• Skip to content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Adpulp

The Chronicle of Bright Ideas

  • About
  • Ad People
  • Featured Creative
  • Political Advertising
  • Content
  • Social Media
  • Media Trends
  • Contact

Bring Back The Frogs

November 14, 2005 By David Burn

bill_ford.jpg
Business Week’s David Kiley is not fond of the new corporate ad campaign from Ford Motor Co. starring chairman and CEO Bill Ford.

In the ads, Bill Ford, the great-grandson of company founder Henry Ford who took control of the company in October 2001, casually sits on a stool in a design studio and talks about the company’s commitment to “driving innovation.” In fact, the vanilla theme of the campaign is “Driving American Innovation.” Apparently, some other company had the copyrights to “Driving A New American Paradigm.” The first problem with the ads is that any company selling a product or service could have claimed this line. If the line can relate to any company then why spend hard earned money on it. Paging the copywriters! Who wrote this? Bill’s chauffer?

In a related move, Anheuser-Busch is using Auggie Busch V in new TV spots.
Who is responsible for these brilliant ideas? The agencies? I highly doubt it. Yet, they are culpable, nonetheless. For surely, they did little to resist. Doing so, would take a spine. And with Ford or Bud as your client, only the most cavalier among us would dare to grow a backbone.
Everyone loses here. The generational titans lose, for they do not belong in front of a TV camera, hocking their wares like Fast Eddie. Their companies lose becasue such work diminishes the brand. The agencies lose because they continue to lower their own bar, and the industry’s, as well. The consumer loses because there’s nothing there for them to latch onto.

Related

Comments

comments

Filed Under: Brands

About David Burn

Co-founder, editor, and publisher of Adpulp.com. David wrote his first ad for a political candidate when he was 17 years old. She won her race and he felt the seductive power of advertising for the first time. Today, David is a creative director in Austin, Texas.

Primary Sidebar

About

The Chronicle of Bright Ideas. Launched by David Burn and Shawn Hartley in 2004. Read, shared, and debated by a rogue group of ad pros ever since.

Breaking News

  • Hot Desert, Cold Brew April 18, 2018
  • Frustrated Fido? Walk It Out With Rover April 14, 2018
  • What Marketers Can Learn from Hootsuite Academy April 12, 2018
  • Minute Maid Questions What Good Is, Decides, “this is GOOD” April 11, 2018
  • Are You Open to the Massive Business Opportunities in EQ? April 10, 2018
  • My Y Story: A Star-Studded Original Content Series by the Y April 8, 2018
  • Tim Horton’s Has The Coffee That Brings Canadians Together April 7, 2018
  • Take the Long Way Home in a Citroën April 7, 2018
  • Lexus Finally Delivers On The Promise of Hyper-Customization April 1, 2018

Get Adpulp in Your Inbox

Receive an email notification when we publish a new article.

Navigate by Topic

Connect

Follow Us on FacebookFollow Us on TwitterFollow Us on YouTubeFollow Us on E-mailFollow Us on RSS

Inkl Up!

Help support Adpulp with financial contributions on a per-post basis. Sign up for @Inkl today.

Footer

Translate

What People Are Reading

  • Hot Desert, Cold Brew
    Hot Desert, Cold Brew
  • Zuck Sweats It Out At, Reveals Facebook's Ultimate Agenda
    Zuck Sweats It Out At, Reveals Facebook's Ultimate Agenda
  • Fried Goodness
    Fried Goodness
  • Frustrated Fido? Walk It Out With Rover
    Frustrated Fido? Walk It Out With Rover
  • Minute Maid Questions What Good Is, Decides, "this is GOOD"
    Minute Maid Questions What Good Is, Decides, "this is GOOD"

Search the Site

Hours & Info

Off Madison
[email protected]
Always on.