Pontiac G6 GXP a real Halo car...

[Flybrian]

Pontiac's G6 GXP Street Edition new 'Halo' car
To be offered in a Best Buy contest

September 12, 2007 - In conjunction with a dizzying array of promotions hyping the launch of Halo 3 on the Xbox 360 on September 25th, Best Buy has announced it will be handing out this Halo 3 themed Pontiac G6 GXP Street Edition to a lucky contest winner. Interested contestants need to pick up a copy of Halo 3 (not necessarily from BB so far as we can tell), then hit up this site on launch day to register. After that, 144 random winners will get a big collection of Microsoft Points. Following that drawing, one of these 144 will be selected to win the grand prize Halo 3 Pontiac. Not too bad, especially when all you have to do is register and then play the game.

CLICK HERE to enter!

PONTIAC IS EXPLOITING THE SERENDIPITOUS timing of the launches of the new Xbox 360 game, "Halo 3," and its own factory-tuned GXP version of the G6 car with a cross-promotional campaign that includes one of the new raft of TV spots for the GXP cars--plus events and interactive components touting the car and the game, which goes on sale midnight on Sept. 24.

The new ads this fall, via Leo Burnett, Detroit-based interactive agency Digitas and Hollywood, Calif.-based Stardust Productions, include a recently launched 60-second ad and two 30-second spots.

In the ads, the cars--the GXP versions of G6, Solstice and Torrent crossover--and the urban world through which they pass, are shot in black and white and appear in 2-D rendering. As the creative transmogrifies into 3-D imagery, the cars fill out and colorize, feature by feature.

Each spot is tagged with voiceover from actor Matt Dillon, and features the music track "Pogo" from EMI/Virgin recording artists Digitalism.

Jeff Cruz, senior vice president and creative director at Leo Burnett, says the Halo tie-in is explicit in a 30-second cut down of the "Details" spot. In that ad, the G6 is zooming through a black-and-white 2-D world, and as it goes through a transformation to 3-D, the "Halo 3" logo appears on roadside flags, light poles and on wild postings in tunnels. The car finishes with a power slide in front of a billboard for the game.

The billboard then turns from 2-D to 3-D as well, becoming a full-color, animated video showing some of the footage from the new game. Finally, the spot touts a "Halo 3" promotion housed at Pontiac.com/halo3, offering a chance for consumers to play the game before it is released in stores on Sept. 25.

Pontiac held an exclusive event in New York last night for a small number of people to pay the game. Also, Pontiac may run "Halo 3" content on its LED-illuminated Times Square billboards on the eve of the game's launch, which will take place at the Times Square Toys R Us.

Cruz says the deal was easy to do because Digitas had worked with the Redmond, Wash.-based software giant on other initiatives. "Our car was coming out in September, they had "Halo 3" coming, so there was an opportunity to play ball together and help each other out," he says.

Brad Tucker, creative director at Stardust, says the broad GXP effort is focused on bringing forth vehicle details. "They start off black and white, and slowly the chrome builds up until there's a photo-real look feature by feature, but it's a little non-linear, and the effect jumps from car to car to car," he says. "They brought us the idea and knew they wanted to build up the idea of bringing in details. We story-boarded it, showed them the look and feel."

The new GXP spots will run on NCAA broadcasts, of which Pontiac is a sponsor, this fall and shows like "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" Kimmel appears in ads for GM's OnStar.

Separately, Halo 3 is getting track time on Nascar's Nextel Cup circuit. Racer David Stremme's No. 40 car will wear a "Halo 3" paint scheme. Target and Microsoft are giving certain drivers the chance to play the game as well, per a joint promotion.

[FAPTurbo]

Even if some n00b got it for free, it would still be a rip-off.

Edited September 15, 2007 by Captainbooyah

[SuperSport623]

I know this is kinda off topic but...

The car finishes with a power slide in front of a billboard for the game.

how does a FWD car do a powerslide? do they mean basically ripping the Ebrake to get the car sideways? thats not a powerslide

Edited September 15, 2007 by SuperSport623

[frogger]

Even all the graphics on it can't hide its a piece of $h! all ugly team car.

