GM May Finally Do Something Good for the World

Hummer, The icon of 4-wheeled over-consumption and screw-the-environment advertising, finally takes a dive.

By: EricW | Jun 10, 2008 |  1

Categories: Media & Advertising, Artevist

W ell, it seems that the icon of military inspired vehicle styling, and pollute-as-you-go consumerism, has finally hit hard times. Yeah!

Last week, Rick Wagoner, the Chairman and CEO of General Motors publicly admitted that the company was looking at alternatives to either revamp its Hummer brand or off-load it completely. Seems like the $130 per tank Hummer no longer fits into GM's greening strategy.

Still, one has to wonder if it's a sudden concern for the environment or simply falling sales that have troubled GM's conscience. According to AdAge.com, in 2006 Hummer sold 71,524 vehicles, but in the first five months of this year, Hummer sales slid 36% to 14,086 units. Outside North America, however, Hummer sales have grown by nearly 35% in the last year.

I don't like the Hummer one bit, but it's simply the most emblematic of the trend to ever larger vehicles (mostly SUVs) that have come out of almost every auto factory around the world for the past 10 years. To sell these, marketers and advertisers (willing and unwilling) have sold the SUV as a ticket to nature's playground, with heated seats and CD/DVD players included. Pristine wilderness juxtaposed against glass, steel and magnesium, with a hefty 6.2 litres and 4-wheel drive to whisk you back to the condo when 'into the wild' becomes too... wild.

Sadly, I don't think consumers are really looking at the hypocrisy inherent in automobile advertising that entertains us with sweet bambis and singing squirrels, they're just worried about spending their childrens' college funds on the morning commute. Either way, I hope Hummer's troubles are a sign of things to come for the whole industry, and that environmental consciousness soon overtakes status-climbing bling in the countries where Hummer sales are increasing..

And to all the graphic designers with a conscience who work or have worked on these ads... lets hope there's an electric car in your design future. Maybe it will come from GM.

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Just in. AdAge.com has begun an online poll to see what readers think about the Hummer.

You can answer the question - “Should General Motors sell its Hummer brand?  at - http://adage.com/poll?poll_id=123

By: EricW
posted: June 12, 2008 at 07:01 PM