What happened with the Cadillac and Chevrolet ads last week?
I’m a fan of the 60-day satisfaction guarantee and applaud GM’s positioning line, “May the Best Car Win.” But McCann-Erickson’s latest creative has choked GM’s reinvigoration program and has left its brands (including consumers) in a cloud of smoke.
The cookie-cutter ads have blended both Cadillac and Chevrolet leaving them indistinguishable. Swap the logo, copy and picture of the car and you’ve got the same advertisement. Based on these ads, consumers now have less insight into each brand, what they stand for, and competitive reasons to why buy that brand. What gives?
Cadillac used to mean something. It represented success, luxury, refined American muscle, the executive class of cars. Cadillac was The Ritz Carlton of cars. Unfortunately, McCann’s “one size fits all” template approach mixes the Chevy Malibu right into a Cadillac CTS Sport Wagon (a new model) with little sensitivity to brand image. I can almost hear the creative director in the studio, “Just swap out the copy, switch the logo, and pop in a picture of the red wagon. Presto boys, you’ve got a Caddie CTS wagon ad. Oh yeah, spruce up the headline with some irony and we’re good. Bill the client retainer for two weeks. See you guys Monday.”
GM’s brands deserve more. Something still didn’t feel right. So I googled Cadillac. The print ads look nothing like the Cadillac.com experience or the car itself. Every chief marketer knows continuity with the brand (and its customer) is key in building trust. With Gen X’ers in your cross hairs, I ask – why waste your spend on something that produces little bang and is in discord with other brand experiences? This may give GM and its brands pause to re-think traditional mar-com, trafficking, and overall customer brand engagement. There are better ways to invest your money and produce results — increased sales.
Mr. Lutz and Mr. Whitacre, every branded touchpoint matters. Consider hiring the brand police accountable to safeguarding your four remaining brands. Or maybe opening an account review to establish new set of agency partners more sensitive to customers, alternative media (hello digital and social) and the distinctive value of your dynamite brands. Only the best marketing should meet your customer.
“May the Best Brand Win.”
Copyright © Warren McKenna