SEMA 2007: Chevrolet "Country Music" Silverado 3500HD Crew Cab Shows Off "Our Music?"

So we guess pop music maven John "Chevy" Mellencamp may still be able to croon about this here truck's "Our Truck" coming from "Our Country," but we're unsure he's able to continue to say that the music he's singing "our music" anymore. At least that's our thought behind the thoughts he must be having after seeing this here Chevy Silverado 3500HD Crew Cab that's all about the country croonin'. Yup, it's the Chevy "Country Music" Silverado 3500 HD Crew Cab — with a bed and tonneau cover that open up to reveal a makeshift stage complete with lighting and power for microphones and amplifiers. You know, for the Toby Keith in y'all. Full press release below the jump. More »

Ad Watch Exclusive: Are You Ready For Some Amerigasm?

If you've seen the pre-game show for ABC's NBC's Sunday Night Football at all this season, you've surely seen the 90-second version of the Chevrolet Silverado commercial featuring the Amerigasmic "Our Country" by the Chevy "cougar," John Mellencamp. If you're not a football fan, here's your chance to see the only commercial in the series of Campbell-Ewald spots that's touched me in any way — maybe "it's Johnny Unitas," as Chevy PR chieftain Terry Rhadigan claimed this past week. But really, it's more likely, as another journalist I was with said this past week, "the ads are like a Rorschach test for America...you see in the ad what you want to see in the ad." And you know, I've always been a sucker for six-year-old kids in football uniforms. They're just so adorable when they hit each other and fall down backwards. – Ray Wert More »

The Onion Has A Japagasm Over The "Our Honda" Campaign

Those insane satanists of satire, The Onion, dropped a quick little article that would make even us stand up and be proud of our own American orgasm of patriotism. They've lampooned the recent Amerigasm-inducing John Mellencamp song, "Our Country", the soundtrack of the campaign for the 2007 Chevrolet Silverado pickup — with an article proclaiming Mellencamp's newest "stirring" hymn — this time for the "noble land of the rising sun, where discipline and duty are still number one." That's right, this 2007 Honda Accord is all about being "Our Sedan." [Hat tip to Stephan!] – Ray Wert More »

This Is Our Commercial: Detroit Radio Station Attacks Mellencamp's Singing Of "Our Country" At World Series

After enjoying Bob Seger's rendition of "America The Beautiful" in person during the first game of the World Series this past weekend, I was all ready to hear how Anita Baker would do singing the "Star-Spangled Banner" during game two last night. So it was rather weird for me to see a quartet of acoustical instruments set up along the first-base line — and in fact, I remember commenting to a certain commenter, "When did Anita Baker get a band?" Around 90 seconds later I realized what was finally going on when John "Cougar" Mellencamp stepped out onto the field — and I realized just how far Chevy was going in marketing the new 2007 Chevy Silverado as I heard the "Cougar" strum the beginning notes to a song that's become like a soundtrack to my life, "Our Country." I mean, it really hasn't become the soundtrack to my life, but considering the $400 million marketing campaign Chevy's got going — it sort of feels like it is. But apparently, some folks out there don't quite like the Mellencampy tone being struck... More »

This Is Our Country, This Is Our, uh, Stephen Colbert?

Our putting Stephen Colbert on notice earlier this week appears to have rallied the nation's Colbert-fancying video-production community. Check out this clip, created by one such member for the "Stephen Colbert Green Screen Challenge." He (or her!) leveraged the Chevrolet Silverado ad Colbert and his toadies stole from us last week, inserting Jedi Colbert as an uninvited guest of Mellencamp, Parks, Hula Hoop Girl, et al. Will this deep right-wing nut and his minions stop at nothing to enforce an agenda of unprovable theft and digital-video geekery, when all we ask for is a simple apology? All signs point to yes. Of course, in defiance of Colbert's camera-clogging compadres, O'Reilly, Hannity, Coulter, Merv Griffin, he remains mum on the subject. – Ray Wert More »

America, Truck Yeah! Chevrolet Drops "Our Country, Our Truck" Silverado Marketing Campaign Like A Nuclear Bomb

Yesterday morning, a group of journalists (and one of us bloggers) were treated to some good ol' American shock n' awe as we had an opportunity to take in the musk of Chevy's new marketing blitz for the 2007 Silverado pickup. The truck's already been called "the most important product release in General Motors history" by the General's spinmeisters, and Chevy PR chief Terry Rhadigan was bringing in the big guns from the General's ad agency, Campbell-Ewald to show their stuff — and on top of all this was the unconfirmed involvement of John "Silverado" Mellencamp we reported on last week. So we were ready to see if the marketing campaign would live up to expectations. Well, let's just say it'll certainly be explosive... More »