First a little history:
In the mid-80s, the military decided they needed something to replace the Jeep and sent a order out for a replacement contract. AMG won the contract, and the new machine, originally called the HMMWV, which soldiers nicknamed Humvee and Hummer to avoid the tongue-twister every time they had to hop in the car. The result was a beast; 15 feet long, 7 feet wide, and 5,200 pounds (Pace, n.d.).
By the end of the 80s, over 175,000 had been delivered to soldiers and to over 50 friendly nations .The vehicle was used by the tens of thousands all over the world, including in Panama in 1989 and 1990, Operation Desert Storm in '91, and more recently in the Middle East (HUMMER History).
In 1992, AMG started selling them for civilian use under the name Hummer. In December of 1999, GM started working with AMG. They renamed it Hummer H1, and in 2002, the Hummer H2 was created. H3s came to be in about 2006.
Their ads highlight their power and strength, which seems to be targeting more men than women. I tried to search for ads for all the Hummers, and failed to find one for the original. I'm assuming the Hummer H1 was sold to mainly men because of it's reputation and videos like this:
Also helping sales right along were images such as this:
The Modernista advertising agency started adding something to ads since 2001 that somehow helps move cars: the pull away shot of the earth at the end of every ad. They say it is because the Hummer is the ultimate in off-roading and can take you anywhere in the world (Patton, 2007). They also don't refer at all to the military use of the vehicle, and it seems to me they are targeting middle to upper class families, exemplified in this ad:
In a society where gas is getting more and more expensive and consumers are becoming more environmentally conscientious, the H3 was a great option. The women who bought the H3, 42 percent, were probably middle to upper class who wanted a sport vehicle but were turned away by the size of the H2.
Here's an interesting one ran during Super Bowl XL in 2006:
One thing Hummer did to enhance their image is they have donated many vehicles to the Red Cross. In 2006 they issued a press release stating they donated a fleet of H1, H2, and H3s to Red Cross chapters all over the U.S., and would donate $100,000 annually for six years (CSR, 2006).
GM has done a great job in marketing this vehicle to civilians while keeping it in military use. However, sales plummeted 67 percent in 2009. Harmful to the known gas-guzzler were economic forces such as the price of oil and the rising importance of going "green" in society. GM tried to sell the brand to a Chinese company called Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machines, but the deal collapsed in 2010 because the company said they could not clear the sale with the Chinese government, who is making a move to try to limit their dependence on oil. The company announced it would consider any offers made, but this failed and in 2010 GM announced they were officially shutting down the brand (Bunkley, 2010).
Sources:
Pace, H. (n.d.). Hummer History. Retrieved from http://www.automedia.com
HUMMER History. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.gmhummer.com
Patton, P. (2007). Marketing Muscle and Guzzle. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com
CSR Press Release. (2006) Hummer, GM Foundation Mark American Red Cross Month With Thanks, Vehicle Donations. Retrieved from http://www.csrwire.com
Bunkley, N. (2010). GM to Close Hummer After Sale Fail. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com
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