Brandtique: GM's Saturn, 'Runway'

by David Goetzl, Sep 19, 2008, 7:30 AM

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Reasonable people can agree when a maxim has popped a flat tire and there's no need to pump it back up. When corporations first started "going green"--was BP the first with the "It's a Start" campaign?--the phrase "green is the new black" had some juice.

 

 

Now, please let it go. And for that matter, stop saying anything is the "new black." That's so 1999.

So, give a demerit to General Motors, its Saturn brand and Bravo for rolling it out in a vignette during a break in an episode of the network's "Project Runway."

Saturn is, as Bravo calls it, a "fully integrated" sponsor of the show, now in its fifth season. Part of its full integration involves giving the winner a 2009 Vue hybrid. Another is airing a series of vignettes with contestants from past seasons who are charged with creating a design inspired by a Saturn model.

During the Aug. 27 episode, it was Chris March's turn (he's from season four). His inspiration was the Vue, a rather standard-looking SUV that would hardly stand out in the supermarket parking lot. But it is a hybrid, which prompts him to use "all organic and sustainable fabrics" to create an outfit.

When finished, he puts on the duds and poses for the camera. Not bad, he thinks.

Then, comes: "Remember, guys, green is the new black."

Oh, the agony.

Moldy phrase aside, GM and Saturn's roles in the episode certainly were no gratuitous vanity play. It had a clear purpose: to advance GM's seemingly ubiquitous message that it's environmentally friendly. (When you're losing green hand over fist, why not go green?)

In the green vein, GM was the first advertiser to commit as a sponsor of Discovery's new Planet Green network. That's according to an interview that Discovery Vice President of Programming David Russell gave. Russell said the deal provided GM with opportunities for integrations, while Discovery created some long-form ads for GM that helped "get (its) corporate message out."

On the "Runway" episode, GM tries to hammer home a message that it's a supporter of recycling.

Contestants were challenged to create an outfit using discarded Saturn car parts. The task is introduced by Saturn's lead color designer, Chris Webb, who says that 85% "by weight" of Vue hybrids "are recyclable in today's environment."

Pointing to a group of Vues (one of the top product placements of the week, according to measurement firm iTVX), he tells the designers: "You'll be recycling these vehicles to make an outfit of your choice."

The contestants are then given four minutes to rummage through the hybrids to grab as many old parts--dashboard detritus, floor mats, etc.--that they can before they head to the studio. Seat belts are particularly popular.

Then, they go to work mixing, matching and stitching. The results look pretty good.

"Saturn Vue style" is what one contestant calls it. The phrase is at least a fresh one.

Product	Show	Q-Ratio
Saturn	Project Runway	13.2691
Toyota Sequoia	Run's House	2.2349
Duncan Hines	The Colbert Report	1.7656
Carfax	Reality Bites Back	1.4923
GMC Yukon	The Cleaner	1.4165

 

 

Click here to view these placements. Data and analysis provided by iTVX.

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