Following the media drubbing of their not-exactly-true “We paid the government back” ad, GM has snatched the marketing whiz who most recently help Hyundai burnish its public image.

GM’s new VP of U.S. Marketing Joel Ewanick is the one given the credit for Hyundai’s Assurance program, which allowed customers to return their vehicles if they lost their income during a certain time period. It was a sales and PR boost to the car maker.

GM is now the third company to employ Ewanick in 2010. He left Hyundai early in the year to Nissan, where he worked as VP-Chief Marketing Officer for all of six weeks before being snatched up by General Motors.

The beleaguered car manufacturer is one of the top advertisers in the U.S. In 2008 alone, GM spent $2.9 billion on advertising, ranking fourth in the country according to Ad Age.

With a new IPO expected sometime in the next year, GM is going to have to focus a lot of its energy not just on improving their product but in regaining the trust of the consumers and of potential investors.

GM Hires Joel Ewanick as Marketing Chief [Ad Age]

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