Earlier this year, General Motors sent its Chevrolet Silverado account back to Commonwealth//McCann after more than two years with Leo Burnett Detroit in what it called an effort to “streamline business and ensure consistency.”
The client’s newest campaign, launched on Sunday, is its first since the shift–and it aims to make some very specific points about aluminum.
The first spot stars real people, not actors…along with a certain ornery mammal:
“Do not attempt.”
Next, Howie Long is not a bear–but he does have some thoughts to share on the Silverado, especially when compared to the Ford F-150. The client and its Chief Engineer Eric Stanczak are not shy about marketing their clearly superior product as such:
Aluminum, rivets AND adhesive?! The dialogue in this spot was far more believable than any line in last week’s True Detective.
Finally, to return that that Long quote about a certain Mr. Kent, Chevy staged a stunt in which it asked some nerds to voice their opinions:
This crowd also seems to consist of real people, not actors.
Some in the auto trade industry have been critical of the “steel” campaign, with AutoBlog calling its messages “Orwellian” thanks to “negative propaganda towards the 13th element” which “assumes the average consumer knows nothing.”
That single harsh take aside, Silverado had begun to gain ground on the F-150 as of January 2015. Ford still tops the sales list, but those numbers came out well before the new models and their particularly resistant marketing strategy.
The campaign was developed by Commonwealth//McCann; these are the credits for “Cages”:
AGENCY: COMMONWEALTH//MCCANN
Creative Chairmen: Linus Karlsson
Chief Creative Officer, North America: Gary Pascoe
Executive Creative Director: Bob Guisgand
Executive Creative Director: Duffy Patten
Associate Creative Director: Vic Quattrin
Senior Copywriter: Scott Wolf
Executive Producer: Kelly Balagna
Senior Producer: Adam Davis
Account Director: Bill Wilt
Account Director: Derek Chappo
Account Executive: Amanda Collier
Director Zach Merck/MAKE
Executive Producer/MAKE Founder Dana Locatell
Supervising Producer/MAKE Partner Tim Mack
Editor: Jeff Ferruzzo/ Arcade Edit
Flame Artist: Mark Leiss/ Arsenal FX
Flame Artist: Jameson DeSantis/Asenal FX
Flame Artist: Matt Motal/ Arsenal FX
Colorist/Telecine: Shane Reed/ Apache Color
Sr. Audio Engineer: Loren Silber/ Lime