GM Uses New Ad Campaign to Target F-150 Pickup Truck

In a desperate bid to boost the sales of its Chevy Silverado picup truck, GM has resorted to a new marketing campaign that takes potshots at its main rival in the segment, the Ford F-150 pickup. The F-150 is the mainstay of Ford’s sales in North America, with 750,000 units being sold annually. With the drop in petrol prices and summer looming on the horizon, pickup sales across the United States are expected to increase. GM’s new campaign showcases scientific tests which apparently prove that the Silverado’s high-strength steel bed is definitely more durable and less susceptible to damage than the stamped aluminum bed that the F-150 has.

The ad depicts the beds of both vehicles being dumped with 55 landscaping blocks weighing a total of 825 pounds from a height of 5 feet above the bed floor. During the tests, a steel toolbox was also pushed off the side rail of each truck, to see if it made a dent on the floor of the beds.

While the blocks create holes in the F-150’s bed, they only scratch and dent the high-strength steel bed of the Silverado. During the demonstrations, no bed liners were used to protect the trucks. This claim is not backed up by any third-party research.

GM’s new marketing campaign will be rolled out as a series of print and television ads.

Commenting on the GM campaign, a Ford spokesman said, “When you’re the market leader for 39 years, competitors sometimes try to take shots at you with marketing stunts. He went on to say that the F-150’s “high-strength, military grade, aluminum alloy cargo box” provides leading strength, durability and corrosion resistance, among other benefits. Ford had started using aluminum in F-150 trucks from 2014 claiming that this improved handling and fuel economy. The GM Silverado uses aluminum in some truck parts but does not incorporate it in the bed. Ford does recommend that bed liners are always used in the case of the F-150.