GM Deceptively Advertised Loan Repayment

The source of the money GM used to repay the US loan last month is no longer a secret. As the US Treasury admitted, the carmaker did nothing but take money from US' right pocket and put it into the left one, using escrowed cash for the payment. Yet the manner in which GM chose to advertise the loan repayment is still cause for debate and, most recently, legal complaints in the US.

Advocacy group Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) announced yesterday it has filed a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) against GM, arguing the carmaker deceptively advertised it's accomplishment.

CEI is referring to the video commercial in which the company's CEO, Ed Whitacre, says GM has "repaid the government loans, in full, with interest, five years ahead of the original schedule."

According to the group (and as some of the comments autoevolution received on the matter suggest), the ad, created by McCann-Erickson, is disingenuous and leads people to believe GM repaid the loan out of its own pocket.

The complaint filed with the FTC comes after several republican congressmen accused GM it has come dangerously close to committing fraud.

“Your statements and the slick marketing campaign built around them constitute a lie to the American people, who have spent over $50 billion to bail out GM and currently own over 60 percent of the company," a letter signed by Reps. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., and Jim Jordan, R-Ohio reads.

"We are concerned that GM, under your leadership, has come dangerously close to committing fraud, and that you might have colluded with the United States Treasury to deceive the American public… GM's false advertisements are counterproductive and shameful, and they should stop.”