With the end of the popular Cash for Clunkers program, U.S. auto sales are expected to suffer a hit this fall. As the industry preps to sell to a dwindling consumer base, General Motors—America’s top-selling automaker—will debut a new ad campaign playing up its four remaining brands, Chevy, Buick, GMC and Cadillac.

GM, which entered bankruptcy in July, will have a big task ahead of itself, according to Deborah Mitchell, executive fellow at the Center for Brand and Product Management. Mitchell tells the Associated Press,  “It’s going to be dog-eat-dog. There’s going to be a big drop (in sales). It’s going to be more important than ever for them to get out there.”

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Marketing Professor Tom O’Guinn contributed to an Associated Press article on “Informercial King”  Kevin Harrington’s 25-year infomercial empire and his innate knack to pick what to sell and how to sell it.

On the eve of release of Harrington’s new memoir, “Act Now!: How I Turn Ideas Into Million Dollar Products,” O’Guinn noted Harrington’s ability to make buying things from infomercials acceptable.

“He brought that sense of legitimacy and the idea that infomercials are not necessarily hucksterism, they are meeting the legitimate needs of legitimate consumers,” O’Guinn said.

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Deborah Mitchell, a senior lecturer of marketing and associate dean for Enterprise MBA programs at the Wisconsin School of Business, tells the Associated Press what GM should focus on when marketing cars during bankruptcy.

Mitchell argued that GM should not “dwell on the negative” or anything that will help consumers “remember that GM is hurting.”

“‘When you buy one of these cars, you’re buying a Chevrolet. You’re not buying a GM,’” said Mitchell. “‘In terms of consumer memory, where the positive associations lie are primarily with the brands.’”

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