Althouse: "Ford is quickly apologizing for a leaked ad featuring the Kardashian sisters tied up and gagged..."

March 25, 2013

"Ford is quickly apologizing for a leaked ad featuring the Kardashian sisters tied up and gagged..."

"... in the trunk of a car with a winking Paris Hilton in the driver seat.... A similar ad of Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi throwing a peace sign from the front seat while three women appear bound and gagged in the trunk has been removed as well."

Incomprehensible! How can something like this happen?

56 comments:

Synova said...: What?

That sounds really funny.

Funnier if it's Paris Hilton instead of Silvio Berlusconi, of course.; 3/25/13, 7:52 PM
Ann Althouse said...: The pictures are at the link.

Tell me if you think that looks "funny."; 3/25/13, 7:54 PM
Ann Althouse said...: Even if some people might think it's funny, Ford is a big company. It can't put crap like that on its brand. Violence against women. Gagging women...; 3/25/13, 7:55 PM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: I'm skeptical.; 3/25/13, 7:55 PM
tiger said...: Why is this ad a problem?

Everyone involved got well paid and besides...

it...Was...A...JOKE.

Farking morons.; 3/25/13, 7:59 PM
Palladian said...: The pictures are at the link.

Tell me if you think that looks "funny."

That's not funny!; 3/25/13, 7:59 PM
fivewheels said...: It's as if they don't realize that the ironclad rule is that violence (even if only implied, even if in a cartoon) is funny only if it's against men.; 3/25/13, 8:01 PM
tiger said...: Professor you need to develop a sense of humor.

It was a play on the supposed competitiveness between their reality shows.

Would you be as offended if it was cartoon of Conan O'Brien driving with Jay Leno in the trunk?

No I don't think you would.; 3/25/13, 8:01 PM
Automatic_Wing said...: You prolly have to be Indian to get the joke.; 3/25/13, 8:01 PM
David said...: I don't think Ford wanted the ad out. It was done by an outfit in India and it's not clear that Ford ever approved it. Standards of taste in India seem to be different.; 3/25/13, 8:02 PM
Dr Hubert Jackson said...: Yeah, I laughed a bit. I'm not totally PC but there is a difference in jokes and advocating violence.

The O'Brien/Leno comparison is spot on.

This car has enough trunk space to fit the bodies of your enemies and here is an ad showing famous people with well known "enemies" as a visual representation.... Not all humor has to be tasteful.; 3/25/13, 8:05 PM
Bob_R said...: You certainly understand the legal distinction between a human and a person. It should not be beyond your imagination to consider the argument that the Kardahians - 100th trimester or so - while arguably human, are not persons. Though one could also argue that they are simply inhuman persons.; 3/25/13, 8:06 PM
Matt said...: Ford didn't approve these ads at all. From what I read some creative ad agency in India [hired by Ford] came up with these ideas and uploaded them to the internet as ideas only.

Business Insider says that "Ford did not approve the ads; the agency was just publishing some speculative renderings to show off its creative chops."

Having worked in an ad agency I can tell you numerous crazy ideas surface that never get outside the company or see the light of day. This one did and it should not have. But the ad agency should take the hit for being this insensitive and stupid; not Ford.; 3/25/13, 8:07 PM
Matt said...: tiger

Understand that these ads were created at an agency in India where rape and violence against women has been a big topic in the news. Had it been created in some other country [maybe?] then it would probably be innocuous and no one would notice.; 3/25/13, 8:11 PM
edutcher said...: God, the Lefties need a sense of humor.

Of course, there weren't too many laughs at Berchtesgaden, either.

Ann Althouse said...

Even if some people might think it's funny, Ford is a big company. It can't put crap like that on its brand. Violence against women. Gagging women...

More women that men probably got a laugh out of it.

But, to please the PC crowd, just flip the genders. the the perpetually offended will think it's the funniest thing in Creation.; 3/25/13, 8:12 PM
Dante said...: Sometimes it's hard to know what Ann finds distasteful and not.

Uncle found with nephews nuts in his wallet, have at it.

Funny ad about a woman kidnapping other women, that's offensive.

Go figure. It's the subtlety of the PC mind, I suppose.; 3/25/13, 8:14 PM
Dustin said...: "Even if some people might think it's funny, Ford is a big company. It can't put crap like that on its brand. Violence against women. Gagging women..."

Excuse me, but there were three ads, and one of them had gagged men.

http://s3.amazonaws.com/dk-production/images/25051/large/ford-figo-leaves-its-worries-behind-by-tying-people-up_1.jpg

It's unfortunate to see intelligent people fall for a deliberately misleading summary of this story. The joke was lame, and if you're offended by cartoon violence, I guess you're offended by this. I just thought it wasn't funny.

