GM Returns to Advertising on Facebook

General Motors Co., which abandoned advertising on Facebook with much fanfare last May, has resumed placing paid promotions on the social media site.

On Tuesday GM's Chevrolet unit launched a campaign for its Sonic subcompact car on Facebook's service for mobile devices. The brand says the site's new tools will enable it to measure the impact of those ads. Chevy offered few details.

GM's original Facebook announcement came from erstwhile global chief marketing officer Joel Ewanick. His comments about the ineffectiveness of advertising on the Web site drew widespread attention because they came three days before Facebook's initial public offering.

Advertising Age estimates GM spent about $10 million Facebook ads in 2011. The company never stopped unpaid promotions on its pages on the site.