Get the ‘OnStar Treatment’

The “OnStar treatment” is available to drivers of most GM vehicles, whether or not they happen to be famous. Having OnStar means getting service that goes above and beyond what people expect from their vehicle.  A new General Motors advertising campaign featuring OnStar will juxtapose celebrities with “everyman” characters demonstrating that you don’t have to be a star to receive the OnStar treatment.

DETROIT, May 18 — The star treatment is a perk of fame. Celebrities are accustomed to special treatment and so are OnStar customers. Someone is there to assist with directions, to unlock the car door or summon help in a collision. The “OnStar treatment” is available to drivers of most GM vehicles, whether or not they happen to be famous.

A new General Motors advertising campaign created with Deutsch LA featuring OnStar launches May 20 on shows such as the NBC and CBS Sunday night movies. The online component will appear on the MSN homepage and other major websites.

In two 60-second spots, each featuring three celebrities, the stars are juxtaposed with “everyman” characters, demonstrating that you don’t have to be a star to receive the OnStar treatment. A series of 15-second vignettes will debut the week of June 4 featuring golfer Tiger Woods and NASCAR driver Jeff Gordon. The campaign will also feature vehicles from all eight GM brands: Chevrolet, Pontiac, GMC, Buick, Cadillac, Saturn, Hummer and Saab.

Each of the stars receives the “OnStar treatment” via OnStar services such as unlocking a door, Remote Vehicle Diagnostics or stolen vehicle location assistance. The campaign also highlights OnStar services such as Hands-Free Calling, OnStar Vehicle Diagnostics e-mail messages and Turn-by-Turn Navigation.

“We want to show the world what OnStar customers already know – having OnStar means getting service that goes above and beyond what people expect from their vehicle,” said Mike Jackson, GM North America vice president, Marketing and Advertising. “A vehicle should be able to guide them to their destination turn-by-turn or send them an e-mail that tells them when key systems need service. OnStar makes this possible.”

OnStar, which was created by GM and began service in 1996, is the leading provider of in-vehicle safety, security and communication services.

“The reality is today, we have nearly 5 million customers who are already getting the OnStar treatment millions of times every month,” said Chet Huber, president, OnStar. “The campaign builds on our brand strength in safety and security by bringing to life the incredible breadth of our current service offerings. By highlighting features like OnStar Vehicle Diagnostics, Turn-by- Turn Navigation and Hands-Free Calling, we’re simply adding to the list of unique features that continue to define what every vehicle should be able to do.”

On average, each month from February through April 2007, OnStar received 900 air bag deployment notifications; 750 Advanced Automatic Crash Notifications; 9,500 requests for emergency services; 700 stolen vehicle location assistance requests; 53,000 remote unlock requests; 6,000 Good Samaritan calls and 338,000 route support calls. In addition, OnStar subscribers make more than 15 million hands-free calls per month. On demand remote diagnostics are performed 55,000 times per month and more than 2.5 million subscribers received OnStar Vehicle Diagnostics e-mails (April 2007).

“When we first sat down with the OnStar tech guys and got the demo of all this thing could do, we were amazed. We thought it was just a safety device. It’s hard to succinctly describe everything OnStar can do. But people who have it, can’t live without it. We knew that was our challenge. To turn this into ‘bragging rights’ technology. That’s what it is,” said Eric Hirshberg, president, chief creative officer, Deutsch LA. OnStar will become standard on nearly all GM retail vehicles in the United States and Canada by the 2008 model year.

About GM
General Motors Corp., the world’s largest automaker, has been the annual global industry sales leader for 76 years. Founded in 1908, GM today employs about 280,000 people around the world. With global headquarters in Detroit, GM manufactures its cars and trucks in 33 countries. In 2006, nearly 9.1 million GM cars and trucks were sold globally under the following brands: Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC, GM Daewoo, Holden, HUMMER, Opel, Pontiac, Saab, Saturn and Vauxhall. More information on GM can be found at http://www.gm.com.

About OnStar by GM
OnStar, a wholly-owned subsidiary of General Motors, is the leading provider of in-vehicle safety, security and communication services. OnStar is available on more than 50 MY 2007 GM models and includes one year of service. One year of OnStar will become standard on nearly all GM retail vehicles in the United States and Canada by the end of 2007. OnStar provides services to nearly 5 million subscribers in the U.S. and Canada. More information about OnStar can be found at http://www.onstar.com.

About Deutsch, Inc.
Deutsch Inc. is a full-service integrated marketing and communications company. Part of the Interpublic Group of Companies, Deutsch offers clients an array of services including advertising, direct marketing, Interactive, media buying and planning, design, public relations, promotions and branded entertainment. More information is available at http://www.deutschinc.com.

SOURCE General Motors Corporation