It's certainly not 'violence against women' to have comics showing men and women bound, with women and men shown as perpetrators. Those who only see and are only offended in a sexist way are mostly just knee jerk reacting in ignorance, I realize.; 3/25/13, 8:19 PM
Achilles said...: More proof that feminists have gone too far. The sense of humor is the first thing to go.; 3/25/13, 8:23 PM
Mary Beth said...: Too busy avoiding women like cobras to bother with thinking about how this might be perceived by them?; 3/25/13, 8:34 PM
virgil xenophon said...: Ann is "overdetermining" (to use au courrant academic jargon) the whole affair. Get off your PC high-horse, Ann, and get real. (And yes, I full well realize that your take on how others will take all this is undoubtedly quite correct--sad to say in this PC world--but you yourself seem too overly PC squeemish for my unadulterated knuckle-dragging troglodyte Philistinian tastes); 3/25/13, 8:34 PM
virgil xenophon said...: **sorry: "troglodytic"; 3/25/13, 8:36 PM
virgil xenophon said...: **sorry: "troglodytic"; 3/25/13, 8:37 PM
Hagar said...: Disgruntled former employee or the agency got a bigger deal with Tata.; 3/25/13, 8:37 PM
KCFleming said...: Incomprehensible?

I don't think that word means what you think it means.; 3/25/13, 8:37 PM
fivewheels said...: Gee, Mary Beth, were you too busy condescending to everyone to realize that people may have very thoughtfully considered just how some women perceive it and found that perception to be simple-minded, one-sided and just plain wrong?; 3/25/13, 8:38 PM
Synova said...: The idea was funny. It really was. I was imagining that Ford got Paris Hilton and the Kardashians to be in the ad, live, (which was sort of surprising,) but it was funny that way.

The cartoon pictures are hyper-sexualized and wouldn't be appealing even if no gags were involved. The art style makes me think of the worst of the '70s.; 3/25/13, 8:42 PM
Michael said...: These drawings appear to be from a story board and are not the intended ad. Because many readers of story boards are dense the cartoonist exaggerates the story line including the characters in the story. In the case of the Ford ad it could well have been hilarious depending on the acting abilities of the Kardashians (doubtful) and Paris Hilton. They would not have been dressed as in the story boards and likely would not have been depicted in such a way as to offend the easily offended.; 3/25/13, 8:43 PM
Michael said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 3/25/13, 8:43 PM
glenn said...: Ann:

It's because you Boomers think you are smart an clever.

Hint: You aren't.; 3/25/13, 8:45 PM
Luke Lea said...: Hilarious. The punchline is India.; 3/25/13, 8:47 PM
Matt said...: It's the context and the timing that is the issue. The ads were created in India. Read this:

The incident came in the wake of nationwide outrage in India over the gang rape and murder of a student in New Delhi in December....

"This is a really perverse-looking campaign, especially with all the incidents against women in India,” Deepesh Rathore, New Delhi-based managing director for IHS Automotive in India, told Bloomberg. “The internet has the power to make a stupid thing go viral and so companies need to be very, very careful as such incidents can blemish your brand image."

Regardless of where anyone stands on this matter THAT statement above is the truth. Sure, call it PC. If you're in business you've got to be smart and know which way the wind blows.; 3/25/13, 8:48 PM
Cody Jarrett said...: So there was an ad involving men as well as the other two...but the Professor only decides to be outraged about two of them--not the one involving men.

Interesting.; 3/25/13, 8:51 PM
glenn said...: I had a girlfriend once ... ummm ... never mind.; 3/25/13, 8:53 PM
Big Mike said...: I don't think it was funny. I think it was meant to be "edgy," but someone should have put their foot down before the ad got past the rough drawing stage.

Not long ago I read something where Indian men were insisting that a decent woman would not be out after dark unescorted -- a variation of the old "she was asking for it" crap. So maybe the ads were a cultural thing? Yet another example of why multiculturalism is bunk.; 3/25/13, 9:03 PM
traditionalguy said...: Ford may feel confident that a new civil right recognizing S&M Group Marriages will make them into the hero of today's culture. Only old bigots think only they are right about banning the delicate practice of spousal bondage.; 3/25/13, 9:04 PM
Mark said...: Did Ford produce them or were they the product of an agency? Serious question. Ford was the only one of the "Big Three" to not let the Feds into its pants.

Seems like a hit to me. An expensive one, but hey, it's free money in a way.; 3/25/13, 9:15 PM
MadisonMan said...: Why would anyone want the Kardashians to represent them?; 3/25/13, 9:36 PM
traditionalguy said...: Deep thinkers at Ford sees this ad as Candy Bar offers (a/k/a pogeybait) finally raping away the Lexus Ladies. Ford has never liked Toyota that much.; 3/25/13, 9:56 PM
William said...: "How could this happen?" It didn't. At least not here. It happened in India. Who knew that the Kardashians were so internationally famous....If I were advertising the ample trunk room in a Ford, I could other ways of utilizing the Kardashian image....I do like the image of them bound and gagged and driven off a cliff. That image could be used to advertise the satisfying taste of the new Big Mac.; 3/25/13, 10:06 PM
Anonymous said...: I think the Paris Hilton thing sounds like a hoot - a lot better than her hamburger commercial.

