Double-O Uh-Oh! Ford forced to yank "Casino Royale" ad for Focus
We bring you yet another example of people getting bent out of shape over what appears to us as innocuous advertising. This time it's Ford of Europe, which has been running a commercial for its Focus Zetec Climate model using clips from the movie Casino Royale. As we all know, Ford had great product placement in the new Bond flick, which featured Aston Martin's new DBS as 007's main ride, as well as a new Ford Mondeo as his rental car of choice. Unfortunately, some people complained that this new commercial is misleading, insinuating by association that the Focus Zetec Climate appeared in Casino Royale, which they reason would make it more attractive to some.
If you buy a car because you think it's in a movie that you obviously haven't even seen, then you're a piss poor shopper. Though most consumers aren't that dumb, Ford has been ordered by the Advertising Standards Agency to quit running the commercial just in case someone out there believe Bond rolls in a Focus. Sigh.
You can see if the commercial is misleading for yourself after the jump.
[Source: Guardian.co.uk, Carscoop]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Greek Boy 4:46PM (3/15/2007)
ummmm, like whats wrong with it.
I like it.
Loved the movie.
Love the car.
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Kowell 4:57PM (3/15/2007)
So..... according to their logic, every damn publicity in the world should be pulled caus they mislead you to beleive that the actors actually posess the items they're using in those publicities?
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geo.stewart 5:07PM (3/15/2007)
I know I buy my cars based on whatfictional characters in movies drive, ESPECIALLY movies that I dont watch...
I wouldnt care what commercial they used if they would just sell the car on this side of the pond. The one we have is on its 8th, yes 8th, year. Mazda and Volvo use the same platform but no one offers the hot hatch that the EU market gets.. Ditto on the Mondeo, I'll take it any way i can get it
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Kit 5:03PM (3/15/2007)
While I would agree that "If you buy a car because you think it's in a movie that you obviously haven't even seen, then you're a piss poor shopper", the ad IS misleading. While associating your car with something that it has little to no actual connection with (NASCAR, anyone?) is standard operating procedure, Ford cut their little Focus into the movie clips in a style and manner designed specifically to make you think it was actually in the Bond film.
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Tony 10:55PM (3/21/2007)
I want to know how much of a bump in sales did FORD get from Mondeo and even the DB9 appearing in movie. If not much then this is a waste of money and the fact that they only show the car in the shadows makes it look like they (for sure Bond) are ashamed of it.
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epp_b 6:39PM (3/15/2007)
Someone needs to ship these idiots of the world to the moon so they can stop ruining things for the rest of us who have IQs substantially higher than 3.
If you think the Focus is in a Bond film because of that, you are clearly quite dumb. No exceptions.
That ad was no different than the ton of other "double-advertisements" where each product recommends and compliments the other.
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Schumann 6:31PM (3/15/2007)
Yeah - ban NASCAR for false advertising. Seriously!
As for the Mondeo, the current Mazda 6 (2003 onwards) is the closest cousin to that chassis you can pick up on this side of the pond. Or a Lincoln Zephyr, or Ford Fusion - if you want a softer treatment of those excellent driving dynamics.
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hoeun kim 3:36AM (3/16/2007)
all these restrictions on advertising by some random retards are limitin the creativity of the industry. i knew it was gonna be like this from all those suicide ads getting pulled. companies need to grow some balls and stand their ground and stop bending over for public groups.
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Spule4 7:26PM (3/15/2007)
I want the Cord roadster that Woody Allen drove in the original Casino Royale 40 years ago....
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Jim Sanders 12:12AM (3/16/2007)
I'm against this commercial.
It's not showing Casino Royale.
It's showing the Ford Mondeo, then swapping at the end for a Ford Focus.
It brings customers into the dealership who thinks they can buy a Ford Mondeo for that price.
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Bryan 1:18AM (3/16/2007)
YOu would think they would love Ford for the extra marketing efforts for the movie. I don;t understand why they used the Focus though instead of the Mondeo, which was of course in the movie. In any event its free publicity so what do they care?
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Bryan 1:19AM (3/16/2007)
You*
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Howard Kerr 7:49AM (3/16/2007)
Interesting....
A few years ago Ford ran an ad for it's Puma that had Steve McQueen "digitally added" as the driver of the car. While it's not EXACTLY the same as this case here, the commercial was allowed to run. Apparently, no one was "offended" by having a movie actor who was dead LONG before the car he was driving was ever even conceived of, seeming to endorse that car.
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Justin 8:08AM (3/16/2007)
I would argue the ad is for Ford in general, sine during the commercial you actually see the Mondeo as well as the Focus...plus at the end it just shows the Ford logo.
These whiners need to get jobs.
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thisislame 1:28PM (3/16/2007)
Can you idiots stop mentioning NASCAR for once?
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ajd 5:24PM (3/16/2007)
So what's the flap. The video looks like someone is flipping between two different stations. It's just another art director stretching their ego and convincing Ford brass that the hip set will lemming-up for another crappy car in hopes of saving the blue oval.
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