From the arsenal of democracy to 0% financing: Promotional communication at General Motors

This dissertation is a study of the commercial media system situated within the political economy of communication. Through a case study of General Motor’s promotional communication, this dissertation investigates how commercial propaganda, such as public relations (PR) and advertising, influence the commercial media. From 1990 to 2009, GM became a financial powerhouse through General Motors Acceptance Corporation (GMAC), its financial subsidiary. At the same time, GM increased production of SUVs. This dissertation examines how GM’s promotional communication supported these two trends. Through ads, GM sold SUVs using lucrative financial promotions. GM’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) complemented this approach by safetywashing GM’s SUVs through community programs. Thus, despite widely reported safety problems, many Americans believed SUVs to be safe. Likewise, GM used greenwashing PR and CSR to portray the corporation as environmentally conscious while lobbying against Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) regulations. Through these PR and advertising campaigns, GM successfully countered criticism and shifted public opinion around auto safety and environmental regulations. When GM faced bankruptcy in 2009, the corporation used promotional communication to influence the debate over the auto bailout. In the years since the bailout, the auto industry remains surprisingly similar to the 1990s and 2000s. Despite their impact on consumer safety and the environment, SUVs are popular worldwide. The promotional communication tactics advanced by GM in the 1990s and 2000s continue to influence public debates over auto safety, CAFE, and the sale of SUVs.

Name thesis:degree_name

Ph.D.

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Communication

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2019

Author dc:creator

• Hebert, Mary Grace B.

Contributors dc:contributor

• McChesney, Robert W
• Stole, Inger L
• Ciafone, Amanda
• Oberdeck, Kathryn J

• public relations
• PR
• political economy of communication
• general motors
• GM
• advertising
• media relations
• journalism
• newspapers
• news
• Detroit Free Press
• Detroit
• SUV
• Sport utility vehicle
• greenwashing
• safetywashing
• corporate social responsibility
• philanthropy
• corporate philanthropy
• CSR
• CAFE
• Corporate average fuel economy
• auto bailout
• TARP
• Troubled Asset Relief Program
• GMAC
• General Motors Acceptance corporation
• auto industry
• American auto industry
• American auto manufacturers
• auto-industrial complex

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright 2019 Mary Grace B. Hebert

Language dc:language

en

Handle dc:identifier

http://hdl.handle.net/2142/105902

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/105902