The ad, which aired for the first time Tuesday night on ESPN, marks GM's return to TV advertising for the Corvette after a five-year absence.

Titled "Still Building Rockets," the commercial shows footage of rocket scientists juxtaposed with snapshots of GM plant workers building a Corvette. A voice-over says: "While time has marched on and priorities have changed, it's nice to know America still builds rockets," right before cutting to a white Corvette whipping through country roads.

The ad closes by saying, "The 2011 Corvette, only from Chevrolet" (in line with the automaker's new rule about how to refer to the brand, although viewers are directed to visit Chevy.com).

Love affair
"There's been a love affair with the Corvette that goes back to the '50s, and we want to regenerate that and reconnect people with the handmade nature of the car," Jeff Goodby, co-chairman of San Francisco-based Goodby told Advertising Age, an affiliate of AutoWeek. At the same time, the agency wanted to highlight the car's "terrifically powerful" engine. "We make such things here in America, and that's great."

The release of the spot was timed with the launch of a program that lets buyers of a 2011 Corvette Z06 or ZR1 opt to build the engine of their car at GM's Performance Build Center in Michigan, and then watch as their vehicle is built and rolls off the assembly line in Bowling Green, Ky.

"That's in keeping with the way sports cars in Europe treat their customers, that you can get that intimate with the car," Goodby said.