I sat down with Meyer & Wallis' CEO Bob Meyer to get his thoughts on GM's recent bankruptcy filing and their subsequent ad campaign to regain the public's trust as they reorganize themselves. Here's what he had to say:
 
"Starting with truth — that's the smart thing. They really said some interesting things. They said there was a time when having eight brands was right... it's wrong now. There was a time when we were competitive and now we're not. So, this is a bit of truth serum and it's very smart, I think.

 
What they're saying is, 'Look, we got off track. We got to the point where we weren't right for the times anymore.' The fact that they're admitting that I like, because that buys them an audience for their next message.
 
 
When you have people looking at you and wondering if you're going to survive or not, it is time to take sodium pentothal and just tell the truth. Because if you say anything that people disagree with, you're the biggest turnoff in the world. People will think, 'They were wrong and they're going out of business anyway.' So the fact that they're telling it like it is is smart and the right thing to do. And I'll repeat: It buys them an audience for their next message. And their next message has to do the same thing.
 
 
You win people with candor. Saying things you wouldn't normally say.
 
 
However, I don't know who's going to do the advertising now.  [GM] is now owned by the United States government and the union — two entities that have never sought to run a company for profit in history. So whether they'll allow them to do what's right, I don't know."
 
Much of our conversation centered around a former client of ours, Kohl's Foods, that we helped get through a similar situation several years ago. We probably started earning our reputation as turnaround specialists after that client. More on that tomorrow.