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DETROIT — Bob Lutz, General Motors' new marketing guru, jokingly wants to put a new ending on a much-panned ad featuring a movie director hugging a new Buick LaCrosse sedan and treating it like a model on a beach.
In Lutz's version, a tidal wave would crash over the ad set, washing everything away but the car, which is where the focus should have been, he says.
Vice Chairman Lutz, formerly head of product development, says GM has spent too much time and money on advertising that hasn't changed with widespread perception that the company's vehicles aren't as good as its competitors.
Speaking Tuesday at an event north of Detroit, Lutz said members of the government's auto task force and new board Chairman Edward Whitacre Jr. agreed and also pushed for change.
Whitacre, who is featured in the first round of ads, as well as task force members, told GM executives that the company had made great strides in product development and manufacturing quality, "but we were seriously deficient in getting the word out," Lutz said.
GM emerged from bankruptcy protection in July and has received $50 billion in federal aid. The company is 60.8 percent owned by the government, which ousted the old CEO and has been pulling other strings despite statements that it doesn't want to run a car company.
The old ads, Lutz said, showed happy families washing their cars and GM vehicles on winding roads, but did little to change the public perception that the automaker builds inferior vehicles.
Lutz has scrapped the director and other ads in favor of those focused on vehicles. GM kicked off the campaign last weekend with spots featuring Whitacre challenging people to try the company's vehicles and offering a 60-day money-back guarantee. A new wave of ads starting Sept. 21 will compare new GM vehicles directly with competitors.
"Where we are competitively superior we will say so," Lutz said. He spoke at a dealership where he marked the arrival of the new GMC Terrain. It's a midsize crossover vehicle designed to take on the Toyota RAV-4, Honda CRV and the BMW X3.
Lutz said GM will greatly increase its ad spending, making claims that its products are better than models from topflight brands such as Lexus, BMW or Acura.
GM's corporate and brand advertising have gone to a large number of different ad agencies over the years. Leo Burnett currently has Buick and GMC and had Pontiac until GM decided to shed the brand. Campbell-Ewald has had the Chevrolet account for years. Modernista now has Cadillac.
Jack Nerad, executive market analyst for Kelley Blue Book, said GM's strategy will give more publicity to competitors, but GM has little to lose because it wasn't on the consideration list for many buyers anyway.
"That might at least pique some curiosity," he said. "I think one of the keys with General Motors is getting butts into seats. Once people sample, I think they will be impressed."
GM's newer products are competitive with the best automakers, Nerad said, but some older vehicles are mediocre and may not impress people.
