As we have kept our eye on the Bowtie brand we have admired for so many years here at the Mid-Missouri Powerhouse, many different slogans have kept the vehicle line fresh in driver’s minds. “The Heartbeat of America” admittedly conjures up images of 1980s movie posters and very sweet-looking Monte Carlos, while the “Find New Roads” slogan of today looks ahead at the promising future of EVs and cleaner-sourced energy.
The “Like A Rock” phrase was used to advertise Chevy trucks for over ten years and originates from a Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band song with the same name. This era was not all about the new-wave suits of “Miami Vice”, as the Seger vibe leans more towards pool halls full of cold Coors, Wranglers and flannel shirts, and eagerly taking your rig offroad before the addition of durable skid plates to the lineup. Nearly every stunt depicted in the commercials followed a “Do not attempt” warning at the bottom of the screen, and GM had just devised the longstanding GMT-400 truck platform.
Over three decades later, the platform is still remembered as being very reliable, with parts that were easy to locate and a track record for extreme dependability. Trucks that were not equipped with GPS, Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, and rain-sensing wipers still were chiseling their way into becoming both reliable and worthy, and they still looked excellent doing so! In 1990 many things were changing, and even though people still heard a dial tone before connecting to the internet, there was a sense of eclectic and promising innovation in the air.
Donald Gould was an ad exec who was hard at work dreaming up new ways to spread the good word about GM trucks to the sometimes finicky yet dedicated American consumer. He came across “Like a Rock” and realized that it would be an excellent and very descriptive fit for his purposes. After his first time being contacted about the opportunity, Bob had initially not accepted and wasn’t fully convinced that his stance and style was the winning match needed for a homerun. His song was a full-on hit five years before this, inspired by a long-term relationship that had unfortunately gone sour.
When Seger was spending time in a Royal Oak bar just outside of Detroit a few weeks later, a patron walked up and asked, “Why don’t you ever do any commercials for the auto companies and maybe give a gentle push to help us out a bit?” After having a change of heart, he realized that with a father that had worked at Ford for 19 years, he was ready to let his intellectual property not only sell trucks but actively save jobs. The song truly is the perfect bit of sentiment to illustrate just how reliable Chevy is, and how solid hard work is a vital component of the stable family unit.
The 2023 Chevy Silverado is true to its roots and exists as a testament to everything good that this past ad campaign was built on. The Motor Trend review crew praised it for its excellent powertrain options, useful extra bed features, and the off-road and overland-primed ZR2. This year the Silverado boasts a revised diesel engine with more horsepower and torque, along with the very cool Jet Black/Umber interior scheme available on the High Country. With a towing rating of up to 13,300 pounds, the Silverado has evolved into a work-and-play ready machine that is perfect for supporting the backbone of America: Seger himself would approve of every mile inched forward “against the wind.”