Anyone watch the Super Bowl? According to the Nielsen ratings, some of you did.
I read an interesting article about one of the Super Bowl ads. In the commercial, the 2012 apocalypse has occured and the only survivors are persons driving Chevrolet trucks (Silverado, to be precise). When asked where a friend is, tears flow.
He didn’t make it. He drove a Ford.
Witty, right? Well, for obvious reasons, Ford didn’t think so. In fact, they filed a cease and desist request with the courts (the equivalent of a restraining order) to prevent the ad from airing. Their reason for filing such an order for a simple commercial. They claimed that the ad was not truthful in its portayal of their product. Specifically, they felt that the 2012 apocalypse would be more a test of safety and durability (something Ford trucks score well in) than longevity (where Chevy has the apparent edge).
Does this strike anyone else as funny?
A commercial depicting pick-up trucks as the means for survival to a world-ending event is accused of being untruthful…and it isn’t because of the stupid premise of a Mayan 2012 disaster?
Can you imagine being the judge in that courtroom, listening to attorneys argue that their truck was being unjustly defamed, because tests indicate that it is more likely to survive a nuclear winter than the other truck?
What’s next? I have a few suggestions for lawsuits, based on this new precedent:
- Pepsi should sue Coke over the Santa issue. It is obvious that Santa would have to drink Mountain Dew if he intended to have the pick-me-up needed to do his Christmas Eve magic.
- The e-Trade baby needs to check out the new child labor laws. He is definitely getting ripped off, based on revenue stream versus daytime hours spent in filming. Get a lawyer, e-Trade baby!
- I anticipate a mass tort lawsuit of the genocide of cats perpetrated by the Doritos dog. Serial cat killers cannot be allowed to continue their sprees just because an exchange of Doritos is made. You can’t buy me, Doritos dog.
- The Bud-weis-er frogs will need binding arbitration to get the same retirement plan put into effect that Wego, the dog, has through Anheiser Busch. If all of these beer mascots would unionize, the collective bargaining power would be unheard of.
- Clint Eastwood, you are cool as all get out. But, I bet you didn’t know that footage of your “Motor City” Chrysler commercial was not even shot in Detroit. I think you should sue for the rights to direct your own commercials (because you are an amazing director) and actually film in the locale that you are supposed to be pumping up. After all, Detroit looks nothing like L.A.
There are innumerous things that can be argued about and litigated in this world. Should we really be litigating fictitious claims in overblown Super Bowl commercials? Really?
We will be more spiritual tomorrow. 
