Autoblog

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]

The economy appears to be swooning, and before we land softly (or crash hard), company's have begun to circle their wagons and reduce unnecessary spending. This often translates directly into reducing advertising budgets. It's tough for an automaker to skimp on engineering and we've all seen what happens when beancounters design an interior. Advertising, however, is low-hanging budgetary fruit. Hyundai's concern over the U.S. economy is a motivating factor in the automaker's move to reconsider its pricey Super Bowl advertising.

Hyundai announced in October that it would be burning $5.4 million dollars for a mere minute of TV air time, committing to two spots during the February 3rd broadcast. Now, Hyundai's Chris Hosford tells Automotive News that they're looking at the strategy and asking themselves if that's the best use of their ad budget for the first quarter. Superbowl spots are usually expensive to produce, too, as the commercials stand a chance of garnering more banter on February 4th than the actual game does if they're interesting. Hugely expensive airtime and humongous charges from their agency all for just a minute of TV? Yeah, we'd be taking a second look, too.

That brings the total number of automakers advertising during the Super Bowl down to three: Chevy, Audi and Toyota. Oh yeah, we'll be watching.

[Source: AutoNews - sub req]

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]