Writing a Thesis on Product Placement

Independently owned since 1972

Chicago Sun-Times, Inc.

June 23, 1993

GM Concept Cars Co-Star in Upcoming Stallone

You might think it was crazy for General Motors to let a Hollywood studio use $ 69 million worth of advanced concept cars in a movie called "Demolition Man."

Even crazier: It was GM's idea.

After the movie's producer asked for permission to use one concept car, GM said there were more where that one came from. When the movie, which stars Sylvester Stallone and Wesley Snipes, debuts Oct. 8, GM expects to reap royalties from a wide variety of promotional items that will be sold in conjunction with the film. But a more positive public image is the biggest royalty GM hopes to harvest. "This will show General Motors as a forward-looking company with a bright future," said Bruce MacDonald, vice president of corporate communications. The movie is an "exciting report on the vitality of GM in 2032," according to information provided stockholders at a reception before the GM annual meeting last month.

MacDonald said this is the prototype for future projects that merchandise existing corporate resources to generate "millions of consumer impressions," not to mention significant revenue from side promotions. The movie is set in 2032 in the city of "San Angeles." Crime is virtually eliminated, and peaceful citizens live enriching lives. Anyone committing a serious crime is frozen in "cryogenic pucks" and stored rather than spending time awake in jail. Meanwhile, their criminal minds are subjected to electrical impulses intended to rehabilitate them.

From time to time, the criminals are thawed for parole hearings. During one such room temperature respite, Snipes' character - who hasn't received electric brain-rehab - escapes. Stallone's character - a bad cop who was frozen - is thawed because the passive cops of 2032 are no match for Snipes.

The producer wanted to show a positive vision of the future because so many other futuristic movies were set after an apocalypse, said Eric Dahlquist, president of Vista Group Inc. of Van Nuys, Calif., which cuts deals to place automakers' cars in movies. That goal required obtaining futuristic cars for street scenes.

Producer Joel Silver contacted Vista Group after he saw a photo of GM's Ultralite on the cover of a magazine. Typically, automakers try to convince studios to feature their cars in movies, Dahlquist said. He said it was rare for a producer to seek out cars as Silver did.

After about eight months of discussions in 1992, GM committed 17 advanced concept cars that already had been displayed at auto shows dating back to the early 1980s, plus the tooling for the Ultralite, said Larry Faloon, project coordinator for GM who is an executive administrator for Design Staff in real life. The insured value of the concept cars was $ 69 million, Dahlquist said.

There is one old car in the movie - a 1970 Oldsmobile 442. It's the only vehicle Stallone's character knows how to drive because he's been frozen so long.