Chevrolet released a series of three ad spots that take blatant hits against the aluminum construction and promote the Chevy Silverado. Two of the spots have a doze of humor, while the third takes a more serious approach.
The spot titled Cages pits “Real people. Not actors” (according to the ad) against a 700 pound grizzly bear. The people are in a confined testing facility and are presented with a choice of two cages. They are told one is made of aluminum and the other of high-strength steel. Next, the grizzly bear makes a surprise appearance and the people face a quick choice between the two cages.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vIC7Fw1rFF4
Next up is an ad titled New Superhero – Almighty Aluminum Man. This spot questions a panel of “real comic book fans” about the premise of the “Aluminum Man” for a possible new movie franchise.
The third spot features spokesperson, Howie Long, in a more serious and the most direct hit against the 2015 Ford F-150 and the aluminum body construction. Howie interviews Chevrolet Chief Engineer Eric Stanczak about the differences between the Chevy Silverado and the Ford F-150. Eric quotes repair cost study by an independent firm AMCI Testing that concluded that repairing damage to aluminum bodied F-150 on average costs $1,755 more and takes 34 more days to complete (or double the repair time).
The gloves are really off now. The pickup truck segment is the most popular in the United States and big money is at stake. The Chevy Silverado and GMC Sierra have shown a recent increase in sales, as Ford has struggled. What are your thoughts on this recent ad campaign by Chevrolet?
Noteworthy is the report (by the Wall Street Journal and Reuters) from February 2014 that stated that General Motors secured orders with Alcoa Inc and Novelis to supply aluminum body components for next generation of pickup trucks.