[§carlet §wordfish]

Master Chief would never endorse such a pretentious automobile. If I wanted a rolling billboard I'd get an HHR panel van.

Aside from that, I'm all for the G6 publicity, though it sure won't make people want to buy Halo 3.

[Intrepidation]

Halo 3 may tank when they find it's endorsing this piece of crap.

[FloydHendershot]

Halo 3 may tank when they find it's endorsing this piece of crap.

Halo sucks anyway but hey maybe it just isnt meant for me. If this GXP G6 can hold it's own then why not. Never liked the Supra or z's either

who the hell knows? This at least gets some attention and maybe now at this point that is what it is about?

[ToniCipriani]

Fire the Pontiac marketing people already.

[vonVeezelsnider]

This is not the way you get people to buy 'Bucky the Beaver' AKA the G6 GXP.

[frogger]

Maybe players will get to blow up the car in the game. It will be one of the level's ugly bosses.

[Intrepidation]

I guess they had to come up with a new plan after Oprah told them the GXP was too ugly to be on her show...

[Robert Hall]

Lame nonsense.

[FAPTurbo]

If this gets knocked on another possible season of Red vs. Blue, then Pontiac will all but disappear off the face of the Earth...

[ZL-1]

New advertising slogan: G6 GXP, the Halo car for Bugs Bunny fans

[the_yellow_dart]

OK, three things:

1. I will be buying Halo 3, probably the day it comes out.

2. This is ridiculous.

3. I can't help but think that putting indented "Pontiac" script (like the back bumper of the Grand Prix) right where those Halo 3 logos are on the front bumper may not be a bad idea.

[Ryan27]

Why do the people who dont like or care about this car have to make the same stupid Bugs Bunny comments over and over again.. We get it! you dont like it!, you dont get the styling!, but its wasnt funny a year ago and its really boring now to read that somebody took time out of their day to post the same lame commentary. I wouldnt care, except I do like the car and am sick of reading it every time the car comes up. Im sure this car will look great in this commercial and am going to make sure it gets Tivo'd. I honestly feel sorry for you if you look at this car, and thats the only thing it makes you think of....

[CaddyXLR-V]

Why do the people who dont like or care about this car have to make the same stupid Bugs Bunny comments over and over again.. We get it! you dont like it!, you dont get the styling!, but its wasnt funny a year ago and its really boring now to read that somebody took time out of their day to post the same lame commentary. I wouldnt care, except I do like the car and am sick of reading it every time the car comes up. Im sure this car will look great in this commercial and am going to make sure it gets Tivo'd. I honestly feel sorry for you if you look at this car, and thats the only thing it makes you think of....

Don't blame us, blame GM for ripping off Bugs Bunny. I hope this car fails miserably just to show GM people don't want these lame, ugly, riced out cars.

[Intrepidation]

Why do the people who dont like or care about this car have to make the same stupid Bugs Bunny comments over and over again.. We get it! you dont like it!, you dont get the styling!, but its wasnt funny a year ago and its really boring now to read that somebody took time out of their day to post the same lame commentary. I wouldnt care, except I do like the car and am sick of reading it every time the car comes up. Im sure this car will look great in this commercial and am going to make sure it gets Tivo'd. I honestly feel sorry for you if you look at this car, and thats the only thing it makes you think of....

Oh we get the styling...it's overwrought, tacky, and poorly proportioned. It looks like American rice...and like rice it offers little in actual performance gains (3.6 available in the Aura and Malibu). It looks far worse than the GXPsedan concept and all of them look worse than the G6 concept. We keep bringing it up because everytime we see it we're reminded of what GM has done wrong...from the exterio to the interior. GM can do better than this, yet hasn't and probably won't until it's redesigned or replaced.

I'm honestly sorry for your poor taste.

[Ryan27]

There is no coupe with a better shape than the one the G6 has. I dont care about sedans, only coupes, and the G6 is the best looking one being made. Hopefully when its redesigned it will continue to be agressive like the GXP.

