Ad pros, though, don’t fault Chevy’s carpet-bombing campaign. The company used Bob Seger’s “Like a Rock” for 11 years, helping drive up truck sales 61 percent. When it comes to building awareness, experts say, nothing succeeds like excess—even at the risk of overkill. “Dinah Shore annoyed a lot of people with ‘See the USA in Your Chevrolet’,” says ad veteran Al Ries, “but that didn’t hurt sales.”
What does Mellencamp think? The ad campaign put the singer back on the charts for the first time in a decade, which is nice. But even he’s overwhelmed by his overexposure. “He had no idea it would be so intense,” says his publicist, Bob Merlis. “But, listen, they have a truck to sell.”
