As I write this, Chevy is taking heavy fire in blogworld for a consumer-generated content site for wherein anyone can get online, write a few supers over some stock footage of a Tahoe rollicking in the snow and wham bam just like that you’re a rock ‘n’ roll star and thank you very much.

Except it didn’t exactly go the way Chevy planned. Well, in a normal world, no sane person would think so, although in the shadowy land of Web virals, who can say for sure? Maybe it went precisely as Chevy planned.

But I don’t think so. I think Chevy had every reason to believe it was being cyberhip to a fare thee well. That if they didn’t jump on the consumer co-creation wave in a hurry, the wave was going to be past them faster than a Toyota Camry. Life comes at you fast and all that.

Well, they got on the wave all right. But an uglier wave you never did see. Within minutes, the site was riddled with spots like this:

Open on glorious, albeit clichéd, running footage of various Chevy Tahoes, rollicking in the snow, perched atop magnificent spires of rock and ice and, well, you get the idea. We see a series of supers come up:

Super: 13 miles to the gallon.
Super: $3,000 a year just for gas.
Super: But you can park anywhere.
Super: F#@k the earth. Get yours.
Super: Chevy Tahoe. An American Revolution.

If you ask Chevy, of course, they would tell you that they saw all of it coming, that they knew full well that there would be gremlins loose in the land and that they would do their mischief and that it was all fine with Chevy because, after all, this is the essence of consumer co-creation, that you take the bad with the good, that as long as you can make it onto YouTube, well, hallelujah and pass the ammunition and welcome to the promised land.

Here’s the thing. If Alex Bogusky tells me that, I believe him. If some fourteen-year-old in Norman, Oklahoma, decides to turn The King into a porno star at Burger King’s expense, and Alex says he’s cool with that and Burger King tells me they’re cool with that, so am I. But Chevy?

Maybe if you’re a hamburger, you can afford to let the good times roll, but was this really the way to go for an embattled brand that in some circles represents all that is wrong with this oil-besotted culture of ours? That’s not me talking. Them’s the gremlins, folks. And they’re out there licking their chops and just waiting to pull the rivets out of your seams. When the big bad wolf is trying to blow your house down, do you open the window?

Few consumer co-creation projects have been as successful as The Converse Gallery created by Converse agency, Butler, Shine, Stern & Partners. BSSP partner, John Butler, thinks consumer co-creation can be a powerful tool when the brand is right for it. And when it’s not?

“I think Chevy got slammed simply because the Tahoe just isn’t a passion brand like the Chuck Taylor. It just doesn’t have the history, nor does it have the legions of consumers who have embraced a brand like Converse. Apple could probably do something with consumer-generated content, because that brand does feel as democratic as Converse, and they actually make the tools that allow people to express themselves. If your brand doesn’t really mean anything to anyone but you, the quickest way to kill it is to hand it over to the consumer, because he or she will tell you precisely what they think of it. A good dose of self-awareness is probably a good thing to have before you start trend-jumping.”

Not everyone sees it that way, of course. According to Piers Fawke who runs the marketing and trendwatching blogs, PSFK and IF!, “User-generated content isn’t just about spreading a message. It’s about brand interaction and dialogue. When you engage in dialogue, you hear a lot of different opinions. You say something and you also get feedback.”

Yes you do. And dialogue is a great and wondrous thing. But my friends, it’s the rare advertiser that doesn’t mind getting mocked, defamed and otherwise pilloried by an angry mob hellbent on kicking it in the gonads. For the Converses of the world, consumer co-creationism can be a cool and wondrous thing. For the Chevy Tahoes, it’s a killer.