ROANOKE TIMES 
                      Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times

DATE: Thursday, November 28, 1996            TAG: 9611290092
SECTION: BUSINESS                 PAGE: B8   EDITION: HOLIDAY 
DATELINE: TROY, MICH. 
SOURCE: BRIAN S. AKRE ASSOCIATED PRESS

GM LOOSES CREATIVE JUICES IN MARKETING ELECTRIC CAR

With the help of waddling toasters, flying fans and an army of other appliances come to life, General Motors Corp. will launch a media blitz next week to introduce its electric car to consumers in California and Arizona.

GM isn't saying how much it plans to spend on the campaign for the EV1, but officials said Monday the ads will saturate the four urban markets where the two-seater becomes available for lease next Thursday.

``If you're alive in these markets over the next few months, you'll see one of these ads,'' said Joe Kennedy, vice president of sales, service and marketing for GM's Saturn Corp. subsidiary, which will market the EV1.

On Thursday night, television viewers in Los Angeles, San Diego, Phoenix and Tucson, Ariz., will see the introductory, 90-second EV1 commercial put together by Industrial Light and Magic, the special effects studio started by ``Star Wars'' creator George Lucas.

It features dozens of electric appliances that come alive, squeaking and gurgling in anticipation as they hurriedly hop, roll and fly out of their suburban homes and onto the curb to witness the arrival of the EV1.

In the background is a score that sounds like a cut from the ``ET'' soundtrack. The only voice-over comes as the car stops and the appliances crowd around it on the street: ``The electric car is here.''

The attention-grabbing commercial is something of a departure for the normally conservative GM and even for its more creative Saturn unit, whose down-home ads featuring Saturn workers and owners have become its trademark.

The campaign focuses on the uniqueness of the first electric car intended for mass production by a Big Three automaker.

In one highly stylized magazine ad, the EV1 is a silvery blur racing down a desolate road. ``You will never again use the words, `Fill 'er up.' Or `check the oil,''' the ad reads. ``Never utter the need for a tune-up. Or a smog check. Nope. You will simply say, `Unplug the car and let's go.'''

In addition to TV, the campaign will use newspapers, magazines, billboards, theaters and the Internet.

Target buyers for the car are 35-54 years old, college graduates with family incomes of more than $125,000 and a strong interest in the environment and new technology. Much of the magazine advertising will appear in upscale publications such as Architectural Digest, The New Yorker and Atlantic Monthly.

The car is being targeted in the Southwest in part because California has mandated that electric vehicles comprise 10 percent of cars sold in that state by 2003. The region's warm climate and commuter lifestyle also are well-suited to the EV1's lead-acid batteries, which have a range of 70-90 miles per charge.

LENGTH: Medium:   58 lines
ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO:   AP Other members of the electric kingdom greet the EV1 
          in one of the television ads from Industrial Light and Magic 
          heralding the electric car's arrival.  color