The art of the bailout apology ad: lessons for AIG from GM and Chrysler

As AIG considers joining a lawsuit against the US government over its bailout, we examine the post-bailout thank-you genre Of all the genres of US television advertising, we admit that our favorite is the post-bailout thank you - the PBTY, if you will. Just ask Chrysler, GM and AIG: no bailout seems to be really complete without a schmoopy, tear-jerking TV ad to thank American taxpayers for their support, noting, proudly, that the company has paid back every blessed dollar. This genre requires s...