Sal Collaziano
Staff member
- Joined
- Apr 25, 2005
- Messages
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Filed under: Marketing/Advertising, Pontiac, Celebrities, TV/Movies
But this is not just any G6. This car is a part of television history.
Vielweber won her G6 10 years ago at a taping of The Oprah Winfrey Show, when Oprah kicked off her 19th season in dramatic fashion by giving all 276 members of the studio audience a free car. It was an unprecedented stunt that changed lives, generated controversy and ultimately failed to provide enough of a marketing lift for Pontiac, which would be shuttered just over five years later.
September 13 marks the 10-year anniversary of the memorable event, which caught everyone, including audience members, by surprise. In a masterful display of showmanship, Oprah dialed up the suspense to match the enormity - and cost - of the event. First she gave away 11 cars, which would have been a landmark TV promotion by itself. But then she coyly announced: "I've got a little twist."Continue reading Looking back at Oprah's free-car giveaway 10 years later
Looking back at Oprah's free-car giveaway 10 years later originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 12 Sep 2014 00:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Oprah kicked off her 19th season in dramatic fashion by giving all 276 members of the studio audience a free car.
Molly Vielweber's Pontiac G6 appears unremarkable at first glance. It wears forest green paint, rolls on five-spoke aluminum wheels, and it has a sizeable scrape in the driver's side door, the scar of a decade's worth of hard use. You wouldn't notice it parked at a big box store or cruising on the highway. Pontiac made hundreds of thousands of G6s in the 2000s, and a lot are still on the road. It's unremarkable in every way except for the front license plate, which reads, "Oprah 6."
But this is not just any G6. This car is a part of television history.
Vielweber won her G6 10 years ago at a taping of The Oprah Winfrey Show, when Oprah kicked off her 19th season in dramatic fashion by giving all 276 members of the studio audience a free car. It was an unprecedented stunt that changed lives, generated controversy and ultimately failed to provide enough of a marketing lift for Pontiac, which would be shuttered just over five years later.
September 13 marks the 10-year anniversary of the memorable event, which caught everyone, including audience members, by surprise. In a masterful display of showmanship, Oprah dialed up the suspense to match the enormity - and cost - of the event. First she gave away 11 cars, which would have been a landmark TV promotion by itself. But then she coyly announced: "I've got a little twist."Continue reading Looking back at Oprah's free-car giveaway 10 years later
Looking back at Oprah's free-car giveaway 10 years later originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 12 Sep 2014 00:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Email this | Comments
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