GM's Edgy Super Bowl Spot Raises Eyebrows

CHICAGO, Feb. 5, 2007 — -- A 60-second Super Bowl spot from General Motors followed the nightmarish, downward spiral of an assemby line robot.

After the robot drops a screw, it is escorted from the factory amid disapproving glares from its human co-workers.

The downtrodden robot picks up humiliating odd jobs -- holding a "condos-for-sale" sign and the squawk box outside a fast food drive-thru -- and stares longingly as GM vehicles drive past. To the anthemic strains of Eric Carmen's "All By Myself," the hapless robot commits suicide by jumping off a bridge. Just then, the robot wakes up in the factory -- a la Bobby Ewing on "Dallas." All is not lost. It was just a dream.

For GM, which has been struggling to change public perceptions about the quality of its vehicles, the message is simple: The world's largest automaker is "obsessed with quality," as the tag line says, and has a sense of humor to boot.

But the ad -- which aired for the first time during the Super Bowl and touts GM's five-year, 100,000-mile powertrain warranty -- did not resonate with all viewers.

"I think, in this case, GM failed," said Ann McGill, a marketing professor at the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business. "It has a very dark tone. It's creepy. It's extremely sad, and the realization that it's a dream doesn't remedy any of that creepiness and sadness."

Creepy or not, some said the theme of the commercial seemed strangely ironic -- even offensive -- given GM's recent financial woes. Fifteen months ago, the company announced it would lay off 30,000 workers and close at least 14 plants by 2008 as part of a restructuring plan.

"[The ad] is absolutely disgusting," said Art Reyes, president of United Auto Workers Local 651 in Flint, Mich., and a third-generation UAW member. Reyes said Local 651's membership has been cut in half in the past 18 months because of job cuts throughout the U.S. auto industry.

"Their way of life was affected. Their way of life was destroyed. This just completely glosses over their hardships," said Reyes. "What General Motors has been doing by tapping people on the shoulder to get rid of them, whole plants at a time, it wasn't because of a dropped bolt ... we have a qualified work force here."