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By Ben Klayman
DETROIT, July 2 (Reuters) - Chevrolet's marketing campaignfor its redesigned Silverado pickup truck is the U.S.automaker's latest attempt to appeal to American patriotism, ina vehicle segment where its offering has been the oldest on theblock.
General Motors Co's ad campaign, dubbed "Strong,"will launch on Thursday in Texas - the largest pickup market inthe country - and nationally during Major League Baseball'sAll-Star game on July 16 and the home run derby the day before.
Using a song by Grammy-nominated singer Will Hoge, thecompany is linking its trucks to such values as independence andcommitment to family. The campaign calls to mind the "Like aRock" ads that included music by American rock star Bob Segerthat Chevy used to sell the Silverado from the early 1990s to2004.
"We have a great opportunity now with this new truck," ChrisPerry, vice president of Chevy marketing in the United States, told reporters. "We've been competing with the oldest truck inthe market place."
The 2014 Silverado and GMC Sierra full-size pickups, lastredesigned in 2006, are the most important vehicle introductions for the Detroit automaker since its bankruptcy and $450 billionU.S. taxpayer-funded bailout in 2009.
While declining to reveal how much GM is spending on themarketing for the new Silverado's launch, Perry called it thebiggest for GM in at least five or six years and more than thecompany spent when it last redesigned the truck. Last year, GMspent almost $351 million to market the Silverado in the U.S.market, up 29 percent from 2011, according to Kantar Media, aunit of ad giant WPP Plc.
The initial ad is backed by song "Strong" - performed byHoge - which includes images of actual Silverado owners usingtheir trucks on farms, lumber yards and other work sites, aswell as at family events like a son's baseball game. "Ain'tnuthin' gonna knock him off the road he's rollin' on," Hogesings of the truck's owners, many shown with craggy, weatheredfaces.
Perry said the initial spot, shot by Academy award-winningcinematographer Robert Richardson, is meant to hit emotionalthemes that GM and its rivals at Ford Motor Co andChrysler Group LLC have not in recent years. He said GMsees an opportunity to take back the "soulfulness" of the pickupcategory.
With the tagline, "Strong for all the roads ahead," it alsois meant to play off Chevy's new global ad tagline, "Find NewRoads," he said. That global campaign, launched in January, isGM's first attempt at a global message for thebrand.
The new Silverado campaign will start with the emotionalmessage, but also include several spots that emphasize thetruck's features, including fuel efficiency and towing capacity,Perry said. That will make Chevy dealers happy.
"What their plan is and what mine would be is saying they'reabsolutely going to focus on the superiority of this drivetrain," said Don Kerstetter, owner of Classic Chevrolet SugarLand outside Houston. Texas accounts for one of every six truckssold in the United States.
The initial spot, which will also debut as a digitaldownload and music video, was produced by Chevy's global adagency Interpublic Group's Commonwealth, while LeoBurnett of Publicis handled all the other marketing,Perry said. The campaign will include social media and eventswhere customers can see and touch the new truck, includingNASCAR races, baseball games, concerts and gun shows.
The Silverado and Sierra are key to GM's ongoing battle withFord, whose F-150 truck is the auto industry's top-sellingvehicle. GM's rollout will continue through this year and intonext as it introduces different models of the big trucks andcompanion full-size SUVs.
GM's current big trucks and related SUVs, which generate morethan $12,000 per vehicle in profit, account for about 60 percentof the company's global profit, according to analysts. Citi hasestimated the new models could bring the automaker more than $1billion in additional operating earnings in 2013 and 2014. (Additional reporting by Joseph Lichterman in Detroit; Editingby Steve Orlofsky)
