[UPDATE: while this advertisement was published on OnStar’s YouTube channel on August 25th, 2023, it originally aired in 2019, but has been revised with OnStar’s new logo. We mistakenly claimed it was a new ad, when in fact, it is not. The article has been updated accordingly.]
GM’s fully owned telematics and in-vehicle security subsidiary, just re-released a video ad highlighting the company’s stolen vehicle assistance tech. The brief ad is the latest release in the company’s new campaign to promote OnStar-branded technologies and features. OnStar will serve as a major component of GM’s tech offerings as the automaker transitions to all-electric powertrains.
Clocking in at 30 seconds, the video ad opens with a young kid riding their bike through a neighborhood. As the kid waves hello to neighbors, we get a few quick shots of a Cadillac Escalade driving a high speeds. It looks as though the SUV is being chased by police.
The two scenes are juxtaposed to set up a potential collision between the Escalade and the kid on the bike. As the kid crosses a street, we see the Cadillac Escalade approaching the intersection at a high rate of speed. Suddenly, we hear a voiceover similar to a radio saying “OnStar, it’s safe to slow it down.” A quick shot of the driver instrument cluster shows the vehicle speeds decreasing, while “Slowdown Activated” is shown under the digital speedometer.
As the camera pulls back, we see the kid on the back crossing the street as the Cadillac Escalade rolls to a stop, the police vehicle just behind it. The kid looks over their shoulder and shrugs.
“OnStar Stolen Vehicle Slowdown, Helps get your vehicle back quicker. And safer,” some text reads.
Check out the ad for yourself right here:
Just last month, GM Authority covered another brief video ad for OnStar that gave a brief overview of some of the features the brand has to offer. Titled “The Future is Better with OnStar“, the ad mentions Super Cruise, in-vehicle streaming video streaming, navigation, and electric vehicle charging.
GM is currently rolling out a new look, a new design, and new messaging for OnStar, all of which ties back to GM’s EV and tech strategy. Looking ahead, GM says it expects new software and subscription services to generation somewhere between $20 billion and $25 billion by 2030.
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Comments
Oh yeah. Not dystopian at all. Nobody will ever use the Remote Slowdown feature for anything other than when the owner reports it stolen.
Richard, so you prefer to keep going and run over the boy to escape the police?
No, we can give the police the tools they need to stop the vehicle while respecting driver autonomy. Do you believe OnStar should have this level of control over your vehicle? I don’t believe so, especially after you purchase the product.
I don’t think OnStar will activate this without a request from the police.
Man, I wish they’d done an ad where you push the button for directions, then the lady comes on and takes ten minutes to send your car directions to the wrong city.
It’s a valuable feature.
It doesn’t do any good if the crooks remove the OnStar module before they steal it. It is a joke how easily they can disable the OnStar in a vehicle. They should put that behind the firewall not where it is currently at.
Just a pipe dream, has anyone ever watched this happen on the news or You Tube ? On Star had this technology for many years.
There should be a another video where my old OnStar was disabled while we were led to believe it would be upgraded. Not for sensitive ears.
Funny, the cop car that they used was a Chevy Impala which Chevy (GM) doesn’t produce anymore.!
Yeah. They really couldn’t show a Dodge Charger!
This isn’t a new ad. Here’s an old piece on GMA from 2019 discussing the same ad.
https://gmauthority.com/blog/2019/04/new-onstar-ad-shows-off-stolen-vehicle-assistance-feature-video/
Maybe they used that car to show they are still in service.
In all reality the thieves nowadays cut the OnStar cable before they leave in the vehicles. As a Chevy Dealer we have had about 30 customers in the last 2 years have vehicles stolen. All of them had OnStar disabled in seconds. Most were not recovered and the few that were had been stripped. OnStar can only catch the beginner thieves. The Pro’s get away. Just stating the facts.