Marketing Gone Wrong

Chevy marketers thought having an online contest to see who can create the best TV ad for the new Tahoe was gonna be a great idea - A huge success. Last spring's campaign for the Chevy Tahoe broke every single rule of marketing. GM allowed people to post their own commercial messages about America's best-selling SUV. Some people produced some really positive messages, touting the vehicle's many selling points. Then there were the other entries. The ones that subverted the Tahoe message with references to global warming, social irresponsibility, war in Iraq, and the psycho-sexual connotations of extremely large cars. One contestant posted an offering called "Enjoy the Longer Summers!" which blamed the Tahoe for heat-trapping gasses and melting polar ice caps. An entry called "How Big Is Yours" declared, "Ours is really big! Watch us fuck America with it!" Others claimed "Make the Earth your Bitch!" and "We sold ourselves for oil" while even another made a connection between members of President Bush's inner circle and what they do in their Tahoe. What really makes me laugh is that many of these entries were posted and viewed on the GM website until management caught wind of it and had the rogue postings removed.