Chevy delays verdict on 'Runs Deep' tag line

LAS VEGAS -- Chevrolet is still pondering the future of its "Chevy Runs Deep" advertising tag line as the brand extends an internal deadline for a decision.

"It is in play," said Chris Perry, vice president of Chevrolet marketing. "We might transition."

In March, former GM marketing boss Joel Ewanick said a verdict on whether to keep the then 18-month-old theme line was the first order of business for Commonwealth, a newly formed ad agency that had just won Chevy's global account.

A decision had been expected this past summer, Automotive News reported in April.

With the upcoming "13 in '13" promotion that involves a swath of new U.S. vehicles in the next 15 months, as well as the expansion of the Chevrolet brand in other markets, Chevy is mulling whether the current tag line "plays a role here and globally," Perry said.

He said study teams have been created at Chevrolet and its advertising agencies to evaluate new tag lines.

"I have nothing to announce right now," Perry said in an interview on the sidelines of the Specialty Equipment Marketing Association show here.

He added: "We want it to be a rallying cry for dealers, owners and [our employees] that is translatable around the world. I'm not saying we'd use the same American phrase around the world, just something where the meaning translates."

In March, Chevrolet handed global marketing responsibilities to Commonwealth. The 50-50 joint venture combined San Francisco's Goodby, Silverstein & Partners, an Omnicom Group company, with New York's McCann Erickson Worldwide, an Interpublic Group company.

GM fired Ewanick in July after disagreements over the vetting of a $559 million Chevrolet sponsorship deal with English soccer club Manchester United.

Chevy, the second-best selling brand in the United States, has posted a 5 percent rise in sales through September in a U.S. market that's up 15 percent. A surging Toyota division is closing the gap behind Chevy.