Earlier this week, we brought you the news that General Motors is pulling out of this year's Super Bowl ads. But that doesn't mean the company isn't investing in advertising. It has just proved this with a new holidays-themed commercial. The theme this year? Alzheimer's.
The ad aired yesterday during an NFL game between the Green Bay Packers and the Detroit Lions, and as per tradition it ties in with end-of-year family celebrations related to Thanksgiving in the U.S. this week and Christmas next month.
The ad, actually a short feature lasting over five minutes, shows a family coping with a loved one suffering from Alzheimer's disease. The message is one of hope, that through difficult times, moments of joy are possible, even if they are fleeting.
Of course, we’re used to Chevy ads pulling on the heartstrings. Last year's commercial featured a 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air Nomad and a woman who found community with her neighbors after losing her husband in the Vietnam War. In 2021, there was this spot about a daughter who secretly set about restoring her father's 1966 Chevrolet Impala.
The company's latest ad has a 1972 Chevrolet Suburban playing a prominent role, as it helps jog the memory of a woman suffering from Alzheimer's disease. Yes, we know the miracle will be short-lived, but that doesn’t make it less touching.
We won’t go into detail on the storyline. Check it out for yourself.
Said Chevrolet marketing boss Steve Majoros about the ad, “Automobiles just have a special place… in the psyche of Americans, just by virtue of the role they play, and what’s expected of them and how they really are an important marker for life events...things that are trivial and monumental all at the same time in people's lives.” He called the annual ads the brand's “holiday card to America”.
In designing this year's ad, Chevrolet consulted with the Alzheimer's Association.
“We talked a lot about this notion of reminiscence therapy - not that it's a cure or a solve, but the power of music, the power of memories are things that can enable the person going through it to feel more comfortable. And the people that are the caregivers that are surrounding them, to also feel more comfortable,” added Majoros.