May Chevrolet's Best Tagline Win

Edward Niedermeyer
by Edward Niedermeyer

In a recent Fastlane livechat, GM’s North American boss Mark Reuss revealed that:

Chevrolet re vamp in ads is well under way with Susan Docherty–you will like it a lot–shows the car, and uses “excellence for everyone”….you will really like it.

When asked if he was saying that “Excellence For Everyone” would be the new Chevrolet tagline, Reuss replied in the negative. Which makes it… a pickup line? Just a line? With “May The Best Car Win” having failed to make much headway, and “American Revolution” a pre-bankruptcy artifact, it wouldn’t be surprising to see this “Excellence for Everyone” briefly become Chevy’s main tagline. If only to give Reuss and Whitacre an excuse to fire Docherty when the campaign collapses under the weight of its own vacuity.

Reuss, meanwhile, is keeping mum about the new ads, which come out in about two months. The only other hints he gave:

Chevrolet and Corvette have been together forever. I feel we do not leverage the Corvette name or the Camaro name to help halo Chevrolet. If you go to races you always see the red bowtie, but when have you ever seen vettes and camaros in ads for Equinox or Malibu? this will change.

A trite, meaningless tagline, plus halo cars. What a strategem. If Docherty is still working at GM by the end of this summer, it will be nothing short of a miracle.

Edward Niedermeyer
Edward Niedermeyer

More by Edward Niedermeyer

Comments
Join the conversation
4 of 28 comments
  • Tonycd Tonycd on Mar 11, 2010

    Okay, I'll say it: I think this tagline isn't bad at all. In fact, I think it's gobs better than "Heartbeat of America," a transparent patriotism play in lieu of competitive product that always made me gag. I also think the animus toward this line isn't because of the line itself, it's the residue of the ill will toward the brand itself, making you feel as if this brand can't claim "excellence" in anything (outside of the Corvette). If that's how you feel, they're not going to win you over no matter what they say. But if it's not, "Excellence for everyone" is a clear, simple statement of Chevrolet's historical and current mission: competent, popular-price cars. I happen to think most of Chevy's products have been crap for a quarter-century, and except for a handful of them, still are today. But that's not a comment about the tagline.

  • V8 V8 on Mar 12, 2010

    Beneath every Cadillac is a Chevrolet

  • Rob Finfrock Rob Finfrock on Mar 12, 2010

    Chevrolet: What Price Mediocrity? (Now With A $3000 Rebate!)

  • Boyphenom666 Boyphenom666 on Apr 25, 2010

    @ lilpoindexter: "Chevy…not your father Oldsmobile, or Pontiac, or Saturn" lol ... I like that one. But I'm surprised that noone has mentioned that the "Excellence for Everyone" reminds me of the 1970's GM tagline "GM - Mark of Excellence". I look for clueless Susan to do more fluff commercials that don't sell cars, like the stupid Enclave ad or the urban spinster ad in the last thread. Do you guys remember Bank One (Now Chase)? Bank One credited much of their growth due to the efforts of John Fisher, a former radio DJ (back in the old days when they had talent), who was their head of advertising. He was to bank advertising what Harley Earl or Bill Mitchell were to car design. They need to hire someone of that mold rather than some corporate apparatchik if they want to move the needle commercial-wise. I guess others who would fit that mold would be a Matt Drudge or Rush Limbaugh, not as advertising execs, but as people with an innate talent to blow through all the clutter and get noticed. Some clueless corporate tool isn't going to get the job done. Put her back in customer service where she belongs.

Next