• The New York Times, Friday, June 30, 2006 12:15 PM

General Motors' Chevrolet nameplate is going back to the future with a new ad campaign that updates a popular theme of the automaker's 1970s marketing effort that celebrated "Baseball, hot dogs, apple pie and Chevrolet." The revived incarnation reflects the substantial changes that have occurred not only in baseball, but also in American culture and communications. For example, whereas the old jingle only mentioned the traditional four basic elements, the new iteration--sung by an enthusiastic, all-American chorus--now includes lyrics that also salute "free agents, rally monkeys, fantasy leagues and Chevrolet" along with "frozen yogurt, skyboxes, camera phones and Chevrolet." Also included are "face painters, satellite radio, endorsement deals and Chevrolet." The campaign is being expanded far beyond the traditional media that Chevrolet used three decades ago. In addition to television, radio, print and billboards, there are also consumer-created ads, promotions in local markets, ads aimed at minority consumers, and cause marketing. "This is probably the most completely integrated program we have," said Philip Caruso, national promotion manager for Chevrolet. "The more we can have a 360-degree connection with consumers, the more we can get them to interact with Chevrolet."

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