(08:30 May 12, 2004)
GTO is star of upcoming TV movie; love of muscle car inspires family
By LAURA CLARK GEIST | Automotive News

Product placement is one thing. But Pontiac can boast that one of its models has reached star status in an upcoming film.

On June 2, the Pontiac GTO stars in a USA Network movie, The Last Ride. It's about a family that reunites because of its love for the famed muscle car.

The cast includes a 2004 Pontiac GTO and a 1969 GTO. The two models are related in name only, since GM revived the moribund GTO name and slapped it on a vehicle modified from the stable of Holden Ltd., GM's Australian subsidiary.

Notable humans in the film include Dennis Hopper, Will Patton, Fred Ward and Chris Carmack.

Producer Rob Cohen pitched the movie to General Motors last fall while he was directing TV commercials for the redesigned vehicle. Cohen has directed car-oriented movies such as The Fast and the Furious and XXX.

Dino Bernacchi, Pontiac's advertising manager, says that "for a long time, there's been talk of fusion" of the auto industry with entertainment media. Automakers increasingly seek to place their products in movies and TV shows.

Cohen proposed building the film around the GTO, Bernacchi says.

"He approached us before the script was even written," Bernacchi says. "We were there from the beginning."

Unlike most made-for-TV movies, The Last Ride will have an extensive advertising campaign and a distinctive soundtrack, he says. The campaign includes a dedicated Web site, TV commercials, merchandise that features the movie's logo and e-mail updates. The film will be released on DVD and the soundtrack on a CD.

Pontiac is mounting a promotional blitz for The Last Ride. It is working with Cohen, GM Media Works, USA Network and the cable network's parent company, Universal Studios, to promote the movie.

The promotion schedule includes advertising on the Web site www.pontiac.com/thelastride.

A sweepstakes on the Web site allows visitors to sign up to for a random drawing that will award a 2004 GTO and a walk-on role in a USA Network production.

Bernacchi says GM will be the sole automotive advertiser during the film's debut broadcast.

Steve Tihanyi, GM's general director of marketing alliances and regional operations, says the early collaboration between the automaker and the film's producers rarely happens.

"We literally started dialoguing from (the beginning) - what the concept was, how Pontiac could participate, and what Pontiac would need to provide in terms of vehicles," Tihanyi says. "That's the way we can make the right kind of impact."

Despite the collaboration of automaker and studio, Bernacchi says Pontiac did not influence development of the film's script.

"Rob Cohen would never let me get in the way," he says. "We just inspired them with a great car."

Tihanyi adds: "I don't want to force something into the movie or the script that is not natural. People will see through it."

Pontiac gave Cohen 10 GTOs from this model year to use in the movie. It also helped Cohen's production team find two 1969 GTOs.

Bernacchi says the movie pushes the performance of the old and new GTOs to the limits.

GM team delivers pizazz into Buick, Pontiac marketing
Ad stars sharpen image of brands


By Ed Garsten / The Detroit News

DETROIT — Coming to the small screen in June is a big-budget, full-length movie starring Dennis Hopper ... and a passel of Pontiac GTOs.

So much for traditional 30-second or one-minute commercials to sell cars and trucks.

The GTO’s star turn in the film “The Last Ride” is part of a three-month-old effort by General Motors Corp. to rev up marketing at its Pontiac, Buick and GMC brands.

A new team led by advertising wunderkind C.J. Fraleigh is looking to cut through the clutter and highlight vehicle attributes such as power, performance and amenities.

“The marketing will be sharper — some advertising messages will change,” Fraleigh said.

Fraleigh, 40, made his name by helping GM turn around its once-inert Cadillac division. A combination of edgy new products and the use of music by hard rockers Led Zeppelin in commercials has helped convert Cadillac’s image from has-been to hip.

On Feb. 1, Fraleigh moved to Buick and Pontiac-GMC as the division’s general manager. He was joined by Jim Bunnell, 48, a former Pontiac executive who spent the last half decade running GM’s Northeast region.

While GMC’s lineup of pickup trucks and sport utility vehicles is delivering sales and profits, Pontiac remains a work in progress. GM is repositioning the brand to focus on its performance image.

“A couple of times in our history we fell off that path,” Bunnell said. “We’re taking Pontiac back to its roots, its true performance, not only straight line acceleration but great handling and a true driver’s environment.”

Pontiac’s advertising tag line “Fuel for the Soul” will be retained for now, but Fraleigh and Bunnell are looking to bring home the brand’s performance image in a bigger way, hence the made-for-television movie “The Last Ride.”

The movie debuts in June on USA Network and features several generations of the iconic muscle car.

Pontiac vehicles are also getting exposure on several cable television networks through the end of the month on what is essentially a 30-minute long commercial titled “Secrets of the Stuntmen.”

The long-form commercial takes viewers behind the scenes as four Hollywood stuntmen plan and execute a two-minute chase scene featuring the Pontiac Vibe GT, GTO, Grand Prix GTP Comp-G and Bonneville GXP.

“We’re looking for different avenues for showcasing our products other than the 30-second TV spot,” Bunnell said.

Using movies to target a specific type of consumer can actually be more cost-effective than short commercials on network television, said Jim Sanfilippo, an analyst with automotive marketing consultants AMCI Inc. in Warren.

“Network cost increases are allowing marketers to consider other ways to reach their targets,” Sanfilippo said. “Putting GTO in a car chase is a great idea for that car — there’s nobody that’s not going to want to see that car demonstrated.”

Positive buzz over the G6, which replaces the Grand Am this fall, and the 2006 Solstice, a two-seat convertible, has put Pontiac on an upward trajectory.

Sales are up 13.3 percent this year on strong demand for the Grand Am, Grand Prix and Vibe.

Buick is another story. Sales are off 4.8 percent this year. The recasting of the brand as an American luxury marque on a par with Toyota’s Lexus marque begins in earnest with the upcoming LaCrosse, which replaces the Century and Regal.

“(Buick) takes things one step further,” Fraleigh said. “One step further and one step better. How we’re going to bring that to life hasn’t been decided.”

There will not be any direct comparisons with Lexus or any other competitive brands in Buick advertising, Fraleigh said. Instead, ads will focus on “quietness and premium of ride.”

“Buick is trying to get slightly younger but trying to move slightly more upscale,” said Jeff Brodoski, an analyst with J.D. Power and Associates.

“But you have to be very calculated, and Buick has to take time and investment to do it and not just try to throw a brand new Buick at everybody right away.”

Buick is spending $3.2 billion to revamp its product line, which is likely to include some version of the Velite four-seat convertible concept car and its first minivan — the 2005 Buick Terraza.

The one brand under Fraleigh and Bunnell’s umbrella that is relatively trouble-free is GMC.

Five years ago the brand sold less than 400,000 units annually, but Bunnell predicts GMC will sell more than 600,000 pickups and SUVs this year on the strength of the two attributes they hope to attain with Pontiac and Buick: solid product and a clear definition of them in the marketplace.

“We’re there with GMC,” said Fraleigh, “and we’re getting closer with Pontiac and Buick.”

You can reach Ed Garsten at (313) 223-3217 or egarsten@detnews.com


Pontiac's advertising tag line "Fuel for the Soul" will be retained for now, but C.J. Fraleigh and Jim Bunnell are looking to bring home the brand's performance image in a bigger way.