Chevy Online campaign backfires

Automaker General Motors has got a valuable lesson in the downside of Consumer Generated Content. GM's sponsorship of TV show 'The Apprentice' included a challenge that involved making a tv ad for the Chevy Tahoe SUV. It extended the concept to the web, whereby anyone can direct their very own ad, including music, vision and supers. Sounds like a marketers dream, but it was not to be. The result has seen the tool used by anti-SUV lobbyists and environmentalists to spread their message virally - and it's working, you need only do a search on Google to see it catching on. Ad Example 1 Ad Example 2 Ad Example 3 Ad Example 4 *UPDATE* - News.com has a video capture of two more ads, which are even better than the ones above, to view them head on over here