• The Detroit News, Ad Age, Friday, September 11, 2009 10:41 AM

General Motors ads starring chairman Ed Whitacre will entice consumers with a 60-day money-back guarantee on 2009 and 2010 models from one of its automaker's four core brands -- Chevrolet, Cadillac, Buick and GMC, Robert Snell reports. There are a few hitches: they must keep the vehicle for at least 31 days, be current on payments and not exceed 4,000 miles. And the dealer will not refund any negative equity the buyer had in a trade-in vehicle.

GM vice chairman and marketing czar Bob Lutz will not say how much GM is spending on the campaign, but indicates that it will be more, relative to its market share, than it has been spending in recent years. "This is a big bet on the power of communication and a big bet on the power of effective advertising and shifting public perception," he says.

Making the 67-year-old Whitacre the face of GM is risky and may alienate younger consumers, Iceology's Wes Brown tells Snell. Indeed, Ad Age's coverage leads with Lutz' defense of the use of the "highly credible" Whitacre in the campaign. "He's tall, good looking, has impeccable white hair and has this nice soft Texas drawl and limps a little bit when he walks, which sort of gives him this old cowboy look," Lutz points out.

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