GM tries Nostalgia.

It’s been a few weeks now and the verdict from industry professionals has been swift and near unanimous: Goodby, Silverstein, and Partner’s new campaign for Chevrolet misses the mark. Aside from the harsh criticism of the tagline “Chevy Runs Deep” -- criticism that ranges from perplexity to the mocking of the sexual innuendo inherent in the line --there has been a damning commentary regarding the agency’s “Chevrolet Anthem” spot, one that evokes the industrial days of yore, when GM was as much a part of Americana as the Yankees and apple pie. Whether invective-filled or rationalized, the basis of the reaction to the campaign has been this: Why is GM, fresh from a government bailout and a decade of poor market performance, bringing up the past?

The question is valid. In fact, I agree completely that it’s a quandary. However, I understand how the campaign came to be, and as much as I disagree with it, I get it. I get it because I was raised in the Detroit area.

My father worked in the automotive industry. The majority of my friends’ parents worked in the automotive industry. In my youth, I took approximately six school field trips to the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn. If I were to search my parents’ house, I’d probably find a “Buy American” pin or T-shirt packed away in a cardboard box. The automotive industry is inexorably tied to my upbringing, as it is tied to most who hail from the Detroit area and other areas tied to the Big Three. Myself, and those like me, grew up in what I call “The Big Three Bubble.”

But then I moved away from Detroit. I lived in Washington, D.C. for a while, then onto Chicago where I currently reside. As Midwest and blue collar as the city of Chicago is, the themes -- or anthems, if you will -- of my youth are not present here because there are a multitude of industries that drive the workforce, not just one as in Detroit. I have lived outside the Bubble for several years now, and let me tell you something: The sentiment regarding the American automotive industry is much different on the outside.

The truth is, consumers and the American public outside of the Bubble have a short-term memory. In all that has happened in the past decade, it is hard for them to remember anything too far in the past. What they remember is that General Motors would have collapsed if not for the drastic action of the federal government in the 11th hour. What they remember is the decade’s worth of vehicles that just couldn’t quite compete with their foreign counterparts.

However, if one were to take a look at the demographic of the Big Three’s executive class, I’m willing to bet good money that it is comprised of men and women who have lived inside of the Bubble their entire lives. To these people, the most important, treasured aspect of their respective brands is that they are embedded in the foundation of American industry -- and therefore embedded in our national identity. The “Anthem” campaign rings true to these executives, right to the core of their collective being.

Now, this is all supposition, but I’m willing to bet that Goodby came to Detroit with all sorts of out-of-the-box ideas that were shelved because the client’s notion of the Chevrolet brand still only exists inside the Bubble. Or perhaps Goodby drank the Detroit Kool-Aid, and who could blame them? The goal of all great advertising is to connect on a strong, emotional level with the consumer, and what’s stronger than the connection Detroiters have with the automotive industry?

The shame of all this is that soon GM will pay back the bailout loan and the federal government actually will make money off the deal -- and that the new lineup of GM vehicles are legitimately great products. Goodby’s work doesn’t convey any of that, not yet anyway. As an admirer of Goodby, and as someone who genuinely wants to see the Chevy brand do well, I look forward to new campaigns that convey the state of the brand as it is now, as well as conveying what it may become in the future.