Take Two For The Robot Ad
By Noah Scott
It was only last month that mental health organizations have bombarded General Motors with complaints regarding their robot commercial. And to appease the mental health groups, GM has decided to revise the part which the group claims to be encouraging suicide.

The small yellow robot that starred in the controversial GM commercial is given another chance at fame in a retooled version of the commercial. Instead of the original jumping off the bridge, the robot will just have to try out entry level jobs that involve stocking shelves and parking cars and had bad dreams of cars in the scrap yard every morning. The Eric Carmen song “All by Myself” will continue to serve as the backdrop for the commercial.

According to Dave Regan, an advertising expert in Michigan State University, “I think people wish to be able to trust (companies) more easily. By doing this, GM drove the point home that it listens to its critics.”

The remake of the robot commercial is going to be aired during special TV broadcast on various award shows. General Motors has decided to edit out the bridge jumping scene after it has met with the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.

According to GM the original commercial was filmed in part of the Lansing Michigan Grand River assembly plant where Cadillacs are built. The main objective of the automaker in creating its commercial is to show how GM workers are obsessed with quality.

GM’s Super Bowl ad was ranked the seventh on the MSNBC.com poll and ranked 18th out of the 57 ads on the USA Today Ad Meter list of Super Bowl Ads. The Robot ad has cost GM approximately $5 million USD.

Regan said that the revision of the ad was a very important step for GM since it affects the way people perceive General Motors as a whole especially since most buyers thinks that foreign makes are better in quality. In the past years, GM has won several awards for the quality of its trucks, cars, and sport utility vehicles. And for this year, the Chevrolet Silverado and Saturn Aura has won the 2007 North American car and Truck of the Year awards during the North American International Auto Show held in Detroit.

In addition, General Motors in order to encourage more customers has upgraded their warranty by giving 100,000 mile, five-year warranty and launched their levitating cars ad in the later part of 2006. The robot ad was actually the next step in the campaign, according to GM Spokeswoman Ryndee Carney. “We know it will take a long time for perceptions to change. Perceptions lag reality.”

This was also seconded by GM’s Vice President of and Advertising, Mike Jackson who said that if GM can persuade car buyers to give the Detroit-based automaker a try, they will see that the products possess quality that goes beyond those offered by foreign makes not only in terms of designs but also in terms of auto parts used say in the clutch assembly they will be able to see the remarkable ability and durability of GM clutch kits. The difficult part is the initial luring of customers but of course once customers have tried GM products keeping them would be much easier. “We truly understand that if we build the best-looking, hottest products that we can, back them with the quality that consumers expect and couple that with GM 100,000-mile warranty, we have a real opportunity to increase our sales.”

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Noah Scott is a 30 year old native of New Jersey, writer, and car fan - having grown up with both parents being auto enthusiasts. He works for an automotive consultancy firm and regularly contributes articles to car magazines.Meanwhile for your GM clutch kits needs check out your online sources.