With a style that was far more L.A. glitz than Motown grit, Mike Jackson came to Detroit determined to transform the stodgy image of General Motors Corp. and pull the automaker into the age of the Internet.
His mission would be short-lived.
After barely one turbulent year on the job, GM announced Thursday that Jackson, GM's top North American advertizing executive, is leaving the automaker.
GM released a brief statement but gave no reason for Jackson's abrupt departure, saying only that he is leaving on June 15 “to pursue other opportunities.”
One of the highest-ranking African-American executives at the automaker, the 50-year-old ad whiz oversaw unprecedented change in how GM promotes its cars, trucks and corporate image.
“That position can either be one that blends into the woodwork or one that is a lightning rod for change,” said former ad executive Peter DeLorenzo, founder and publisher of Autoextremist.com. “He made some changes based on what he felt was right.”
In his job overseeing advertising for GM's eight brands and its corporate image, Jackson led a massive shakeup, yanking a number of multi-million-dollar ad accounts from companies that had been doing business with GM for decades.
He gave GM's $200 million Saturn account — held for years by Goodby, Silverstein & Partners — to Interpublic Group's Deutsch/LA. Also to Deutsch went GM's corporate account and pieces of the Chevrolet business, once exclusively held by Campbell-Ewald, whose 93-year relationship with Chevrolet spawned the “Heartbeat of America” campaign in the 1980s.
Beyond ad agency switches, Jackson drove GM to invest more in online media, a move industry watchers said was not always well-received from within.
While GM reduced overall ad spending by 10 percent last year, the automaker spent more to market on the Web, according to Nielsen Monitor-Plus. GM is the nation's No. 2 advertiser behind consumer products company Procter & Gamble Co.
Earlier this year, Jackson was the brainchild of GM Style, an L.A. Style celebrity fashion show on the banks of the Detroit River to lead into this year's North American International Auto Show.
The event was based on a similar bash GM hosts in Los Angeles before the Academy Awards.
“Throughout his tenure, Mike has contributed to GM's improved product image, and brought a creative approach to GM's market presence,” according to the statement from GM marketing chief Mark LaNeve.
Before coming to Detroit, Jackson headed up GM's regional marketing in Los Angeles. He previously worked for Coors Brewing Co.
The managers and support staff who reported to Jackson will now report to LaNeve. GM has no immediate plans to replace Jackson.
It'll likely take years, DeLorenzo said, before it becomes clear whether the changes Jackson made will pay off for GM.
