Chevy Hitches TrailBlazer Push to '70s Television Icon 'Bionic' Man - Brief Article

Brandweek, March 19, 2001 by Tanya Irwin

General Motors will harken back to '70s icon The Six Million Dollar Man in a new TV effort for its all-new Chevrolet TrailBlazer breaking during Sunday's Academy Awards.

The 30-second TV spot, via Campbell-Ewald, Warren, Mich., for the midsize SUV shows a truck being built in a laboratory-like assembly plant using bionics.

In a nod to the '70s show, the spot borrows the opening sequence: "Gentleman we can rebuild him, we have the technology Better than he was before. Better. Stronger. Faster," the show's announcer, actor Richard Anderson, reads in the voiceover.

The spot goes on to declare that the new 270-horsepower Chevy TrailBlazer is "the most powerful midsize sport utility in the world. It's one strong SUV." The second part of the voiceover is delivered by actor James Coburn, the voice in most Chevy Truck commercials.

Paralleling the TV spot with the show is a "great way to present exactly what happened to this truck" in its reengineering, said Jim Gorman, Campbell-Ewald's executive creative director.

The overall marketing campaign will target diverse audiences as strongly as the general market, said Russ Clark, Chevrolet TrailBlazer brand manager.

Campbell-Ewald is partnering with Accentmarketing, Coral Gables, Fla., a Hispanic specialty shop. Clark would not reveal ad spending but called it a "critical launch" for Chevy. He said the TrailBlazer budget would be separate from what the automaker spends on measured media for its sibling vehicle, the Chevy Blazer, about $60 million in 2000, according to Competitive Media Reporting.

The campaign includes print, Internet, direct mail, sales promotion programs and special events in addition to TV. "Bionic" is the introductory spot and will air for three months and will be followed by at least two more TV spots, said Tim Keaton, Chevrolet account director at Campbell-Ewald.

Chevy began pre-launch marketing for the TrailBlazer last fall with Internet and direct mail. Now as the vehicle begins to reach dealer showrooms, the campaign is launching into high gear with TV.