PREMiERdrum Posted June 9, 2016 Share Posted June 9, 2016 The backpedaling has begun... at a record clip: Facing slowing sales of its Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck and other models, General Motors Co. launched a broadside against Ford Motor Co. that questions the durability of its crosstown rival’s most profitable vehicle.In a marketing blitz on Wednesday, Chevrolet said lab tests and other demonstrations show the Silverado’s high-strength steel bed better withstands damage than the stamped aluminum bed in Ford’s F-150 pickup truck.GM ads show loaders dumping concrete blocks in both beds, punching holes in the F-150’s bed while only scratching and denting the high-strength steel bed of the Silverado.The demonstrations were done without bed liners protecting the trucks.“When you’re the market leader for 39 years, competitors sometimes try to take shots at you with marketing stunts,” a Ford spokesman said. He added that the F-150’s “high-strength, military grade, aluminum alloy cargo box” provides leading strength, durability and corrosion resistance, among other benefits.Mr. Sullivan, the AutoPacific analyst, said the GM truck demonstrations weren’t overly illuminating.“It’s just one of the characteristics of aluminum,” he said of the F-150 damage GM demonstrated. “Having a bed liner is a must.” GM said it dropped 55 landscaping blocks weighing a total of 825 pounds into the beds of both trucks from 5 feet above the bed floor. It also pushed a steel toolbox off the side rail of each truck, to test if the toolbox dented the floor of the beds.Chevrolet truck marketing chief Monte Doran said the marketing campaign wasn’t meant to attack Ford, but rather highlight the Silverado’s advantages.A GM spokesman said engineers discovered the testing differences months ago, and the results were replicated for the ad campaign. He added the campaign aims to lure shoppers away from Dodge and Toyota Motor Corp. rather than try to persuade loyal, entrenched Ford truck owners. http://www.wsj.com/ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mad Hatter Posted June 10, 2016 Share Posted June 10, 2016 A GM spokesman said engineers discovered the testing differences months ago, and the results were replicated for the ad campaign. He added the campaign aims to lure shoppers away from Dodge and Toyota Motor Corp. rather than try to persuade loyal, entrenched Ford truck owners. Josh Earnest works for GM? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted June 10, 2016 Share Posted June 10, 2016 How the hell would that commercial lure a dodge or Toyota buyer! I call shenanigans! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Rosadini Posted June 10, 2016 Share Posted June 10, 2016 WSJ had article on this campaign yesterday. Bottom line message is Chev. is hurting. The worst is yet to come though-I understand Howie Long is coming back! I know Ford won't take this on directly, but I could think of so many counter punches....."Plan on dumping heavy blocks from an unreasonable height? Get a bedliner. Worried about a frontal crash? WE have you covered. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted June 10, 2016 Share Posted June 10, 2016 The worst is yet to come though-I understand Howie Long is coming back! He's in the new commercial already. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gnostic Posted June 10, 2016 Share Posted June 10, 2016 Or ford could bring up the unfix-able mind numbing vibrations on GM trucks, ha precision engineering. open up the whole can of worms. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted June 10, 2016 Share Posted June 10, 2016 Scratch both beds and park them oceanside for 30 days. In both scenarios a bedliner makes it a moot point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fuzzymoomoo Posted June 10, 2016 Share Posted June 10, 2016 How the hell would that commercial lure a dodge or Toyota buyer! I call shenanigans! What Toyota buyer? There's only like 12 of them and they're loyal to the Tundra. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
630land Posted June 10, 2016 Share Posted June 10, 2016 As someone said, who will actually dump bricks like that on a job? They'd get fired for ruining building materials! Just a stunt for knuckle draggers to go 'wow, cool' watching endless TV. GM has Al coming, what will they say then? "Never mind"? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bryan1 Posted June 10, 2016 Share Posted June 10, 2016 They said they would use more aluminum, they didn't say it would be used for the floor of the bed. And they'll also say their welding makes their aluminum better or they will ignore past comments such as when they bashed the man step, heated wheels and 60k warranties and then did their own a few years later. 3.6 million views in 2 days. And the Howie Long one has 300k. https://www.youtube.com/user/Chevrolet/videos Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MY93SHO Posted June 10, 2016 Share Posted June 10, 2016 How many views per day will there be in 30 days? Tempest in a tea cup. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TopCat501 Posted June 11, 2016 Share Posted June 11, 2016 How many views per day will there be in 30 days? Tempest in a tea cup. The YouTube video is just 1 part of the whole campaign. Chevy’s ballsy comparison advertising also assailed Ford executives by materializing in front of Ford suppliers and customers all over the Motor City this week in a multi-media comparison-marketing blitz perhaps without precedent in the U.S. automotive industry, including big-bucks wraparound newspaper ads and, reportedly, Jumbotron stadium videos. They were giddy at Chevy, perturbed at Ford. “It’s a cheap shot,” groused one Ford executive. “But we’re the industry leader, so naturally they’re going to come after us.” Added another Ford executive: “GM is stuck with what they have for another few years, without a new truck version coming, so they have to do what they can.” http://www.forbes.com/sites/dalebuss/2016/06/10/chevrolets-motor-city-hit-job-on-ford-f-150-is-one-of-most-aggressive-comparison-campaigns/#f5ca7f519250 Seems quite the effort on the part of GM to plant doubt in the public's mind regarding the durability & toughness of aluminum. Whether the situation is realistic or not I think GM must be pleased with the amount of attention the campaign is getting. Whether it works or not remains to be seen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmc523 Posted June 11, 2016 Share Posted June 11, 2016 This commercial came up at a family dinner this evening. My dad and uncle were discussing it and how ridiculous it was. My uncle specifically mentioned how something about that toolbox wasn't right - it didn't dent, deform, or have any or of mark on it at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpd80 Posted June 11, 2016 Share Posted June 11, 2016 If dropping sharp objects into the back of a pick up was causing a real issue with F150, we would have heard all about that by now...guess what, nadda It's a contrivance to justify staying with steel panels. And the reason GM picked five feet for the drop test is because four feet didn't work... