It took critics a hot minute to ridicule General Motors yesterday for its attempt to kill off the use of Chevrolet’s iconic nickname. One auto blogger drew up a lengthy post mocking the brand on several points without ever referring to it by name, so as not to give the brand any more publicity (thanks for the shout out!).
But Chevrolet didn’t mean it! At least, that’s what Alan Batey, Chevrolet’s Vice President of Sales, Service and Marketing who signed off on yesterday’s brand-banishing memo, tries to make clear in this official company video:
(BTW, I’m pretty sure a tripod could take care of some of that shakiness).
Chevrolet spent most Thursday trying to clarify what it meant in its “poorly worded” internal memo to staff insisting they only use the full name of the brand in communications. The idea is for the brand to be consistent on a global level, keeping the name “Chevrolet” as the prominent label in emerging markets.
But all that free publicity couldn’t hurt in those emerging markets, either. Which begs the question: You think that memo was leaked to The New York Times on purpose?
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