Worst Ford TV Commercial EVER!!!

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Bill V

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There's a new TV commercial for Ford trucks, that has to be the worst ever--simply because of its lack of clarity. I suspect many of you have seen it. Whether you've seen it before or not, next time you see it, listen to it closely.



In the ad, two guys are standing next to each other, supposedly in a testing facility. And the conversation goes like this... (Edited to be an exact transcript of this part of the discussion--Thanks for the video link DanG '01!)



Host (Mike Rowe of 'Dirty Jobs', neither of which I've ever heard of previously): "This is Bill, he works for Ford, and he's wrecked more cars than Hollywood."



Bill: "You oughta see my insurance rates."



Mike: "I'll take care of the jokes, Bill. Did the Ford F-150 got a 5-star crash rating?"



Bill: "Yep, 5 stars, for both driver and front passenger."



Mike: "What about the other guys?"



Bill: "Uh, some of the others didn't do as well."



Mike: "Oooh. So I guess sometimes it's better to play it safe?"



Bill: "Oh yeah."



Mike: "Oh yeah."





OK, I know that the "other guys" mentioned in this ad are supposted to be other truck manufacturers. But when I hear the ad, it sounds like in a crash test, the driver and front-seat passenger did well, but the "other guys"--THE OTHER PASSENGERS IN THE TRUCK--didn't do so well !!!!



Is that the message they really want to convey so strongly???



[Broken External Image]:
 
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They could have displayed some of the "other guys" in a crash to make it more definitive of who they are speaking about.
 
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Good point, you would think they would let many look at and dissect their commercials before putting gt hem out there...



Any you just KNOW someone got paid BIG money to come up with such a fantastic commercial.
 
Bill V,



I've seen the commercial, and watch the show sometimes. The guy (Mike)

works with people in different types of dirty jobs, Sewer Inspector, Septic

Pumping Service, etc... for a day, hence the name of the show... But...!



Now that you mention it, that makes sense that people will interperet it to mean

that the other people in the Ford truck did not do so well!!!



Brain Trust hard at work in the Advertising Department, again...:p:lol:

 
Here is what NHTSA requires when using "5 star" ratings, so I don't think Ford is doing anything wrong. I am not familiar with the commercial, but if they say frontal, then they are abiding by the requirements.



"Regarding frontal crash NCAP stars: a 5-star rating for both the driver and the right front passenger seating positions must be achieved before the vehicle can be characterized as "receiving the highest government frontal crash safety rating" or as having a "five star rating for frontal crash." NHTSA strongly discourages the use of terms such as "double" 5-star rating when a vehicle has received a 5-star rating for both the driver and the right front passenger seating positions.









Regarding side-impact NCAP stars: a 5-star rating for both the front and rear seating positions must be achieved before the vehicle can be characterized as "receiving the highest government side-impact safety rating" or as having a "five star rating for side-impact crash." NHTSA strongly discourages the use of terms such as "double" 5-star rating when a vehicle has received a 5-star rating for both front and rear seating positions.



For those vehicles tested with side-impact air bags (SABs), a phrase similar to "model tested with optional/standard side-impact air bags (SABs)" must appear, at a minimum, in the disclaimer. Manufacturers may place the phrase in the body of the advertisement or as part of a voiceover. "
 
Just one of the idoisyncraies of our language. We dropped noun tenses, so now sentences can have double meanings. Most other languages don't have this issue. I agree, Ford should redo the commercial to clarify their message...another "Bold Move". :huh:
 
Just an aside, I hate when they make it sound like they are the only ones to do something in a commercial,

I just checked the ratings and the 07 Dodge Ram 1/2 ton and the 07 GMC 1/2 ton also received 5 -star crash rating for both the driver and the front-seat passenger. So Ford isn't the only one.
 
If the viewer hears "...other guyS..." and thinks "other passengers" then they are probably too stupid to have a job to afford a new truck anyway, so no harm. ;)



No offense, Bill V.



TJR
 
TJR,

I hear ya, but aren't they trying to win new customers? Just playing with words to get a statement out and as Olaf states, not have it be the only truck that has done this is just poor advertisement
 
I don't think it's so bad. I love Ford using Mike Rowe as their spokesperson. I never really thought about "the other guys" meaning anything then other manufactures until Bill V's post.
 
TJR, none taken. Despite the whole tailgating discussion, I think we see eye-to-eye on most conversation topics here.



Although I don't think that it's all that "stupid" of a conclusion, for anyone to make--normally, pronouns are linked with the most recently used (or subsequently used) noun. In this case, "other guys" is being used, effectively, as a pronoun, meaning that the reference would be to the truck passengers.



I agree that most intelligent people will be able to figure out the true intent, but why force them to do that? It's a bit like when the Nova went on sale in Spanish-speaking countries, where the name meant "It doesn't go." Yes, most locals were smart enough to figure out that this isn't what they were intending to communicate, but it was still a mistake to do it.
 
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Mike Rowe narrates his show, and others, in a very "conversational" manner, using "normal guy" speak.



I suspect that spilled over into this commercial.



Sure, it could have been written more formally, and said "the competition" rather than "the other guys", but technically, given what others have said, that would be both misleading and wrong....some of the competition did just as well.



TJR
 
Saw the commercial and first thought was which crash test, front or side. I don't believe they specified. I don't believe they specified which F150 either - 1980 or 2007. Just happen to be standing in front of a new one. More truths by omission.



This is assuming I didn't just miss it. :wacko:



edited because my typing sucks :lol:



grump
 
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I saw it last week, first time. My thoughts exactly. And here I thought it was just me. :huh:

If you are gonna brag about safety, you better be definitive! :angry:
 
Seems to be several different makes that made the 5 star rating. Maybe that's why Ford did not want to be to definative.

 
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Tundra's around here aren't selling to well because of gas prices.



But I like the commerical. I actually saw that test lab in person several years ago, or atleast one of the crash test labs Ford has.
 

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