GM still riding with 'Transformers 2,' but they're not going as fast

So much for General Motors turning its back on Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen. This first TV spot blending the upcoming Paramount flick with the 2010 Chevrolet Camaro just launched (directed by Transformers filmmaker Michael Bay), with print, online and in-theater ads still to come. Though the automaker is in the throes of bankruptcy, it's still advertising its new muscle car, which reprises its starring role as Bumblebee in the Transformers sequel. There had been widespread reports this spring that GM would back away from the second film, but studio insiders say the deal has just been scaled back—focusing on a single car brand instead of the fleet of nameplates that advertised the original. (The second movie has a bunch of GM cars in it, but there will be Transformer-themed ads for the Camaro only.) But don't cry for Paramount. Additional marketing heft is coming from LG Mobile, 7-Eleven, Kmart, Burger King and Hershey, which has transformed Bay into a purple M&M with a five o'clock shadow.

—Posted by T.L. Stanley