The Camaro concept car unveiled at last year’s Detroit auto show captured the imagination of Pontiac fan Kevin Morgan. He created a rendering of an ’09 Trans Am from the Camaro concept shape and his illustrations have created quite a buzz among hobbyists and on the Internet. His drawings have even appeared in national car magazines.
It is Pontiac owners and enthusiasts like Morgan that the Pontiac Division of General Motors and Yahoo, Inc! had in mind when they launched an online destination called Pontiac Underground last week. Pontiacunderground.com combines social media content from Yahoo! including Flickr photos, Yahoo! Answers, Yahoo!Video and Yahoo! Groups with consumer-created Pontiac content from hundreds of Pontiac fan communities throughout the Web.
Designed in partnership with Boston-based interactive agency Digitas, the site features “Pontiac Informer,” where users can see the latest articles, links and information from other sites about Pontiac, submit their own directly and rate them up or down. Morgan was one of the first to contribute to the online conversation, asking others to help him generate interest in bringing back the Trans Am. He invites people to visit his MySpace page, e-mail him or buy the T-shirt he designed featuring his concept car.
Also on the site, users can view and add to galleries of Pontiac videos and photos of cars. There’s also a place for knowledge sharing. Leveraging the knowledge base of Yahoo! Answers, Pontiac Underground provides a place for users to get the answers they are looking for, as well as share their knowledge with the community.
Pontiac will use the “Inside Track” blog as its primary means of communication with its enthusiast audience. The blog features exclusive news and images directly from Pontiac.
Among the other features on the site is an aggregated list of Pontiac clubs and events, allowing users to connect offline as well.
The site is a key component of Pontiac’s broad community-marketing initiatives for 2007. According to a recent Yahoo! Autos study conducted by J.D. Power and Associates, consumer-generated content is in high demand among car buyers. The vast majority–94 percent–of car buyers who use the web believe consumer-generated content is an important source of information to use when deciding between vehicles. The study’s findings highlight the importance of delivering social media offerings for consumers and automakers alike.
That being said, the new site is poised to be a win-win for Pontiac and consumers. “With Yahoo!’s leading social media platform, it’s exciting to finally be able to bring our GTO fans, G6 fans, Solstice fans, old Firebird or Chief fans, Vibe fans–all Pontiac online communities together,” said Pontiac marketing director Mark-Hans Richer in a statement. “Pontiac Underground is almost all consumer-generated–it’s their community, we’re just trying to add to it.”
Producers Douglas Wick and Lucy Fisher To Receive Harold Lloyd Award From The Advanced Imaging Society
Producers Douglas Wick and Lucy Fisher will be presented with the 2025 Harold Lloyd Award in recognition of their producing achievement in creating Gladiator II at The Advanced Imaging Society’s (AIS) 15th annual Lumiere Awards luncheon, which takes place Friday, February 7, 2025, at the Beverly Hills Hotel.
Empowering their storytelling with groundbreaking technology and skill, Wick and Fisher have thrilled audiences and driven the film industry forward for three decades. Their steadfast dedication to the highest standards of cinematic excellence have resulted in epic films, including Memoirs of a Geisha, The Great Gatsby, the Stuart Little franchise, the Divergent Series and both Gladiator films. The first Gladiator earned Wick an Academy Award® for Best Picture. In light of their consistent and distinguished contributions over the years, as exemplified by this year’s Gladiator II, the Advanced Imaging Society wished to recognize the team with this year’s esteemed Harold Lloyd Award.
“Doug Wick and Lucy Fisher of Red Wagon Entertainment have revolutionized modern filmmaking with their bold storytelling and ability to elevate large-scale productions to epic levels,” remarked Jim Chabin, AIS president. “Their work has not only captivated audiences but also redefined filmmaking standards, leaving an indelible mark on the art of cinema. At AIS. we deeply admire their visionary contributions and enduring influence on the film industry.”
Suzanne Lloyd, granddaughter of the late, great Harold Lloyd, remarked, “Doug’s artistic vision and Lucy’s dynamic leadership have brought authenticity, beauty and profound emotion to some of our favorite epic films. Together, they are a... Read More