By Ed Garsten
The Detroit News

DETROIT - Coming to the small screen this month is a big-budget, full-length movie starring Dennis Hopper ... and a passel of Pontiac GTOs.

So much for traditional 30-second or one-minute commercials to sell cars and trucks. The GTO's star turn in the film The Last Ride is part of a 3-month-old effort by General Motors Corp. to rev up marketing for its Pontiac, Buick and GMC brands.

A new team led by advertising wunderkind C.J. Fraleigh is looking to cut through the clutter and highlight vehicle attributes such as power, performance and amenities.

"The marketing will be sharper. Some advertising messages will change," Fraleigh said.

Fraleigh, 40, made his name by helping GM turn around its once-inert Cadillac division. A combination of edgy new products and the use of music by hard rockers Led Zeppelin in commercials has helped convert Cadillac's image from has-been to hip.

New general manager

On Feb. 1, Fraleigh moved to Buick and Pontiac-GMC as the division's general manager. He was joined by Jim Bunnell, 48, a former Pontiac executive who spent the last half-decade running GM's Northeast region.

While GMC's lineup of pickup trucks and sport utility vehicles is delivering sales and profits, Pontiac remains a work in progress. GM is repositioning the brand to focus on its performance image.

"A couple of times in our history we fell off that path," Bunnell said. "We're taking Pontiac back to its roots, its true performance, not only straight line acceleration but great handling and a true driver's environment."

Pontiac's advertising tag line "Fuel for the Soul" will be retained for now, but Fraleigh and Bunnell are looking to bring home the brand's performance image in a bigger way. Hence the made-for-TV movie The Last Ride.

Movie debut on USA

The movie debuts this month on USA Network and features several generations of the iconic muscle car.

Pontiac vehicles also are getting exposure on several cable television networks through the end of the month on what is essentially a 30-minute-long commercial titled "Secrets of the Stuntmen."

The long-form commercial takes viewers behind the scenes as four Hollywood stuntmen plan and execute a two-minute chase scene featuring the Pontiac Vibe GT, GTO, Grand Prix GTP Comp-G and Bonneville GXP.

"We're looking for different avenues for showcasing our products other than the 30-second TV spot," Bunnell said.