[CaddyXLR-V]

There is no coupe with a better shape than the one the G6 has. I dont care about sedans, only coupes, and the G6 is the best looking one being made. Hopefully when its redesigned it will continue to be agressive like the GXP.

I'm hoping the G6 gets killed, and we get an alpha based Pontiac instead.

[Ryan27]

Why would the G6 have to be killed to get an alpha based coupe?

[frogger]

Deserves this fate before all of North America sees it and says Pontiac still hasn't figured things out since the Aztec.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h_jqhXQhVss

[PrimeGTP]

GM is determined to run Pontiac into the ground. On one hand, I am glad I bought my 2007 GTP when the G6 still looked classy and before it got whored out. On the other hand, crap like this makes me ashamed to own a Pontiac.

So much for reviving Pontiac's performance status. All I see when I look at the G6 GXP and its hype is a combination of the Aztec and a cheap hooker.

[CaddyXLR-V]

Why would the G6 have to be killed to get an alpha based coupe?

Because the G6 is lame for a performance sedan/coupe, and the new Malibu and Aura are better cars. Pontiac doesn't need to compete with them.

[Ryan27]

Because the G6 is lame for a performance sedan/coupe, and the new Malibu and Aura are better cars. Pontiac doesn't need to compete with them.

If the next generation G6 is Alpha based no killing is necessary. And last I checked the Aura and the Malibu didn't come in a coupe. Some people dont want a sedan, granted its an increasingly small number, but thankfully there are still some coupe purists alive.

[traderchpl]

I saw this incredibly ugly, poorly "enhanced" POS in an advert. in September's Motor Trend (kinda fitting...that magazine itself is a POS). Pontiac actually PAID a freakin' magazine to put this horrendous design failure on one of their pages.

It actually made me embarassed to be a GM fan. And, it absolutely took the G8 off my shopping list. I'm not putting anything that shares a "brand identity" with that thing in my driveway. Great job, morons.

Maybe the car doesn't look so undeniably terrible in person. But the pictures being disseminated just might help to send Pontiac to the grave.

How the HELL did this thing make it to production? Even the Asians don't (usually) screw up this badly in the design phase. I mean, the G6 isn't a bad-looking car. You have to TRY to make it look as terrible as this.

[Ryan27]

I saw this incredibly ugly, poorly "enhanced" POS in an advert. in September's Motor Trend (kinda fitting...that magazine itself is a POS). Pontiac actually PAID a freakin' magazine to put this horrendous design failure on one of their pages.

It actually made me embarassed to be a GM fan. And, it absolutely took the G8 off my shopping list. I'm not putting anything that shares a "brand identity" with that thing in my driveway. Great job, morons.

Maybe the car doesn't look so undeniably terrible in person. But the pictures being disseminated just might help to send Pontiac to the grave.

How the HELL did this thing make it to production? Even the Asians don't (usually) screw up this badly in the design phase. I mean, the G6 isn't a bad-looking car. You have to TRY to make it look as terrible as this.

Maybe your closer to the grave than Pontiac, I think young people will appreciate the design, even if you dont. You people act like the design doesnt have a flow to it, but it certainly does,the hammerhead spoiler that people suggest looks tacked on follows the line of the entire car. If you dont see that your not really looking. The "Asians" dont have anything that looks this good. They design cars to be boring and appeal to people that are offended by something that stands out from the norm, maybe YOU are part or THAT target audience.... so go be a fan of them if this embarasses you.

[FAPTurbo]

So who was the lucky winner of this monstrosity? And did they kill themselves like the Halo series killed itself?

Edited August 6, 2013 by Señor Ding Dong

[David]

Sadly Pontiac cut it's own wrists and died before the ambulance could arrive to try and save it.

[hyperv6]

I hope those who were crying Pontiac was not damages will look back at this with 20/20 vision.

This is why even being s diehard Pontiac fan I really had little issue with them fading away.

I know Lutz was trying but there was too little time and money to fix them in the time frame needed. Here we are this far down the road and they are just now getting Cadillac in place and starting work on Buick.

You should always have car passion in your heart but you can not let it take over for reason of the mind.