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One Million Moms says Geico car insurance ad promotes bestiality [w/video]

Jonathon Ramsey — Tue, 26 Feb 2013 12:45:00 EST

Filed under: Etc., Marketing/Advertising, Videos

The last time the group One Million Moms got upset about a commercial promoting bestiality was seven months ago. The offensive ad that time was a Skittles commercial that began and ended with a girl making out with a CGI walrus. Just in case you didn't get that, a real live human girl was making out with a real live computer-generated walrus, and One Million Moms (an organization which is, by their own admission, only thousands of moms) publicly wailed and gnashed their teeth over the promotion of bestiality.

Now new charges of unsavory love of animals have been leveled at a Geico commercial featuring repeat character Maxwell the Pig. Maxwell's a CGI swine who's been placed in various situations for more than a year, promoting car insurance giant Geico and its app that allows Maxwell to get speedy service 24 hours a day. In the latest spot, he's on a date and when his car breaks down in a secluded area, and his date isn't in such a hurry for the tow truck to arrive. From where we sit, the way it plays out, though, is totally harmless; most kids wouldn't even get the suggestion, and any kid ought to know that girls just don't get down like that with digital pigs.

One Million Moms has its eye on Geico, though, saying, "A bridesmaid was flirting with the gecko in a different commercial, so this is just becoming a norm for GEICO it seems." If you think you can stand the filth, the commercial at issue is below.

Continue reading One Million Moms says Geico car insurance ad promotes bestiality [w/video]

One Million Moms says Geico car insurance ad promotes bestiality [w/video] originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 26 Feb 2013 12:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Video: Renault's racy lesbian Twingo ad banned from Italian TV

Noah Joseph — Sun, 19 Dec 2010 20:01:00 EST

Filed under: Budget, Europe, Government/Legal, Marketing/Advertising, Videos, Hatchback, Renault

Click above to watch the video after the jump

Some cars are unfairly derided as "chick cars," like the Mini Cooper or the Mazda MX-5. Less so the Renault Twingo. While we're sure it's a good car for its class, it doesn't exactly ooze testosterone. Which is fine, of course, because not every car is targeted at male customers. But Renault takes things a step further.

In a controversial television commercial, the French automaker depicts a little girl-on-girl encounter for Italian audiences. One that we won't describe here, but invite you to watch (over and over again) in the video posted after the jump.

Now Renault's done some racy spots for the Twingo before - two of which we've also posted after the jump - so perhaps the more surprising part is that it's been banned from the airwaves. In Italy, of all places, by the media conglomerate owned by the country's philanderer-in-chief, Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi.

A political move, perhaps, in light of recent challenges to his tenure made by conservative leaders (reportedly including Ferrari chief Luca di Montezemolo)? We'll leave that to the pundits, and invite you to follow us beyond the jump to watch the videos for yourself. Hat tip to Doogie Hauser!

Gallery: Renault New Twingo

[Source: USA Today]

Continue reading Video: Renault's racy lesbian Twingo ad banned from Italian TV

Video: Renault's racy lesbian Twingo ad banned from Italian TV originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 19 Dec 2010 20:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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REPORT: Controversial ads expected from Fiat exec heading Chrysler marketing [w/VIDEO]

Jonathon Ramsey — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 14:18:00 EST

Filed under: Marketing/Advertising, Videos, Chrysler, Fiat

Controversial Tibet Lancia commercial -- Click above to watch video

Fiat exec Olivier Francois has a big reputation that's based on results. As head of the Lancia brand, he has garnered it more attention than it's had in many years, and the marque sells more cars more consistently. He has done this with a flair for marketing that begs for attention, and if it takes controversy to get attention then so be it. Fiat chief Sergio Marchionne chose Francois to be the CEO of Chrysler vehicles and run the Chrysler Group's marketing, advertising and brand development and strategies. It is expected, then, that he will bring his risque marketing ways to the house of The Pentastar.

Francois was the man behind the Lancia ad that had Richard Gere driving the new Delta into Tibet. As if that weren't enough, the ad was shown during the opening ceremonies of the Beijing Olympics. You can imagine how happy the Chinese were about that, but the larger story was that it worked: the ad and the controversy got play everywhere, and Fiat only had to make a formal apology to China to get on with business. Francois also made a commercial that honors Aung San Suu Kyi, a political prisoner in Myanmar.

