"Hands Off" PTFOA Micro-Managing GM's Ad Budget

When the Presidential Task Force on Automobiles (PTFOA) fired GM CEO Rick Wagoner, it should have ended any debate whether or not the Obama Administration was in complete control of the soon-to-be-nationalized American automaker. And yet the president and his minions continue to assert that the PTFOA’s ongoing interventions within GM’s administration jibe with their preposterous proclamations about a “hands-off” non-managment, management approach. Although the PTFOA left themselves a supertanker-sized loophole—we’ll only mess with “macro” decisions about GM’s corporate governance—evidence mounts that the 25-member government quango is, as the Brits would say, well in there mate. The latest proof of life arrives via our good friends at Autoline AfterHours. On John McElroy’s vidcast, GM’s VP of sales, service and marketing for North America offered fresh insight into the joys of federal ownership.

Automotive News [AN, sub] provides the summary of Mark LaNeve’s interface with the PTFOA:

He said the government’s auto task force never prescribed an ad budget for GM during the expected 60 to 90 days the company will be in Chapter 11 before the “new GM” exits bankruptcy court. He also said before the task force OK’d GM’s proposed ad budget, it did its “due diligence,” asking the car marketer how much it spent per vehicle on ads. It also sought data on competitive ad spending, such as how much Mercedes-Benz spent vs. GM’s Cadillac brand.

Just in case you’re wondering, the PTFOA authorized Marketing Mark to between $40 and $50 million per month during bankruptcy. A ten million dollar spread? How delegational. Saying that, it’s the same ad spend rate as pre-C11 GM. So how much time and money did the PTFOA spend trying to figure out that the status quo was A-OK?

As for the ads themselves, am I the only one who thinks that the statement “We’re not witnessing the end of the American car” displays the exact same kind of hubris that got GM into this mess in the first place? Apparently, I’m not the only one who thinks the ads suck—I mean, lack the appropriate focus.

LaNeve said he doesn’t like to advertise the corporate brand, but with the flurry of negative news about the company in recent months, the current blitz was designed to address the bankruptcy and reassure customers about GM’s future.

Reading between the lines, I bet this campaign wasn’t even LaNeve’s idea. Maybe it was ultimately sanctioned by the PTFOA. Stranger things are already happening.