When General Motors sneezes, Madison Avenue catches a cold.
The auto giant’s advertising pullback is having a chilling effect just as the “upfront” marketplace — where TV networks sell their ad inventory for the fall — gets under way, according to ad buyers and media execs.
Less than a week after GM made the buzz-worthy decision to yank its ads from Facebook, the auto maker delivered another surprise by announcing it would not suit up for next year’s Super Bowl on CBS.
There’s also a big question mark as to whether GM will renew its big sponsorship of Fox’s “X Factor” next season. Both Fox and GM declined to comment. (News Corp. owns Fox and The Post.)
Even more telling, one TV sales executive said that GM’s upfront budgets are lower this year.
Suddenly, this is no time for chest-thumping.
While CBS chief Les Moonves predicted double-digit price increases in the upfront market, the TV networks have been eerily silent in the wake of GM’s moves.
“Things have certainly quieted down,” said Gary Carr, national broadcast chief at media-buying firm TargetCast. “The networks are still saying things are fine and we’re not that far apart [on price], but GM took the starch out of the seller’s side.”
Many believe GM’s decision to take a public pass on the Super Bowl — with CBS asking $4 million for a single 30-second spot — was designed to send a message.
“We think it’s highly probable that GM is attempting to assert that it is willing to walk away from any negotiation with any media owner, especially given the timing of this news paired with the timing of the network TV upfronts,” Brian Weiser of Pivotal Research said in a report.
One source close to GM said marketing spending is under scrutiny as management looks to improve profit margins and reduce the government’s one-third stake in the car company remaining from the 2009 federal bailout.
GM’s marketing chief, Joel Ewanick, who is known for backing big marketing events like the Super Bowl, is under pressure to reduce ad costs by $2 billion over five years for the Chevrolet brand alone, sources said.
“He is a big TV guy, and a lot of what is happening goes against his belief of going big,” said one ad exec.
GM is still the third-biggest advertiser in the US, despite slashing its ad spending by 16 percent last year to $1.78 billion, according to Kantar Media.
A GM spokesman said in a statement: “Our overall spend will remain flat compared to last year.”
One of the biggest concerns for Madison Avenue is that GM is signaling a broader slowdown in auto spending.
Overall, automotive is the biggest ad category in the US, with spending up 6.3 percent to $13.9 billion last year, according to Kantar Media.
“While we still believe auto may still be a growth category for the media and advertising industry this year, it is approaching another turning point,” said Vincent Letang, Magna’s chief ad forecaster.
“Both car sales and marketing expenditure are likely to slow down in the second part of 2012, and the category may suffer in 2013,” Letang said.