The other day I stumbled across a link to an "advertisement" for a Ford product. It was a UK ad. It showed a cat climbing up on top of a car with a sunroof, the cat looking in the sunroof, then the roof closing, the cat going limp and sliding off the car. The ad ended with a little statement calling the car the evil twin.
I was SHOCKED. In this day and age, I can't believe ANYONE would think that pretending to harm an animal is a good way to sell a product. In research for protesting, I found there was a second ad for this vehicle that involved a pigeon, and revenge on it for stuff that pigeons are known to do around cars.
I wrote to PETA about it. As much as I am not in favor of their over the top antics in a lot of instances, I knew they would jump on the is bandwagon. They wrote and told me that they had already dealt with this issue and that the clip was never 'supposed' to 'leak' out and ford was 'very sorry'.
I wrote to Ford. I got this in reply:
- Dear Connie,
Thank you for contacting the Ford Motor Company Customer Relationship Center regarding advertisement for the Ford Sportka.
We find this unofficial "advertisement" totally unacceptable and reprehensible. Two video clips featuring the Ford Sportka were proposed by our advertising agency, Ogilvy, as part of an internet campaign. Ford accepted one of the video clips, but this second clip was definitely rejected by Ford. A full investigation has been ordered by Ford and Ogilvy to determine how this unapproved material found its way into the public domain.
The video clip, which is known in the advertising industry as an example of "viral" marketing, is by its nature difficult to contain once it is published on the internet, officially or unofficially. The clip does not appear on any official Ford website, but it is appearing elsewhere on the internet. The action in the video clip was totally computer generated, and we would like to assure customers that no animal was harmed in its making. Ogilvy has indicated to Ford of Europe its regret that the unofficial video clip has been accidentally released. Ford of Europe apologizes for the offense it may cause.
We consider the satisfaction of our customers one of our most important objectives. If you have any other inquiries or concerns, please feel free to contact us and we will be happy to address them for you.
Sincerely,
Lana
Customer Relationship Center
Ford Motor Company
Yea yea yea.. all well and good, but in my opinion, since this Ogilvy is STILL their advertising agency I refuse to ever even consider buying or owning a Ford product. Computer generated or not, is not the issue. Money was spent to portray harm to animals. And surprisingly enough, it was 'leaked' onto the medium of choice for their target audience. I can only pray that no one who saw that said, oooh.. cool.
That toy scares me, so I'm as far away as I can get!
Um.. hello :)
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MOM! I want to nurse!!!
Twee, get out of the baby room!!
No, this is not a trick, her leg really does look like that.
Mom, are you done YET?
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