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"Like a Rock" might now refer to how quickly Chevy drops its long-time advertising agency if it doesn't get with the program. According to Advertising Age, GM marketing chief Mark LaNeve sent a stern message to Campbell-Ewald, the agency responsible for the bulk of Chevy's ads since 1922. LaNeve's message? Chevrolet is a "smart choice" and shoppers need to know it. With stagnant sales and a $756 million ad budget, the company needs results and LeNeve apparently thinks this is the way to get them: open a can of whoop-ass under business partners that may be getting complacent.

LaNeve has a good point. The quality of American cars has increased greatly in recent times, but prices have remained fairly steady. He thinks car buyers need to be told that choosing a Chevy is a "smart choice" because you're not paying a premium for buying Japanese.

Reshaping attitudes can be difficult, however. Many people still believe American cars are inherently inferior than their Japanese competition. Whether through personal experience or second-hand information, some buyers feel Japanese, and increasingly Korean cars, are somehow better. We're not sure how much one ad agency can do to fix that, but simple grids with features and prices won't cut it anymore. Maybe a move like parking Accords and Camrys in Chevy dealerships will help, but only if the dealers can get people to try them out. And if the product is truly competitive.

[Source: Advertising Age]

After wading through video entries submitted by 820 teams from 230 schools, Chevrolet selected five teams totaling only 11 students to come to Detroit in late October. The candidates would have the chance to sharpen their advertising skills and work with industry professionals before presenting their final commercial submissions for Chevy's Super Bowl ad contest. When all the votes were in, 19-year old Katie Crabb from North Prairie, Wisconsin was the winner. Katie was the youngest participant in the competition, as well as the only solo finalist

Crabb, who entered the contest as an assignment for her freshman journalism class at the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee, will see her commercial run during tonight's Super Bowl telecast. The cost to run the 30-second commercial is somewhere around $2.6 million dollars. This is a big deal for Katie, as her work is being debuted during an event that's often watched as much for the commercials as it is for the actual game.

As a part of her prize, Katie will intern at Chevrolet's ad agency, Campbell-Ewald, but she says she will also keep her job at Applebee's until she graduates. At that point, Campbell-Ewald gave her a standing offer to start full-time with the firm, but Crabb says she'll just have to see what happens.

See the entire video after the jump!

Thanks for the tip Nellie Lide

[Source: Palm Beach Post via AP]