This is the kind of advertising, though, that's more acceptable, and probably more effective, in Europe. In America, a commercial about a robot committing suicide is cause for protests, and VW's Routan campaign in which people have babies in order to justify buying the minivan is decried as insensitive by people who can't have babies. America is not the first country where one would test the limits of corporate daring or broadcast a ribald sense of humor to a mass market audience. The complete remaking of Chrysler and the company's former history of not being just another carmaker could give Francois room to bang up against some cultural boundaries. But we'd still advise Fiat to keep a crisis PR team on hold. Follow the jump to see the Delta commercial.

[Source: Ad Age]

Continue reading REPORT: Controversial ads expected from Fiat exec heading Chrysler marketing [w/VIDEO]

REPORT: Controversial ads expected from Fiat exec heading Chrysler marketing [w/VIDEO] originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 21 Oct 2009 14:18:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Whoops, eh? - Canadian Ford ad spurs backlash

Dan Roth — Sun, 20 Jan 2008 17:29:00 EST

Filed under: Marketing/Advertising, Crossover, Ford

The Catch-22 with advertising these days is that someone will undoubtedly be offended if your campaign is clever enough to be memorable. Ford of Canada came up with such an effort for the Escape, showing the CUV wearing a bumper sticker with the phrase "drive it like you stole it," and the tagline "Built for life in Manitoba." Innocuous enough, you say? Apparently not.

We can't say for sure if it's just people looking for things to get offended over, or if Canadians are just hypersensitive to Manitoba's reputation as a car theft hotspot. Either way, Ford has responded to the politically correct whining and pulled the ad while offering copious apologies. While car theft and traffic accidents are no laughing matter, especially when innocent people are tragically injured, you can't blame a car advertising campaign that uses an exceedingly common phrase for inducing an already rampant problem. We fail to see how people commiting criminal acts have anything to do with the automaker's sales efforts. Certainly, the message sent by the advertisement is that the Escape is tough enough for Canada, not that it's the car of choice for boosting. It'd be nice to see a company under unreasonable fire just offer up something like "whatevs, get a thicker skin." It's advertising, after all, not the cure for cancer. Of course, it would also have been easy enough to say "Drive it like you hate it" and send largely the same message.

Thanks for the tip, Richard!

[Source: CBC]

Whoops, eh? - Canadian Ford ad spurs backlash originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 20 Jan 2008 17:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jeremy Clarkson deemed literary giant by UK libraries

Dan Roth — Fri, 18 May 2007 13:03:00 EST

Filed under: Trends, Etc.

England's Education Secretary Alan Johnson has published a list of tomes intended to catch the interest of teenage boys. Monies have been set aside so that schools can take their pick of 20 titles from the 160 book list, and house those selections in their libraries. Absent from the register are works considered classic, such as Dickens, Shakespeare, or others from literary history. High on the new list is "I Know You Got Soul" by Top Gear's Jeremy Clarkson. Clarkson's book, rather than being total fluff, celebrates elegant engineering and design work covering everything from Ferraris to the Hoover Dam. Clarkson delves into the history behind some of his favorite machines, and we would have gladly traded the Car Craft hiding in the leaves of our literature textbooks for Clarkson's work. As such, we fail to see how presenting history and engineering in an engaging manner is going to harm students.

[Source: Daily Mail]

Continue reading Jeremy Clarkson deemed literary giant by UK libraries

Jeremy Clarkson deemed literary giant by UK libraries originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 18 May 2007 13:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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More hysteria over suggestive ads: Hyundai yanks ad featuing baby behind the wheel

Dan Roth — Fri, 23 Feb 2007 14:03:00 EST

Filed under: Marketing/Advertising, Videos, Hyundai

Aw hell, here we go again. Hyundai is pulling its spot called "Restless" after the Advertising Standards Bureau of Australia banned it. The ad, which appeals to people's warm, gooey centers by adultifying toddlers, shows a baby snatching the keys to the Santa Fe and hitting the highway. Along the way, he picks up a girl who happens to be hitching to the beach. He surfs, she watches, world hunger and strife are nearly wiped out in the span of sixty seconds. It's a great spot and was voted the most popular ad in New Zealand last year (what a dubious distinction!)

