Funny in an evil way. Not for the faint of heart or the pet lovers.
That first one I’ve seen.
But the cat one… OMG. TOM D - DO NOT WATCH IT!
It is pretty HILARIOUS to me… but - is that really a legit ad!? (not a spec/fan ad?)
Man, Europe has some amazingly risque ads compared to what we get in the states. (recalling an Ikea ad involving a toddler and an adult toy…)
-Zo
"Europe has some amazingly risque ads "
Yes they do, but do Euros hate cats or something? As an owner of three of them I thought the ad sucked big time. Makes me glad I drive a Dodge. An ad like that wouldn’t sell many Fords this side of the Atlantic.
And I thought the Lightspeed road kill ad was in poor taste!
As an owner of three of them I thought the ad sucked big time.
Yeah. My wife might be sickened. But I laughed my ass off in the same I did when I first saw the video of that soccer player breaking his leg. Sort of a shocked, terrified, “OH NO! THAT’S AWFUL!” sort of laugh.
I think cat lovers might prefer that series of american catfood ads about releasing “your cats inner beast” in which house cats chase a zebra, water buffalo, ostrich… 
-Zo
that was just gawdawful…anyone want to buy a used Ford Ranger 4L truck? that was enough to swear me off them for life…sick
You are a bad, bad person for posting links to that ad. On behalf of cat lovers everywhere, I am calling PETA and giving them your personal information.
But seriously, I thought the ad was funny, in a sick, twisted sort of way. It’s a joke, people! You know how hard it is for Ford to market a vehicle that is small, economical, and environmentally friendly? (Oh, the SHAME!) They have to try to market it as possessed by evil so people will buy it.
Example convo:
Dude 1: Dude! You bought a little wussy car! That must get like 50 mpg.
Dude 2: Sure, Dude! But it’s Evil!
Dude 1: No way, Dude!
Dude 2: Way! This car is literally possessed by Evil. The ECU of each unit contains Bill Gates’ fingernail trimmings.
Dude 1: Where can I buy one?
I have seen the the Ford ads and the Litespeed ‘dead possum’ ads, but I find them sort of sick, and not at all funny. But companies have the right to make this kind of bizarre stuff and customers have the right to react.
I find humor based on the pain, violent death, or dismemberment of people or animals to be disturbing. Or perhaps more disturbing is that some people are amused by this stuff. To me, it would be similar to making fun of Americans and/or Iraqis with limbs blown off. Perhaps funny to psychopaths, but not funny to me.
Perhaps funny to psychopaths, but not funny to me.
That’s funny too!
-Zo
“Intolerant people should be SHOT!” - bumpersticker
Wow, what a reply.
Anyway no problem, I’ll try to find some pictures of limbless kids screaming in Iraqi hospitals so you can get off.
I’ll try to find some pictures of limbless kids screaming in Iraqi hospitals
You’re the psycho now, buddy.
-Zo
I’m conflicted on this one. I can watch an ad like the ones posted, and find them to be funny while also recognizing that they may be seen as shocking and perhaps offensive. Utterly tasteless comedy is not without its place however, and since I know that those ads are not real, I can see the humor in them. Does this mean that I hate cats? No. I have two of them, and I love them. Does this mean that I don’t value life? No, it means that I can discriminate between fantasy and reality.
Invariably, people joke about tragedy, and while some may do so out of cruelty, many do so as a way of coping with some horrific reality that they have trouble comprehending, let alone rationalizing.
I’m more bothered by the utter lack of caring and consideration that people show towards one another in public than I am at people’s reaction to black humor.
If you really want to be disgusted by actual human treatment of animals, watch Animal Cops. If you want to be disgusted by human treatment of each other, watch the news.
I don’t mean this as a personal attack on you, but rather as a rebuttal to your intimation that anyone who finds this kind of humor to be funny must be a psychopath. I may be a sociopath, at worst, but I don’t let the strong value I place on all life prevent me from seeing grim humor in dark places.
A long time ago I read the book, “Childhood’s End” by Arthur C. Clarke (who also wrote the book ‘2001’).
To cut to the chase, the book was quite a brain-bending science fiction novel. In one scene, an enormously powerful alien race began to rule the earth. The extraterrestrials made a number of edicts which they were able to force onto our governments in very clever ways, since the extraterrestrials never physically showed themselves to humanity.
One of their edicts was that ‘all bullfights shall end’.
In the story, people in Spain ignored the edict and decided to have another bullfight. No lightning bolts or other retaliation came from any of the many huge alien spacecraft that were parked in the sky over the world’s cities. But when the bullfight began, and the bullfighter plunged the first sword into the running bull, every person among the thousands in the audience got the experience of feeling the exact same pain that the bull felt at that moment.
There were no more bullfights.
Interesting point. And I do not mean that you are all psychopaths.
I also find black humor to be quite effective–I found the movie, ‘Dr. Strangelove’, to be very funny, but yet decapitated cats just doesn’t do it for me.
I’ll look for it Greg, I could use a smart novel - been reading too much Dan Brown entertainment lately. Um - but I’m not sure I got your point… or was it as simple/obvious as animal rights?
BTW, you might be a little relieved to know that the ad was never shown on TV (even in Europe), as it was apparently rejected by Ford the moment they saw it. http://www.adrants.com/2004_03_28_archive.php
Obviously it found its way to the 'net regardless - another example of ‘viral marketing’, and it would seem a rather successful one. Most likely the ‘creative’ at the ad agency was proud of it and sent it to a friend or two… now it’s ALL OVER the place, and generating plenty of controversy. You should see the rants at the vegetarian and pet forums! (I am lacto-vegetarian and a pet/animal lover, despite being violently allergic to cats)
-Zo
I was curious what others thought, so I showed the “cat” Ford commercial to a few people (which is on the first post in this thread). The response was interesting. Every single person (that I showed it to) found it very sad and disturbing. Not one found it funny.
that was just gawdawful…anyone want to buy a used Ford Ranger 4L truck? that was enough to swear me off them for life…sick
The cat ad was in the news earlier this week. In response to complaints, Ford pulled the ad. According to Ford, the ad ran in the UK and was the work of an independent agency. Ford claims that they were unaware of the content until they got numerous complaints.
The pigeon ad came out quite a while ago but I don’t think it caused much of a stir.
Larry