There's
nothing wrong with creative that sells – that's the whole
point, actually – but there's a pretty big difference between
a salesman who charms you with his wit and a guy who sticks
out his hand and demands your money. Reading
the new Ford tagline is like being mugged by a crackhead.
"Ford.
Drive One." Jesus, all that's missing is "We
Beg You."
That's not
to say I don't understand. Let's say you're Jim Farley, group
VP of Marketing and Communications. Hi, Jim! Great
haircut!
You're hanging
on to your 16% market share like grim death and 59%
of consumers won't even consider buying a Ford. Most
significantly, 75% of your $1.5 billion ad budget is controlled
by dealers whose only concern is moving product NOW and who
couldn't give a shit about good advertising:
You think
that was bad? That was the 1984
of dealer spots. Here are a few more from the same dealer (with
an all-too-brief eighteen seconds of dead air at the beginning):
It's not
Ford, but no collection of horrible dealer ads would be complete
without:
What would an advertising
site be without the fine print? Here goes: Any reference to actual brands
on this site is for satirical purposes only and is in no way endorsed by their
parent companies
or the agencies that represent them. Neither is any harm intended towards
the aforementioned brands, companies and agencies. Quite the contrary —
we may well come begging for a job one day.
And really, wouldn't you rather sue Adbusters?
