Screenhead

When the Transformers movie hits theaters July 4th, General Motors (GM) will have scored potentially the biggest movie product placement ever – the stars of the film are all GM vehicles that transform into evil-fighting robots. But what is even more impressive is the fact that GM didn’t have to pay Paramount a single dime to get their products featured in the film. Instead, GM contributed $1 million worth of cars, and will pay for a multitude of ads that will showcase the movie and its vehicles.

So just how did GM pull this off? They used their connections, and they used them very well. You see, Transformers director Michael Bay is repped by William Morris, who also happens to represent GM. Plus, Bay already had experience working with GM, having directed two Chevy ads for them. “GM’s been good to me,” said Bay.

So, back in 2005 GM took Michael Bay out to a top-secret GM design center in California’s San Fernando Valley. Once on-site at the facility, GM introduced Bay to an impressive line-up of hundreds of Pontiacs, Hummers, Cadillacs, and Chevrolets. Bay fell head over heels for the new Chevy Camera concept car, and hand-picked it to play the lead role of Bumblebee in Transformers. The car will be on the market later this year. The movie

In 2005 GM officials took Bay out to a secret design center in the San Fernando Valley to offer him a smorgasbord of 100 Chevrolets, Pontiacs, Hummers and Cadillacs. The director fell in love with the new Camaro concept car and chose it to play the lead role of Bumblebee. The car will be on the market later this year, and is destined to benefit from its starring role in the Transformers movie.

GM is now tapping into the buzz surrounding the upcoming Transformer release, hoping to capitalize on their investment through the increase of sales. GM has also created a website – chevyautobot.com – where fans can create their own transformers, and Maxim’s Summer Hot 100 issue features a Pontiac spread with a human Transformers star, Megan Fox.

For a company that lost $2 billion last year, exposure to a younger audience with cash to burn is a great opportunity: “An opportunity like this isn’t going to come around again…. Unless there’s a sequel,” said Dino Bernacchi, Head of Branded Entertainment for GM.