my APR – yeah, some just don’t get it).
Best of luck with your recovery!
Sometimes you have to make a mistake to improve. I suspect this is one of those times. Remember what Thumper said, “If you can’t say something nice, say nothing at all.”
“…our ads for GM’s college discount program were poorly conceived and executed.”
Does that mean heads will roll in your marketing department? Or, that you’ll seek a new marketing consultant company? Surely you’ll hold someone accountable?
GM is a multi-billion dollar business we taxpayers paid to rescue. You can’t be so cavalier and make these kind of mistakes.
Also, please explain how a college purchase program works. Most of the college students I know have no discretionary funds for buying new cars — it’s all they can do to afford college.
Hi Merlin. Why are yo so mad?
You may have pulled the print ads, but your website still has the reference to the ads by keeping the “Reality Sucks” banner across the top of your website.
There is still a lot of contempt for GM out there so everything you do will be looked at under a microscope so be very careful about what you say or do. These comments proves you still have a long way to go to convince the american people that you care about people and not just making money. You went that route before and it almost sunk you. You now have to prove yourself to the people not only by offering them great products but by showing them you care before, during and after the sale. You need great products great advertising dealers and dealer service to be really successful.
I’m sure many of (we) GM purchasers agree with this sentiment. I have experienced however exactly the desired, sought after, requested. I purchased a 2010 Terrain and have not failed to receive contact at every corner to make sure everything is in order and I am still pleased with my purchase. What awaits? Only and I do know only time will reveal. I do know that other manufacturers of vehicles tout much. The proof is in the driving, ownership and repeated purchases. I believe GM has tasted and savors the real flavor of true success in as much, you cannot sell what won’t last and please those who remember when. If my Terrain is in any way an indication of what is to come, GM keep it coming on, keep it comin on!!!! A pleased one
Here’s another advertising approach (that I found educational) – an interesting automotive web site that brought me over from the bicycle one I’d sought out. I now know lots more about the Lincoln MKS Hybrid than I know about any GM product (and I researched the Volt).
http://lincolnideaseries.com/craig.php
Hello and I am totally jazzed beyond my thoughts in the view of the to life size Camaro. Whew wheeeeee! It is beautiful and I know that engine roars and moves down road. However I have already collected enough speeding tickets and need no temptation at all. I do thank you for the vroom-vroom moment in the view.
Please push this on to the right place(survey central) I submitted a survey last week that had an error and I want to correct it. How? Help! It has reflected on an employee that has done nothing to deserve what my mistake cost him. I want to have to opportunity to make the correction. Please? Thank you in advance and keep those wheels coming. What next for the Terrain? Engine? 3.8 or at least 3.6. Ok, ok, ok 4.0 and not a nickel more. You win.
Ever an avid GM possessor, Florence Allen
I find it ironic that some people think GM only cares about making money when for decades they cared more about keeping people employed than making money on every sale. If enough other companies had cared about keeping people employed then perhaps people could have kept paying their mortgages and buying cars and GM would not have needed to borrow money from the government or close so many plants.
As an outsider let me say—no one but GM and aggrieved cyclists thinks there is any problem with these ads. Why? Because no-one else thinks of them as “hostile” to pedestrians or cyclists. For most people all they do is remind them how inconvenient and dangerous it can be trying to get around without a car. They don’t think “cyclists suck”, or “pedestrians suck”, but rather, “it sucks not having a car”, “it sucks getting splashed by passing cars” (and what do you expect, for every car to stop until you walk past before they go through a puddle?), and most importantly as far as GM is concerned “it sucks not having the money for a new car”—hence the college discounts. This issue doesn’t show GM hates cyclists (and be reasonable probably only two or there people in GM even saw these ads before they went out—are you really going to blame the whole company because those few people didn’t see these ads the way you do?), it shows how paranoid many cyclists are about other drivers.