MAM
Pontiac debuts new SUV Torrent on CBS’ ‘Survivor’
MUMBAI: Following the success of Oprah’s 19th Season Premier last year and Donald Trump’s boardroom in The Apprentice last spring, Pontiac once again joined hands with a major media partner – CBS’ Survivor – in a surprising fashion for the launch of its new Pontiac Torrent SUV.
“While many companies place their product in a show, this time we’ve sort of placed the show in our product,” said Pontiac marketing director Mark-Hans Richer.
Six former Survivors from the CBS television show hit the “urban jungle” in Pontiac Torrents during the launch of Survivor Search in the City on 15 September on Survivor: Guatemala – The Maya Empire. The participating Survivor celebrities included many popular characters from top urban areas: “Boston Rob” Mariano in Boston (Survivor: Marquesas/Survivor: All Stars), Rupert Boneham in Chicago (Survivor: Pearl Islands/Survivor: All Stars), Jerri Manthey in Los Angeles (Survivor: The Australian Outback), Ethan Zohn in New York (Survivor: Africa), Gervase Peterson in Philadelphia (Survivor: Borneo) and Erin Collins in Texas (Survivor: Thailand).
Pontiac, along with marketing partner Leo Burnett Detroit and CBS, also launched the promotion, a fully integrated, viral effort incorporating the six former Survivors who will drive new Torrents as they go about their daily life over the coming weeks in their home cities and local regions.
Consumers will be asked to find one of them and snap a picture of them with their Torrent on their camera phone. They can immediately transmit the image for a chance to win five, fully-loaded, 2006 Pontiac Torrents, what Pontiac is calling “Torrents for your tribe.” Photos may also be submitted from digital cameras (via email) or by postal mail through 6 November.
“This promotion represents one of the most creative executions of a sponsor promotion we have ever had in association with the Survivor brand. . Survivor has one of the most passionate audiences on television, consistently ranking it in the top ten in viewership every week,” said CBS marketing executive vice president Anne O’Grady.
GM research shows that the Survivor audience is 25 per cent more likely than other prime time shows to talk about the program. “Because we’re working with the enhanced enthusiasm of the audience, this promotion becomes naturally viral,” said Richer.
In fact, fans who get pictures can spread them to friends who can also submit them. Further, the ex-Survivors themselves will keep daily blogs about their experiences and whereabouts with their Torrents which consumers can access at cbs.com. Photos will also likely spread at each Survivor’s website and fan websites.
Fifteen second television billboards on Survivor: Guatemala – The Maya Empire will drive consumers to the promotion during each week’s broadcast in addition to web advertising through portals like Yahoo! and AOL.
The Torrent is also the sole automotive product placed in Survivor: Guatemala – The Maya Empire. While it is an SUV, it is sleekly styled and designed with more agility, more for the urban jungle than an actual one.
Brands
Estée Lauder to shed 10,000 jobs as new boss bets on digital shift
The cosmetics giant raises its profit outlook but stays silent on a possible merger with Spain’s Puig, as job cuts deepen and a three-year sales slump weighs on the turnaround
NEW YORK: Stéphane de La Faverie is not done cutting. Estée Lauder announced on Friday that it plans to eliminate as many as 3,000 additional jobs, taking its total redundancy programme to as many as 10,000 roles, up from a previous target of 7,000 announced a year ago. The company, which owns La Mer, The Ordinary, Tom Ford, and Aveda, employs roughly 57,000 people worldwide. The mathematics of what is now being contemplated is stark.
The fresh round of cuts is expected to generate a further $200 million in savings, bringing the total annual savings from the programme to as much as $1.2 billion before taxes. That money, De La Faverie has made clear, will be ploughed back into the turnaround.
A CEO in a hurry
De La Faverie, who took the helm in January 2025, inherited a company that had endured three consecutive years of annual sales declines. His response has been to move fast and cut deep. A significant portion of the latest redundancies reflects his push to reduce headcount at US department stores, long a cornerstone of Estée Lauder’s distribution model but now a channel in structural decline. In their place, he is accelerating the shift toward faster-growing online platforms, including Amazon.com and TikTok Shop, a pivot that is reshaping not just where Estée Lauder sells but how it thinks about its customers.
The numbers are moving in the right direction
Despite the pain, there are signs the medicine is working. Estée Lauder raised its profit outlook for the remainder of the fiscal year, guiding for adjusted earnings per share in the range of $2.35 to $2.45, above analyst estimates and a notable step up from the $2.05 to $2.25 range it had guided for in February. Organic net sales growth is expected to come in at 3 per cent, the company said, at the high end of the range it set out in February.
The share price tells a mixed story. After De La Faverie took charge, the stock surged nearly 60 per cent, buoyed by investor optimism that a longtime company insider could finally arrest the decline. But 2026 has been rougher: the shares have fallen 27 per cent this year, weighed down by disappointing February results and the overhang of unresolved merger talks with Spanish beauty giant Puig Brands SA. The company gave no additional details about those discussions on Friday, leaving the market to guess.
Silence on Puig
The proposed tie-up with Puig remains the most consequential unknown hanging over Estée Lauder. A deal with the Barcelona-based group, which owns brands including Carolina Herrera and Rabanne, would reshape the global luxury beauty landscape. But with nothing new to say and a turnaround still very much in progress, De La Faverie is asking investors to trust the process.
Three years of sales declines, 10,000 job cuts, and a merger that may or may not happen. At Estée Lauder, the overhaul has barely started.
