I caught this new GM commercial last night.  Early in the spot I felt myself falling (as I’m sure GM hoped I would) for the tense-yet-exhilarating-and-optimistic mood conveyed by baseball and rally caps.  Then my ears really perked up when I heard the narrator say:

“At GM we’re reinventing the ownership experience.”

And then “Introducing the total confidence plan…”

I got a little mental whiplash.  Listening to the first sentence I imagined for a quick moment that GM had defined a new target customer experience for GM car owners.  I thought this new target experience was being used to drive decisions across the company. That would be good for GM, good for our taxpayer dollars invested there, and certainly for GM buyers.  Listening to the next sentence I snapped, hearing GM swing the “reinventing the experience” phrase like a bat (baseball pun intended).

By the time the 30 second spot was over I was deflated.  GM certainly needs a comeback rally, and so does America.  But I wonder if this is more a high budget sales-volume tactic rather than the first step on a journey to reinvent anything.

I also imagine that ads like this contribute to the idea that “customer experience” is only about marketing or service or the emotions a company wants its customers to feel about its brand.  If GM owners were really going to have “total confidence” in a new owner experience, it would require a solid car, prices that match the value of the needs buyers have, dealers and employees that are dedicated to change, and yes…a great financing program.

I’m normally an optimist, but here you can feel free to call me a cynic.