Continuing the trend of major brand advertisers using software to extend their reach into consumers’ hearts Pontiac and Yahoo released Pontiac Underground. Yahoo has been telegraphing their intentions for some time. I don’t know if they consider this new site an example of one of their brand universes (since the brand owner is clearly funding this one) but it certainly fits their strategy of using their assets to create community and attention around the most popular brands in the world.

The site is a step up from their Nintendo Wii site which doesn’t have Nintendo involvement (that I know of). It’s an aggregation of Pontiac content from various Yahoo services (including Flickr, Answers, etc.). But there are a couple of additions that make it more interesting and personal in my opinion. The first is a DIGG like Pontiac news module where users vote stories up and down. The second is a Pontiac blog. To me part of the attraction of a blog is that there’s clearly a human behind the writing. This blog has more of an anonymous feel. I suppose all the modules could use improvement. But that’s to be expected given that this is the first cut at the site.

All in all this feels like a step up. It still feels a bit corporate, but it’s better than most. And the opportunity for improvement in terms of adding depth and value is pretty limitless. I’m curious to see where it goes.

I did start to wonder about a couple of things, namely wrt Yahoo. First, why does Yahoo need their brand here? I think removing their brand might actually make the site feel more organic, down-to-earth, and authentic. If Yahoo’s new strategy is around creating these sites focused on brand love then why not really focus and not distract with the Y. Just a thought.