DETROIT — When it comes to businessmen as pitchmen, not everybody can be Lee Iacocca. General Motors has bet that its new chairman, Ed Whitacre, can successfully kick off its “May the best car win” campaign, which pits the struggling automaker’s vehicles against competitors’ and hopes to coax reluctant buyers by offering a 60-day money-back guarantee.
The advertising world has been abuzz about the ads. Its verdict? Well, he’s no Iacocca.
Some experts say the ad starring the 67-year- old Whitacre — relatively unknown — hurts the automaker’s efforts to freshen up its image and woo younger buyers. In the ad, Whitacre introduces the company’s new guarantee, saying in a Texas drawl that he, too, was skeptical when he was tapped to come to GM but that “I liked what I found, and I think you will too.”
Well, it’s no “If you find a better car, buy it.” The Associated Press; New York Times photos
