‘Transformers’ a GM ad in disguise

updated 9:33 a.m. ET July 3, 2007

DETROIT - Posters outside theaters across the country list Jon Voight, Shia LaBeouf, Josh Duhamel and Megan Fox as the stars of the summer action flick “Transformers.”

But in the labs and cubicles where General Motors Corp. workers design and market new cars, the true leads are the Chevrolet Camaro, Pontiac Solstice, GMC TopKick and 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.”

GM, which long has sought to reach younger car buyers to so-so results, is hoping to draw the 18-to-34 set to its showrooms thanks to the company’s oversized presence in the film and in the accompanying toys and video games.

The Detroit auto giant is spending millions to promote and market its “Transformers” tie-ins, but wouldn’t give a figure. With a shrinking U.S. automotive market and amid stiff competition from overseas rivals, 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.”

And exposure is exactly what GM gets in the film.

The word “Camaro” is mentioned a handful of times by various characters, and close-ups of the Chevy, Pontiac, GMC and Hummer logos get ample screen time.

“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,” he said.

But Erich Merkle, 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 doesn’t mean they’ll 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,” he said.

“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.”

Those who shell out to see “Transformers” probably aren’t all that concerned about free-falling market shares or upcoming union negotiations. They want action, and that’s what they’re going to get from these GM vehicles.

Through the magic of filmmaking, they transform into “Autobots” — heroic aliens that take mechanical forms on Earth. The Autobots, which strive for a peaceful coexistence with humans, battle the evil Decepticons, whose goal is to dominate the universe.

The DreamWorks/Paramount film, which opens this week, is based on Hasbro’s “robots in disguise” toys and the cartoon series, both of which were popular among children in the 1980s.

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.

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