Video: GM commercial thanks taxpayers for the bailout

Jeff Glucker — Mon, 29 Nov 2010 14:59:00 EST

Filed under: Government/Legal, Marketing/Advertising, Videos, GM, Earnings/Financials

General Motors takes one on the chin but gets back up, thanks to us - Click above to watch video after the jump

General Motors is trying hard to move forward after everything that has happened in the last few years. The auto giant would not be here without the help of the government and the hard-working taxpayer. In a brand-new 60-second holiday ad spot, The General shows us that people and things can fall down or fail, but they get back back up... even if they need help doing so.

A boxer gets knocked down, a rocket falls back to its launch platform, Popeye almost drowns and Evel Knievel lands on his back instead of his bike. Each situation looks rocky but turns out okay in the end. GM shows these clips and then acknowledges its own fall while also thanking us (i.e. taxpayers) for picking it back up.

The clip is heavy on the schmaltzy side, but it's nice to think General Motors realizes who kept it in business. While we'd prefer some stock, a simple "thank you" message will have to do for now. You can see the ad for yourself by clicking past the jump and giving it a look.

[Sources: USA Today, General Motors]

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Video: GM commercial thanks taxpayers for the bailout originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 29 Nov 2010 14:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Can't win for losing: Chrysler criticized for "Thank You" ads

Chris Shunk — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 08:58:00 EST

Filed under: Marketing/Advertising, Chrysler

After receiving at least $4 billion dollars in low cost government loans, Chrysler, LLC thought the least it could do was thank the American people for their support. Instead of calling a press conference or writing a heart-felt letter to major newspapers, team Pentastar thought it best to take out full page ads in newspapers across America. Actually, maybe it wasn't such a good idea (not to mention several pop-up text ads). It seems there are quite a few Americans that don't like the fact that Chrysler found the need to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars taking out ads in papers when the company is struggling to remain in business. The full page ads were run in papers including the USA Today and Wall Street Journal, where the price of a full-page ad can reportedly cost up to $264,000.

Action group American Solutions calls the ads "a precise example of the fact that they do not get it" and Americans for Tax Reform likened Chrysler's ads to a polite robber that said please and thank you but still made off with the cash. It's not surprising that special interest groups would jump on the ads, but apparently some tax-paying Americans are just as displeased. A click over to Chrysler's blog shows some angry responses. There are 15 consumer responses so far, and none of them are positive. We're no ad gurus, but this didn't seem like a very good idea from the start, and it appears we're not alone.

[Source: Fox News]

Can't win for losing: Chrysler criticized for "Thank You" ads originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 31 Dec 2008 08:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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