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bdegrand Posted June 11, 2016 Author Share Posted June 11, 2016 (edited) If dropping sharp objects into the back of a pick up was causing a real issue with F150, we would have heard all about that by now...guess what, nadda It's a contrivance to justify staying with steel panels. And the reason GM picked five feet for the drop test is because four feet didn't work... I agree..they had to be working on this for quite some time..also how many times they dumped the blocks and or toolbox to get the results they wanted. I wonder if any independent consumer groups (other than hand picked focus groups) will attempt to conduct any tests to determine their findings.One last comment...what happens to those scratches on the Chevy after a year or so of salty winter weather..compared to the Ford aluminum bed? Rust? Edited June 11, 2016 by bdegrand Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fordtech1 Posted June 11, 2016 Share Posted June 11, 2016 As low as this commercial is, it is eye catching. I wonder if Ford is working on countermeasures!? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted June 11, 2016 Share Posted June 11, 2016 I don't think Ford will respond or needs to respond. I think this is going to backfire on GM - truck buyers aren't stupid. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TopCat501 Posted June 11, 2016 Share Posted June 11, 2016 My uncle specifically mentioned how something about that toolbox wasn't right - it didn't dent, deform, or have any or of mark on it at all. I called GM; they said it was a STEEL toolbox not an aluminum one. But seriously, the article said GM discovered this many months ago in their internal testing of competitors vehicles. And while not realistic in the real world, it is a dramatic visual sight to see and stirring an emotional reaction in a potential customer is the holy grail of advertising/marketing. In this case, the attempt is to stir a negative emotion towards a competitor vehicle. Ford's marketing tact seems to always aim to stir a positive emotion about their own product. GM not so much, they've used the negative approach in the past and they are doing it again Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blwnsmoke Posted June 11, 2016 Share Posted June 11, 2016 And the reason GM picked five feet for the drop test is because four feet didn't work... Exactly.. and didn't they say they stumbled upon this on accident? LOL.. comical!!! Last time I checked, people don't drop stuff into the bed of their truck from 5 feet higher then the bed unless it is a front loader loading a cab/chassis. How many tests did they run that failed to give them the results they were looking for. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmc523 Posted June 11, 2016 Share Posted June 11, 2016 I called GM; they said it was a STEEL toolbox not an aluminum one. But seriously, the article said GM discovered this many months ago in their internal testing of competitors vehicles. And while not realistic in the real world, it is a dramatic visual sight to see and stirring an emotional reaction in a potential customer is the holy grail of advertising/marketing. In this case, the attempt is to stir a negative emotion towards a competitor vehicle. Ford's marketing tact seems to always aim to stir a positive emotion about their own product. GM not so much, they've used the negative approach in the past and they are doing it again Must be a high strength steel toolbox.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fuzzymoomoo Posted June 11, 2016 Share Posted June 11, 2016 Also: if that toolbox was empty you can call me Michael Jackson. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J-150 Posted June 11, 2016 Share Posted June 11, 2016 True story. Years back a forklift was placing a steel bin full of machine parts in the back of the company Chev pickup I was driving. The foot of the parts bin tore a hole on the bed side of the wheel well. So this happens to steel too Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpvbs Posted June 12, 2016 Share Posted June 12, 2016 Must be a high strength steel toolbox.... Military grade steel most likely. ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardJensen Posted June 12, 2016 Share Posted June 12, 2016 The American public have a short attention span and a short memory. If that punctured bed is the only horse that Chevy has to ride from now until 2019, well, they're not going to make it. By way of illustration.... You guys remember that controversial Silverado ad that was all over the airwaves a few years ago, right? You guys all clearly remember what was controversial about it, and so on and so forth, right? Exactly my point. Exactly my point. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pffan1990 Posted June 12, 2016 Share Posted June 12, 2016 The American public have a short attention span and a short memory. If that punctured bed is the only horse that Chevy has to ride from now until 2019, well, they're not going to make it. By way of illustration.... You guys remember that controversial Silverado ad that was all over the airwaves a few years ago, right? You guys all clearly remember what was controversial about it, and so on and so forth, right? Exactly my point. Exactly my point. You do have a point. The ads actually are short term attention span in general. Only some make everlasting impression. To me, one of the ads I can still remember is the Super Bowl 1996 where the new 1997 Ford F-150 drove fast and ran across a ramp in which it made a huge jump over a long parked row of 1996 'Old Faithful' F-150s. The F-150 landed in one good piece and kept driving. Powerful ad and I still remember the details of the scenes. I hadn't even seen it in years. In fact, I may go check it out on YouTube for old time's sake. By the way, you also made your point about the controversial Silverado ad years ago since I actually have no idea what you are talking about. But now you got me curious which ad you were talking about. Is this the one where Howie Long mocked Ford's 'man step' tailgate step? I'm thinking that this is the ad you are thinking of. lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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