GM, Discovery to Plant Short-Form Doc Spots on Planet Green

GM is tying its eco-friendly wagons to Discovery’s Planet Green network, co-producing documentary-style ad spots that expound on the auto maker’s environment-conscious strategies.

The initial focal point of GM’s exclusive auto sponsor role in the 24-hour eco-lifestyle network is “Greensburg,” a 13-part documentary about a Kansas town’s rebuilding efforts in the wake of a catastrophic tornado. The series relates GM’s role in that town’s rebuilding through its revival of the Dwane Shank Motors Chevrolet dealership in the town as an environmentally-conscious operation.

Vehicle integrations in Planet Green series are also going to be part of the new, greener picture of itself that GM will seek to present when Planet Green spins into view in 50 million cable households on June 4

Chevy will be premiere sponsor of the “Greensburg” series. Four of the eight short-form spots, 60-seconds to two minutes long, will be Chevy spots. Two GM corporate spots and two Saturn spots are also being produced, with the emphasis in all cases on GM’s work on electric cars like its Chevy Volt, fuel cells and greener production operations.

“It’s a good opportunity to educate consumers about our energy commitments. We feel like we have a good story to tell. So we thought this was a good fit,” GM spokesperson Kelly Cusinato said of GM’s presence on Planet Green.

GM is in conversations with producers of several Planet Green series who have expressed interest in the Chevy Volt and GM’s ‘Project Driveway’ fuel cell test, according to Cusinato. GM currently has 100 of its Chevy Equinox fuel cell concept cars being tested by customers in the New York, Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. metro areas.

The GM doc spots are the first efforts of Discovery Studios’ new full-service production arm created expressly for this kind of content. Discovery sees the GM campaign as a good way of showcasing its new long-form spot productions, Discovery spokesperson Alison Rudnick said.

And on the ground in Greensburg, GM has donated three Chevy E85 FlexFuel Suburbans to the local South Central Community Foundation for use at the local school. Through Discovery, it provided a fourth Suburban to the Greensburg city administration, along with three Chevy Tahoe hybrids.