• AutoWeek, Tuesday, September 12, 2006 12:15 PM

Seeking to recover from its $10.6 billion loss in 2005, General Motors will launch the 2007 GMC Sierra and Chevrolet Silverado pickup trucks with a massive push next month during World Series telecasts and National Football League programs. Silverado ads will emphasize the pickup as a uniquely American phenomenon, and are likely to feature music by rocker John Mellencamp, sources say. "It's steeped in Americana," says a source familiar with the campaign. "It's to put you more in the mode of the 'Like a Rock' campaign." GMC's commercials will highlight engineering excellence and capability, according to GMC Marketing Director Steve Rosenblum. It is estimated that GMC and Chevrolet will spend more than one-third of their marketing budgets on the campaigns, which translates to $292 million for the Silverado and $100 million for the Sierra. Neither GMC or Chevrolet would confirm the figures, but Rosenblum calls GMC's overall efforts "the largest integrated marketing campaign we've launched to date." The big pickups account for more than one of five GM vehicles sold in the United States, and the success of its full-sized SUV and pickup lines is crucial.

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