If GM Has a Brand, It's General Misery†

Company Has Eight Brands, but No Brand Messaging

Advertising Age, December 2, 2008 — "How Detroit drove into a ditch" is the headline of an article in the Oct. 25 issue of The Wall Street Journal.

When the most respected business publication in the world writes a 2,000-word article on the problems of the U.S. automobile industry, you have to assume it knows what it's writing about. Especially since the author of the article is the Journal's former Detroit bureau chief and a man who is writing a book about America's car culture.

GM ends 9-year endorsement relationship with Tiger Woods

USA Today, November 25, 2008 — As cash-strapped General Motors (GM) looks for ways to slice expenses, it's parting ways with long-time pitchman Tiger Woods.

The ailing auto giant said Monday that it will end its nine-year relationship with the world's No. 1 golfer Dec. 31. Woods' contract with GM was set to expire Dec. 31, 2009.

Merger Challenge: Unite Toothbrush, Toothpaste†

P&G and Gillette Find Creating Synergy Can Be Harder Than It Looks

Wall Street Journal, April 24, 2007 — Among all the products brought together in Procter & Gamble Co.'s 2005 acquisition of Gillette, two carried particularly high expectations because of their natural fit: the world's No. 1 toothbrush and the world's No. 2 toothpaste. But putting together Gillette's Oral-B and P&G's Crest turned out to be more complicated than it looked.

Procter and Gillette Learn From Each Other’s Marketing Ways

New York Times, April 12, 2007 — WHEN their corporate marriage took place in the fall of 2005, Gillette was from Mars and its new owner, Procter & Gamble, was from Venus. Gillette, the maker of razors, Duracell batteries and Oral-B toothbrushes, knew how to talk to men. And Procter & Gamble, which makes Pampers, Cover Girl cosmetics, Tide and Charmin, spoke with a very female voice. Nearly two years later, marketing executives from both sides say they have learned from each other’s methods.

Marketers create their own shows

USA Today, April 10, 2007 — Problem: TV watchers don't want their shows interrupted by ads. Solution: Make the show the ad. That's one approach being used by marketers as they try to keep consumers' attention. Gillette is producing an ABC prime-time reality series starring the group of NASCAR drivers — dubbed the "Young Guns" — who are featured in its TV ads and online.

Deal Can Only Raise the Level of Competition, From the Boardroom to Aisle 5

New York Times, January 29, 2005 — Procter & Gamble has long been the 800-pound gorilla in household products. So will it be more formidable with the added muscle of Gillette?