'The whole issue around Chevrolet TrailBlazer's ad campaign must be considered from two different angles, that is, from the viewpoint of customers and that of Sverdlovsk Region. Any advertising campaign is aimed at raising sales, and Yekaterinburg was chosen for the ad with good reason: it is believed to be Russia’s average city, and most effective ads always use some specific data. I believe the ad was targeted at central parts of Russia where people don’t know a lot about the state of Sverdlovsk Region’s roads. It is quite possible that the ad uses a photo flat, or the picture was perhaps taken in some other Russian region. In whichever case, the ad is bound to produce the necessary effect, and the product will find its customer,’ Svetlana Guselnikova of Yekaterinburg’s Advertising Guide portal reports.

The negative image of the region has been used by General Motors to promote its new Chevrolet TrailBlazer: the ad features a new car ‘capable of defying Russian roads’ and says that ‘when you are trying to reach your goal, trifles like bad roads don’t matter.’ In addition, there is a photograph of a very badly maintained country road with and a note: ‘The road to Kruglykino, 174 km of Yekaterinburg.’ Experts believe a massive advertising campaign might actually affect Sverdlovsk Region’s image badly.

‘On the other hand, the prestige of a particular region matters to both this region and the whole country, and no advertisement should cast a blur on one’s reputation,’ Ms Guselnikova added.