The ASB argues that the ad shows illegal activity (and there's nothing else on TV that shows illegal stuff?), and may entice youngsters into copycat behavior. Right. Like nobody in the history of the car ever had a kid yank the controls before this ad suggested it? Kids love to pretend like they're adults, so you can be sure that if you plop your toddler in the driver's seat, they're going to have a grand old time. Not that there's much watchable content on television anymore, but these situations go beyond the ridiculous and will just lead to more whitewashed, mamby-pamby crap for us to have to sit through. What's next, banning talking animal spots because no animal really talks? Come on people! There's got to be a more fulfilling pursuit than getting all wadded up over an ad - this is one of the most harmless, charming spots we've seen in a while.

We just don't get it, but apparently there's a large contingent out there who yearns to be protected from themselves. Life is no fun if you don't collect a few bumps and scrapes. Yes, I drove mom's '68 Rambler into the garage and out into the street a couple times as a kid. I couldn't help it - that column shift was just asking for it!

Thanks for the tip, Anton!

Check out the spot after the jump

[Source: duncans.tv]

Continue reading More hysteria over suggestive ads: Hyundai yanks ad featuing baby behind the wheel

More hysteria over suggestive ads: Hyundai yanks ad featuing baby behind the wheel originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 23 Feb 2007 14:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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GM can't take the heat, but VW can: Suicide group takes aim at "Jumper" spot

Dan Roth — Fri, 16 Feb 2007 09:24:00 EST

Filed under: Marketing/Advertising, Videos, Volkswagen

Volkswagen has the spine that GM hasn't shown recently to overly touchy advocacy groups. No stranger to commercials that spark conversation, the company has no plans to pull a new commercial that shows a suicidal jumper change his mind on a ledge after learning there are now three V-dubs available under $17,000. This time it's Suicide Prevention Network USA that has lobbied Volkswagen directly to reconsider airing the commercial titled "Jumper." GM's new buddies, the American Federation for Suicide Prevention, along with the American Psychiatric Association, Mental Health America, and the National Alliance on Mental Illness have also piled on in the effort to remove any vestige of humor, personality or edge from advertising. VW should have run a spot with someone getting their teeth kicked in if they wanted to avoid controversy.

Thanks for the tip, Jay!

[Source: USA Today]

Continue reading GM can't take the heat, but VW can: Suicide group takes aim at "Jumper" spot

GM can't take the heat, but VW can: Suicide group takes aim at "Jumper" spot originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 16 Feb 2007 09:24:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Suicide prevention group tells GM to pull robot ad

Dan Roth — Thu, 08 Feb 2007 14:29:00 EST

Filed under: Etc., Marketing/Advertising, GM

What with the pulling of the Snickers Superbowl spot and now this uproar, it's getting to the point where you can't say anything. Seriously, do these people look for ways to be offended? The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention has called for General Motors to pull the spot where a depressed, laid-off robot ultimately jumps off a bridge. The group also wants the spot scrubbed from the GM website and restrictions on video sharing sites like YouTube from posting the ad. Finally, the AFSP has requested an apology from GM and would like the automaker make efforts to inform the public about mental illness and suicide (translation: they want a donation from GM). WHAT!? Newsflash: General Motors is in the car business. It seems to us that the AFSP is the proper body to be working toward informing and educating the public about their cause.

This is like watching relatives come out of the woodwork when someone wins the lottery. We sincerely hope that GM's got the intestinal fortitude to stand firm against this type of brazen, outstretched-hand whining. Attempting to go digging into the pocket of General Motors does little to help further the cause of the suicide-prevention group. In fact, looking for money makes the group appear less credible. We'd rather see some robots jumping to their end than any actual humans laid off by the automakers. Of course, suicide is not funny, but there is a certain amount of dark humor that infuses the American Psyche, and the commercial's presentation was done in the most tongue-in-cheek manner. How can you take anything narrated by Don LaFontaine's "theater trailer voice" and with "all by myself" as a soundtrack seriously? We understand where the group is coming from, but it's totally out of line to be asking GM for some kind of underwriting because of a humorous tv ad. We haven't heard the AFSP making any noise about the rampant portryal of hara-kiri and other violence on other shows (heck, there was a bloody suicide on ER just last week!). Nor have we heard an uproar over other commercials aired during the Super Bowl that contained suicide themes. Both Washington Mutual and Career Builder aired such spots. In the end, it's a robot! We weren't aware that Antropomorphs are people, too.

[Source: AdAge]

Suicide prevention group tells GM to pull robot ad originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 08 Feb 2007 14:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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