Ford Upset by Web Ad Showing Decapitation

AP ^ | 04/19/04 | AP

[Pikamax]

Ford Upset by Web Ad Showing Decapitation

Sun Apr 18, 7:14 PM ET Add Technology - AP to My Yahoo!

DEARBORN, Mich. - Ford Motor Co. is upset by the release of an Internet advertisement that depicts the decapitation of a computer-animated cat by a power moonroof hatch, saying it didn't authorize the clip.

The ad for the Sportka, a hatchback sold in Europe, shows the realistic-looking orange cat climbing on top of the car and poking its head into the open moonroof, The Detroit News reported Sunday. The hatch slides closed, the cat struggles briefly and its headless body slides to the ground.

Ford says the clip was conceived without its approval by ad agency Ogilvy & Mather as part of a "viral marketing" campaign for the Sportka. "Viral marketing," a type of e-mail marketing, is the electronic version of word of mouth, usually inviting recipients to forward an e-mail to others.

"We find this unauthorized ad totally unacceptable and reprehensible and deplore the fact that it has been unofficially issued," Ford spokesman Oscar Suris said.

Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide issued a statement saying it also didn't sanction the commercial, which was leaked onto the Internet on April 1.

"Both companies find this unofficial advertisement totally unacceptable and reprehensible," the statement said. "The action in the video clip was totally computer generated, and we would like to assure you that no animal was harmed in its making."

[Conservomax]

is taht an itchy and scratchy reference?

[archy]

...it will piss off cat lovers!
I've seen this before, couldn't stop laughing!
But it's still no match for my cat!!!

Aiiiiieeee! Catzilla!

[Constitution Day]

LOL!

[RichInOC]

Nope, "Far Side".

[archy]

No...it's not decapitation.....it's a cat, that at very least, is subjected to cruelty by having it's neck trapped in the roof. That's at the VERY LEAST! Does it look like the cat is enjoying that part???? I think the cat is unconscious when it falls off the car. And who knows if it survived?

If there's a Vietnamese restaurant in the neighborhood, don't bet on its long-term prospects....

[smith288]

and you profess to be a christian. I see......

Oh please... Judge me when you can call yourself Christ, otherwise, take your self righteousness elsewhere.

[archy]

how about a moose head?

I'll have mine cold, thanks. With cheese.

[Constitution Day]

Here's the Far Side cartoon he's referring to:

But obviously that's not funny, not funny one little bit.
That cartoon cat might get hurt!(!!!)

*snort*

[archy]

Well, I wouldnt condone if it was a kid for obvious reasons...but a dog would be funny.

A bratty, whiney fat kid, in a *Kerry for President* T-shirt?

YES!

[nuconvert]

I don't do 'final judgements'......you're on your own.

Take yourself elsewhere, you're the one who jumped into this conversation.

[archy]

I wonder how many takes it took to get the cat's head in the sunroof. I'll bet at least one or two of the cat decapatations went poorly (ie: maybe the carcases didn't bounce right or maybe the 4 INCH LONG RAZOR BALDES needed for a sunroof to actually slice through a cat's bone and tendons and vascualar tissue malfunctioned!).

Well, you'd have to augment the electric motor for the sunroof with a pneumatic or fast-acting hydraulic unit. But it could be done, and I could build it.

After all I designed and built the 24,000 volt, neon-sign transformer powered electric birdfeeder.

[hookman]

My cat always behaves, I find it awful to think about such cruelty as "revenge" on a cat!
:)

[archy]

and you profess to be a christian. I see......

Oh please... Judge me when you can call yourself Christ, otherwise, take your self righteousness elsewhere.

Speaking of which, I hear Fox TV was really impressed with the Mel Gibson movie, and is working something up for a new TV series....

[Veracious Poet]

*** SADIST ORGY BUMP ***

[archy]

TRUST ME: The cat is FAKE!

Standards and Practices won't allow anything fake on TV. It has to be for real.

Do you think the bird one is real too?

That parrot is dead! 'e's pining for the fjords!

It's passed on! He is no more! It has ceased to be! It's expired and gone to meet its maker! This is a late parrot! It's a stiff! Bereft of life, it rests in peace! If you hadn't nailed him to the perch he would be pushing up the daisies! Its metabolical processes are of interest only to historians! It's hopped the twig! It's shuffled off this mortal coil! It's run down the curtain and joined the choir invisible! This.... is an EX-PARROT! Din't say anything now, did 'e.???

[smith288]

Interesting montage

[smith288]

Take yourself elsewhere, you're the one who jumped into this conversation.

Oh, and you didnt I see... *rolling eyes*

[archy]

Interesting montage

Pity I couldn't have worked old Bullwinkle into it, though.

BTW, wanna see me pull a rabbit out of my hat?

[Tolerance Sucks Rocks]

What if someone decides to make a "funny" ad with a little kid's head in there?
Would that be amusing too? Would FR allow links to that?

Depends on whose kid it is...

[Liberatio]

Come on. I wanna see it. Anyone get a hold of this?