Free Car Insurance from GM (Yes, Really!)

Want some free car insurance? Well then we've got good news: General Motors is currently offering exactly that. GM, one of the world's biggest automakers, needs to sell more cars and right now they're offering a full year's worth of free MetLife Auto insurance to anyone who buys one... if they live in Oregon or Washington.

According to GM's Vice President of US Marketing:

"We want to give residents of Oregon and Washington another reason to discover Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac vehicles."

The free insurance plan includes both liability and physical damage coverage. Apparently OR and WA were chosen because GM isn't capturing market share in those states as quickly as they'd like. Companies insiders say the promotion could be expanded to other states if it's successful in the Northwest.

GM's marketing people came up with the free insurance idea after seeing market research showing that many people avoid buying new cars because of the high cost to insure a new vehicle.

We say: This sounds great. Now just bring it to Nevada and expand it to 3 years and we will all definitely go out and buy new Chevy's!

Learn some mo': GM to offer free car insurance

Plus-Size Models Don't Sell Well

Using "plus-size" models in your advertisements is unlikely to work on their intended audiences: usually overweight women (but also men at times). Researchers at Arizona State University found that using overweight models actually lowers womens' self-esteem, makes them feel bad about their own bodies, and lowers the odds that they'll purchase the product!

According to ASU researcher Naomi Mandel:

"We believe it is unlikely that many brands will gain market share by using heavy models in their ads... We found that overweight consumers demonstrated lower self-esteem -- and therefore probably less enthusiasm about buying products. Also, normal-weight consumers experienced lower self-esteem after exposure to moderately heavy models, such as those in Dove soap's 'Real Women' campaign, than after exposure to moderately thin models."

Learn some mo': Using Fatties in Marketing Campaigns Unlikely to Work, ASU Study Finds