Please help boycott this ad

[hdolbow]

i definately agree.

[sharronhurlbut]

Sadly these type of folks with no compassion or caring are walking among us and doing this type of ad.
I shudder to think of the humans who see this and are NOT shocked.

[renaultf1]

Unfortunately, that campaign is all about shock value. While I'm not actually shocked (because I'm a graphic designer and work in advertising), I'm surprised that campaign/concept was actually approved by the client.

Advertising/design folk have strange senses of humour/creativity and many times push the boundaries of good taste. My feeling is that the clients have the responsibility to not sell their product in such a way that is totally offensive…and thus not signoff on a campaign like this. Personally, I would have liked to read the creative brief because I would bet the key to how over the top this could be was possibly driven by the client.

Probably the reason I'm not shocked is I've seen much worse. I receive publications (Ad Week, Advertising Age among them) that cover all the new campaigns and also tell when things have been pulled and why.

You will be happy to know that many times the big ad agencies that sell the idea, lose the client (when the client is the one that had the final sign off in the first place) when the client receives all the backlash and has to pull a multi-million dollar campaign. So in that sense, there is justice.

The other thing I'd add is that I'd be 99.99% sure the dog image was done in Photoshop and not done to an actual dog...pretty sure that is the way it was done.

[sharronhurlbut]

I am all for the arts and being creative, but this is …well, NOT Art.
You brought something out that I didn't think of...someone "thought" of this and someone else approved it.
Like you see on TV, lots of folks sitting around a table saying yea, or nay?
Odd no one had the ba** so say, nope, not going to work for the US market.
I am glad to know that the folks who pay for the ads do listen to the input from the "great unwashed"...laugh, of which I am one..
Thanks for this post.

[Quercus]

Can someone explain it either here or privately. I don't want to see it if it is graphically horrible…can't take it right now. But I am curious....

Thanks...

[renaultf1]

It is a pic of a doberman on its side with all 4 legs tied together (similar to the way deer are bound after hunting)…and reads "they'll find a way to get out".

Sharon, you are 100% correct. The concept is presented in a room with the ad agency folk (Olgilvy Mather in this case) and at least the marketing people from the client company. So yes, many people need to sign off.

[sharronhurlbut]

Its pretty awful.
It shows a doberman on its back, feet in the air tied up, and the dogs tongue hanging out.
Like a dead dog trussed up…
Its not bloody, but leaves one with the impression the dog is dead and ready to be carted off.
The ad is for shoes/boots...

[sharronhurlbut]

Sorry, you posted to me before I sent mine.
I know we have a group of people growing up with video violence.
Which may or may not be at play here…
I know I am "old" and "out of it".
But having had the advantage of being in Seattle and seeing art..
I just can no way call this anything more than a shocking mess.

[renaultf1]

Don't worry Sharron, I agree that it is a mess…and for me, the bad part is that someone who sees it that doesn't read the message or take time to process it, could see it as "hey, let's try that". There are a lot of impressionable people/kids out there that won't see it as anything but something to try on a dog.

Hey, I'm sure they alienated the entire pet loving population and consequently lost a lot of business.

Please don't get me wrong by my 1st post on this subject that I think it is good or funny...I was just coming at it from the standpoint that it wasn't just one person who thought it was a good idea and then it went to print.

[TuckerVA]

Ogilvy is famous for this sort of advertising. Check snopes. Follow the link to another commercial enterprise for the Ford Sportka:

http://www.snopes.com/photos/advertisements/sportka.asp

The video depicts a curious cat climbing up on top of a car with an open sunroof, and then, curiosity gets the better of him and he sticks his head into the open sunroof…I'm sure you can infer what happens next.

There is another one out there where the car smacks a pigeon with it's hood.

Some sick people work there, even though I KNOW that these are CGI fakes and that no animals were harmed. You can bet your ass, though, that some unruly kids try these things as soon as they see them on TV, in a magazine or on the internet.

[renaultf1]

@TuckerVA:

Ogilvy is famous for this sort of advertising. Check snopes. Follow the link to another commercial enterprise for the Ford Sportka:

http://www.snopes.com/photos/advertisements/sportka.asp

The video depicts a curious cat climbing up on top of a car with an open sunroof, and then, curiosity gets the better of him and he sticks his head into the open sunroof…I'm sure you can infer what happens next.

There is another one out there where the car smacks a pigeon with it's hood.

Some sick people work there, even though I KNOW that these are CGI fakes and that no animals were harmed. You can bet your ass, though, that some unruly kids try these things as soon as they see them on TV, in a magazine or on the internet.

Ok…going really out on a limb here, but I don't find those Ford commercials even in the same category as the doberman print ad.

In fact, I find both of those commercials hilarious and have had them loaded in my iTunes for a couple of years now. The Ford commercials were designed for a European/British audience and were never run here. I have friends that have cats, dogs, and birds who have seen the commercials and think they are hilarious...in fact, I got the commericals from them in the first place.

The point of the ads is that the Sportka (the bada$$ version of the Ka) is seeking revenge on the birds that poop on it and the cats that scratch the hood. And let's face it, now matter how much we love animals, who hasn't been pi$$ed when a cat has scratched the paint on the hood of the car or they've found a bunch of bird poo on a freshly washed car. Doesn't mean we'd do anything like that to the animal, but I find it funny giving the car a life and feelings about what it might like to do to the animal in that situation.

IMHO, very well done and very funny...

[TuckerVA]

You said what I wanted to but I feared getting a spanking here.