Pointing out Albert Einstein’s brilliance is akin to noting the sun comes up each morning. Though true, it’s not exactly enlightening. However, what sometimes escapes notice is that his brilliance was not confined to science. When it comes to marketing, perhaps General Motors should look to Einstein?
“Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”
Back before the bottom finally fell out, and GM mercifully declared bankruptcy, the company ran a series of Chevrolet ads featuring retired NFL star Howie Long. In the ads, he appeared particularly condescending and smug while he made smirking digs at Toyota, Honda and Ford products. The message seemed to be this: If you people would get your heads out of your hind ends, you would realize Chevrolet products are better than these others. The problem with the message was that the last 20 years have proved this premise consistently untrue.
As Howie spread his message, the economy melted down and so did GM. Things needed to change at GM, and not in a small way. It was time to start over — with the help of an infusion of government (the American people’s) cash. The company declared bankruptcy and reorganized with a plan to be leaner and produce better products that appeal to a wider spectrum of American consumers. Going forward things would be different.
To embody this drastic change GM chose to make the symbol — drumroll: a smug and condescending Howie Long making digs at Toyota, Honda and Ford products. Wait … what?
At first I thought, OK they’re saving money by running their old commercials, but the new stuff is coming. Problem is; it wasn’t. This Thanksgiving, sports viewers were treated to a slew of new commercials in which Howie Long talked down to people who unwisely did not follow his earlier advice to buy Chevy. Woe to the poor fool Howie chides for being so stupid that he bought a Ford truck. Perhaps Howie strikes a chord with a segment of the American population, but I suspect it Is the same segment that already was buying Chevy. Clearly, that wasn’t enough. When you preach to the choir you don’t convert anyone.
Seriously, you couldn’t afford a new pitch man, GM? You are hemorrhaging billions. It’s time to bench Howie — fire your ad agency — and hire the Geico caveman, or the Geico bundle of money, or the Geico pothole, or the Geico gecko, or the ghost of the deceased Taco Bell Chihuahua for all I care. But Lord in heaven, please put smug Howie out of our misery.
This is a company that recently announced plans to begin repaying billions to the U.S. government in spite of the fact that it still is losing billions. We get it. You’re trying to improve your public image by promising the absurd. Why so tone deaf and frugal when it comes to Howie Long? To be honest, I wasn’t real excited about buying Chevy based on the recent track record. Howie just guarantees it. It’s time to start changing people’s minds, not cementing their opinions.
A friend of my father’s was a longtime GM executive. Recently, he has bemoaned that the Obama administration “ruined GM.” I’m not saying what the government did with the auto industry was either good or bad. But, I think saying someone ruined GM is like saying someone killed a zombie. Can you kill what’s already dead? GM was in the grave before it punched through the dirt and came out groaning. If it was anything like a zombie movie, it was looking for brains. Perhaps that was because GM couldn’t find any in its marketing department.
Again, turn to the most famous brain of the last century. Einstein said, “We can’t solve problems using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them.” When this problem was created, someone at GM thought Howie Long could sell cars and trucks by acting like a jerk. In addition to being a retired football player, Howie also should become a retired pitchman.
Wes Browne is a Richmond attorney. He can be reached at 624-4077.
Viewpoints
Related Photos
-
Wes Browne
Long past hurts GM’s future
- Viewpoints
-
-
Europe’s economic tremors offer useful lesson for Kentucky
Americans paying even cursory attention to what’s happening on the other side of the Atlantic are about to get a stark reminder of an economic principle that too often gets pushed to the side – especially during troubling times: No government has ever taxed, spent or borrowed its way to prosperity.
-
Why would anyone not vote?
Should those of us who vote be disturbed that so few people voted in this past Tuesday’s election?
Only 17 percent of Madison County’s registered voters went to the polls. And, not everyone who’s eligible is registered to vote. -
Republicans are making some noise
FRANKFORT — Last week’s news was mostly about Tuesday’s primary election but some Republicans who were not on the ballot also had interesting things to say.
-
Taking our Sunday night baths
There in the head of Blair Branch, when I was growing up in the 1950s and ‘60s, we always took our weekly baths, even during cold weather, every Sunday night, whether we needed one or not.
-
Obama pursues higher tax rates
In the run-up to this weekend’s G-8 summit at Camp David, journalists have unfavorably compared European “austerity” with Barack Obama’s economic policies.
European spending cuts, the argument goes, have hurt people and are arousing political opposition, while Obama’s proposals to keep federal spending at 24 percent of gross domestic product indefinitely are likely to succeed. -
Graduation day
It’s that time of year. What’s the old song? “I can still remember...” And I do. It’s what I talk about when I’m invited to be a graduation speaker and what I write about every year at this time.
It’s about all those painful memories. -
Recent news could cause panic for Obama campaign
Is it panic time at Obama headquarters in Chicago? You might get that impression from watching events – and the polls – over the past few weeks.
-
EPA goes medieval on Kentucky coal
EPA goes medieval on KRoman legions? Horrific crucifixions? Sacking dissenters and making examples out of their deaths?
These may sound like some of the gruesome tactics used by military commanders of the ancient world, but according to Al Armendariz, who, until recently, was regional administrator for the Environmental Protection Agency, it’s much more relevant to modern America than we’d care to believe. -
Don’t just pick out a card
When Anna Jarvis launched the movement for a Mother’s Day observance in 1908, her intention was to have everyone write their mother a letter, putting some thought and sincerity into thanking and telling her what she had meant to them.
Unsurprisingly, the idea caught on quickly and became very popular. But, Jarvis was disappointed with the outcome. -
Returning to a calmer situation
FRANKFORT – After a two-month absence, I’ve returned to Frankfort where things seem calmer than when I left.
- More Viewpoints Headlines
-
Beryl Makes Landfall on Florida Coast
UN Blames Syrian Forces for Shelling Houla
Raw Video: Gay Protest Blocked in Moscow
Vatican in Chaos After Butler Arrested for Leaks
Jimmy Carter Endorses Egypt's Election Results
Biden Addresses West Point Graduating Class
Dozens of Children Killed in New Syria Attack
Raw Video: Activists Allege Massacre in Syria
NJ Man Charged With Murder in Death of Patz
Support, Fun for Kids of Fallen Soldiers at Camp
Fugitive Penguin Caught, Returned to Aquarium
50 Years Later, Underground Fire Still Burning
Light Show Transforms Sydney Opera House
Raw Video: Unruly Passenger Restrained in Miami
Raw Video: Robber Uses Drive-thru Window
Raw Video: Dragon Arrives at Space Station
Calif.'s Coronado Named Nation's Best Beach
CEO Salaries Become Sore Issue in Labor Disputes