Okay, I checked link and the MAD-era cartooning make it look stupid. If the real people had agreed to do it, it could be funny.

Silvio - no. Because he had state power and somehow, don't we all kinda suspect he suggested that something like that be done for real?; 3/25/13, 10:07 PM
Ambrose said...: The joke is that Berlusconi would ever drive a Ford. Every Italian is offended tonight.; 3/25/13, 10:21 PM
Known Unknown said...: You'd be surprised how good this car is on gas.; 3/25/13, 10:24 PM
Chip S. said...: Obviously some copywriters having a little fun.

Ford: You can fit plenty of junk in our trunk!; 3/25/13, 10:35 PM
tiger said...: ' Matt said...
tiger

Understand that these ads were created at an agency in India where rape and violence against women has been a big topic in the news. Had it been created in some other country [maybe?] then it would probably be innocuous and no one would notice.'

Gotcha.
There is rape and violence in the US too.

My point stands.; 3/25/13, 11:47 PM
ken in tx said...: I have never known a man to fantasize about tying up and gagging a woman. I know I haven't. However, I have known several women who did—on themselves. My theory is that being tied up relieves her of responsibility for what she wants to happen.; 3/26/13, 7:08 AM
Nathan Alexander said...: With the popularity of "50 Shades of Grey", why is anyone jumping to the conclusion these women were tied up against their will?

The women didn't appear to be suffering.

Full disclosure: I saw the ad on CNN, and didn't recognize the Kardashians or Paris Hilton.

Finally, the segment came on right after the segment about The Amazing Race apologizing for showing the B-52 wreckage in Viet Nam.
Now, I think the wreckage was on the screen for mere seconds in the TV show. When they showed the sequence, I had no idea it was even aircraft wreckage, and couldn't have recognized it as a B-52. But CNN showed it over and over, like 8 times...even slowed it down.

So...well, I guess Fen's Law applies again.; 3/26/13, 8:20 AM
Aridog said...: Whot?! Who knew?

I'm supposed to give a rat's tinker dang about anything to do with any Kardashian or Paris Hilton?

Did someone find a man they all haven't fucked or something? That'd be news.; 3/26/13, 8:43 AM
President-Mom-Jeans said...: I'm sure that Ann was just as outraged about Robert Deniro's character in Analyze That making a similar bodies in the trunk joke.

Schoolmarm Ann's outrage about political correctness has a lot less impact when you aren't a student in her class.

Lighten up for fuck's sake.; 3/26/13, 8:59 AM
Mitch H. said...: Looks like something out of a 60s-era Playboy. I think it's the bondage aspect that makes it skeezy.

The idea was funny. It really was. I was imagining that Ford got Paris Hilton and the Kardashians to be in the ad, live, (which was sort of surprising,) but it was funny that way.

The cartoon pictures are hyper-sexualized and wouldn't be appealing even if no gags were involved. The art style makes me think of the worst of the '70s.

Yeah, this, exactly. Described, it sounds amusing. The actual product... I'd never hire the agency involved. They clearly have no taste.; 3/26/13, 10:33 AM
Charlie Martin said...: Because India isn't the United States? Because tehse were ad mock ups that the advertising guys liked, and weren't ever published as actual ads? Because someone needed to fill column-inches and digging up an obscure ad that was never used will generate 20 inches of outrage and a zillion page hits? Because becoming outraged is now a professional quantification?; 3/26/13, 11:35 AM
Charlie Martin said...: Standards of taste in India seem to be different.

Gee, y'think?

Thank God it didn't mention a dongle.; 3/26/13, 11:36 AM
Methadras said...: Who the fuck at Ford thought this was or should be a part of their branding. I'd fire them. Stupid. The ad itself is funny because the inside joke the Hilton's vs. The Kardashians is there, but as a Ford brand? Really?; 3/26/13, 11:42 AM
Unknown said...: Yes, this is violence against women.

And a pop tart nibbled into the shape of a gun is a violent threat as well.; 3/26/13, 2:13 PM
jimf said...: They have a similar ad with three of the current Formula 1 drivers tied up in the trunk and former world champion Michael Schumacher in the driver's seat and winking.; 3/26/13, 3:24 PM
Synova said...: That dongle thing was the dumbest thing I think I ever heard... and they fired the guy? Heaven help my delicate sensibilities if I can't overhear (not even addressed to me) an off color joke about big dongles without having to call for smelling salts. OH THE HUMANITY!!!!!

And then not to say "Gosh, you guys are rude. Knock it off," but manage an elaborate campaign of destruction as if I'm the good guy.

Women are so freaking embarrassing.; 3/26/13, 4:43 PM
Aridog said...: Synova ... turns out Adria Richards, she of dongle sensitivity, was eventually fired also. Apparently her post:

Women in technology need consistant [sic] messaging from birth through retirement they are welcome, competent and valued...

Was considered bad form and hardly helpful to women in business, period....not to mention her self promoting sense superiority.; 3/26/13, 5:20 PM