Journal 2- Ford-Banned Commercial

Ford Banned Cat
Ford Banned Commercial Pigeon

History:

The Ford Ka had been released in 1996 as a “humble” car. The Sportka was to be seen as the “evil twin” and be more of a “rebel” car. To market this car Ford hired Ogilvy and Mather creative team to create the TV commercials. Their plan was to infuriate animal rights activists to create a buzz.

The Pigeon ad was shown on TV in the UK for a short time. It was pulled off the air because of the animal rights activists.

The Cat commercial was never shown on TV but hit the internet. Ogilvy and Mather released an apology on the ad and stated they had no idea how it ended up on the internet while Ford made a statement that they had no idea it was created.

I will be analysing the cat commercial because I find this one to be more offensive and both of the ads would have the same review.
 

Through this commercial I find that the target would be rebellious people ages 25-40. This is because the car is a sports car and would be driven by people who are more successful but still young. The commercial itself doesn’t say much about who it is targeting, other than that it is for “evil” people. The commercial is not effective in communicating who the target actually is. There is no voice saying who the car is meant for, nothing to indicate which features would benefit certain kinds of people. The only clue is by looking at the car itself and determining what kind of person could afford it. Also by watching the ad it is clear that Ford is trying to communicate that this car is not for the average person, but for someone who has a rebellious soul and wants to look powerful.

This commercial is effective to the brand. With a slogan like “The Ka’s Evil Twin” it is clear that this car is not for the “good” people which are portrayed as driving a Ka. Even though this is effective, it is not appropriate. It is never appropriate to show animal cruelty when promoting a product. This can really hurt the company’s image. If this was the only commercial I had seen of Ford I would never buy from them again because I would think that they promote animal cruelty. There are other ways that Ford or their creative team could have promoted “The Evil Twin” without cruelty to animals.

Overall the message that is being sent in this commercial is extremely inappropriate. It is telling the consumer that animal cruelty makes you look cooler and it's ok. I think that this ad could have done more to promote the car in promoting the benefits of the car rather than harming animals. The commercial has nothing to do with the car's performance or what extra features it has.

Duncan. "Ford SportKa Deals with Cat and Pigeon." The Inspiration Room. 5 Oct. 2005. Web. 18 Sept. 2010. <http://theinspirationroom.com/daily/2005/ford-sportka/>.

"YouTube - Car Commercial - Sun Roof Feature, Cat Gets a Suprise." YouTube - Broadcast Yourself. 26 Feb. 2006. Web. 29 Oct. 2010. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gz-sC-vSIXk>.