The current issue of Wired includes an ad from General Motors touting the company's new line of environmentally friendly Chevy Cars. The ad features a photo of a white spiderweb against a blurry backdrop of various shades of green. The letters "XOXO" are spelled out by the filaments of the spider's web as if the spider itself has woven a message. The ad's headline reads, "Everyone can appreciate technologies that go from gas-friendly to gas-free." The copy discusses Chevy's current line of 7 models with "an EPA estimated 30 MPG or better", as well as other models that run on ethanol, the first full-size hybrid SUV, and Concept Chevy Volt, a product still in development. Below the ad's copy are a 5 cartoon-like auto tech icons with corresponding text indicating the meaning of the icon (a gas meter for "Fuel Efficiency", a triangle with a lightning bolt for "electric", etc.) The tagline, in larger font, reads "An American Revolution" in all white type except for the "e" in "revolution" which appears in red as three parallell horizontal lines. The familiar Chevrolet bowtie logo appears after the tagline.
Significantly, no image of a car appears in the ad. The green color of the ad speaks for itself, while the spider's "XOXO" seems to be nature's way of showing its love for Chevy's new environmental outlook. Rather than trying to sell a single model car, Chevy is selling the concept of itself as a company with an environmental conscience, a responsible option for the concerned consumer.
Chevrolet has a small ad located in the left hand column of the New York Times website. The ad is simply a small Chevy bowtie logo followed by the text "Join the fuel technology dialogue" in small font. A click on the link brings the user to a website identified on the top left with the Chevy logo and the text "Fuel technology debate", and on the left with the New York Times logo and text that identifies the site as a "Sponsored archive/Microsite". The site is dominated by a series of shifting images of humans interacting with nature (two hands hold a small patch of soil sprouting a seedling, a child blows seeds from a dandelion) alternating with the aforementioned cartoon symbols of environmental auto technology, this time without the identifying text. Larger sentences are revealed in a large white against a photo background of a blue sky with fluffy white clouds: "This is a dialogue between people who share a planet" "We value your input" "We promise to listen". Next to the images is the headline "We need to talk" followed by a message from Beth Lowery, Vice President of General Motors. The message once again outlines Chevy's commitment to environmentally-friendly auto alternatives, requests questions from the readers doubting the company's commitment ("We expect skepticism"), and promises to answer some of these questions in the Times Op/Ed section.
Chevy's new media ad employs a similar approach to the print ad in its emphasis on environmental issues while seemingly mentioning its cars only in passing. Again, the ad is more concerned with selling the concept of Chevy as a "green" company rather than any specific model of car. Indeed, the Concept Chevy Volt, one car mentioned in both ads, is currently little more than a concept itself: a promise for the future. However, the new media ad has clear advantage over the print ad in it's promise of involving the consumer in a dialogue about environmentalism. The increased involvement of the consumer in the advertising experience would seem invaluable in a culture jaded by years of traditional advertising.
While a full-page ad in a magazine might be routinely ignored by many readers, a promise of open dialogue "betwen people who share a planet" might capture a user's interest. Furthermore, the co-branding of the message with the New York Times logo adds intellectual cachet, as well as an image of integrity not often associated with the automotive industry. There is even a link from the page to articles about environmental fuel concerns that recently appeared in the Times.
While both ads move towards the reimaging of Chevy as a "green" company, the web ad's ability to hold a reader's interest for more than a few seconds represents an excellent attempt by Chevy to exploit new media's potential ability to interact with consumers in new and exciting ways.
