Gm Hopes Action Flick Will Transform Sales

General Motors Corp. is dragging out all the stops to tout four of its cars in Paramount Picture's forthcoming summer action flick "Transformers."

Posters outside theaters countrywide list Jon Voight, Shia LaBeouf, Josh Duhamel and Megan Fox as the stars of "Transformers." But in the labs where GM workers design and market new cars, the true stars are the Chevrolet Camaro, Pontiac Solstice, GMC TopKick and the Hummer H2. "You're going to see these cars as the heroes. You're not going to see the other actors," said Dino Bernacchi, GM's associate director of branded entertainment. "These cars are the stars, literally, in the movie."

The largest American automaker, which seeks to reach younger auto shoppers to remedy mediocre sales, is hoping to pull the 18-to-34 set to its showrooms. This is why the company is invading more than just the big screen. Additionally, it is trying to plague online and video games, television shows, radio programs, magazine issues, toy stores and more.

The Detroit automaker is spending millions to promote and market its "Transformers" ventures, but refused to give a figure. Amid tight auto competition and a shrinking American auto market, GM is banking on the exposure translating into sales.

"This is hopefully a discovery point for maybe some of those who didn't know the great design, the great-looking vehicles that we have out today," Bernacchi said. "I find it really difficult to believe that a global blockbuster movie like this that has so many merchandising components to it that we're not going to get incremental exposure."

"Product placement has never been so blatant, and the potential for a global platform to build brand awareness could not have come at a better time for GM," said David Koehler, a clinical marketing professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago. "The younger demographic most likely to flock to the theaters is exactly what GM needs.”

But Erich Merkle, the vice president of forecasting for Grand Rapids-based auto consulting company IRN Inc., cautions that even though young people might be impressed with the rides in the movie does not mean they will end up buying GM. “Keep in mind that some of the vehicles they're showing are vehicles the youth market won't be able to afford. But they do have a tremendous influence over what people who can afford those vehicles go to buy. You shouldn't underestimate the influence of the youth. I don't know a Baby Boomer out there who doesn't want to be cool," Merkle stressed.

"Transformers," which arrives in theaters July 3, probably are not all that concerned about declining market shares. They want pure action, and that is what they are going to get from these GM product lines. Action unimpeded by EBC brake pads are there for them to seize.

For the film's producers and director Michael Bay, it was a natural to bring in GM on the project. Bay has helmed a number of GM commercials and worked with the company on past films, including "Bad Boys II" in which a Hummer plays a central role in a car chase.

The director of "Pearl Harbor" and "Armageddon" saw a concept version of the new Camaro in 2005 at a GM design center and then in early 2006 at the Detroit auto show. Right there and then, Bay knew he wanted the iconic car to be the yellow-and-black Bumblebee who protects LaBeouf's character from danger.

"We are the stars of this movie," said Dino Bernacchi. "This put us right at the forefront and lets us showcase the leading designs we have out there now. I really think it's going to make a difference.”