Ford pressured NBC to not air Super Bowl ad
If you were watching the Super Bowl last night and happen to be one of the few people who stuck around for the commercials, you may recognize the ad below for Chevrolet trucks.
In the spot, set at the end of the world, a group of Chevrolet-driving pals regroup amidst the rubble to share Twinkies. Except for Dave. "Dave didn't drive the longest-lasting, most dependable truck on the road. Dave drove a Ford," reports one of the group solemnly.
It's a pretty funny piece that disses Ford hard, and Ford doesn't like it. Joel Ewanick, GM Global chief marketing officer, reported Sunday morning he got a letter from Ford asking GM to pull the ad or face the legal consequences.
Blog Motoramic also claims Ford pressured NBC to not air the spot.
Why? They say it's misleading. As Ford spokesperson Mike Levine tells it, GM's conflated the definitions of "durable" with "long-lasting" when they claim their trucks are the best out there.
"We don't agree with GM's claims in the ad. Particularly around durability," says Levine.
"The issue with the ad is that 'Dave' doesn't survive because he's driving a Ford. They cite R.L. Polk data on longevity — not durability. If you look at R.L. Polk's data on durability [...] there are more Ford trucks on the road with more than 250,000 miles."
Chevrolet did, of course, air the ad anyway Super Bowl Sunday – Ford didn't buy ad time for the event this year – and stands behind their ad and its claims.
"We stand by our claims in the commercial, that the Silverado is the most dependable, longest-lasting full-size pickup on the road," Ewanick said. "We can wait until the world ends, and if we need to, we will apologize. In the meantime, people who are really worried about the Mayan calendar coming true should buy a Silverado right away."
While the ball is in Ford's lawyers' court, from a PR point-of-view, many automotive outlets agree the Blue Oval guys are coming out looking whiny, while GM just rakes in the publicity. We'll keep you updated on how this ends up.
(Chevrolet, Jalopnik and Motoramic; YouTube)
