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GM's robot Super Bowl ad riles anti-suicide group **Update 2/9** GM caves in!

NFS4

NFS4

No Lifer
The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention isn't amused by General Motors Corp.'s Super Bowl ad depicting a despondent robot leaping off a bridge in a dream sequence, and demanded Wednesday that the automaker pull it off the air.

Calling the ad insensitive, the organization also wants GM to remove it from its Web site.

The "ad is insensitive to the tens of millions of people who have lost loved ones to suicide," said Robert Gebbia, executive director of the foundation. "The ad also suggests a troubling and potentially dangerous message that suicide is a logical and rational decision should one experience failure or lose their job."

GM officials said they won't pull or change the ad. It's "a story of GM's commitment to quality It is not intended to offend anyone," spokeswoman Ryndee Carney said.

The commercial opens with a cute, yellow robot dropping a bolt to a factory floor. Because of his mistake, the robot is fired and left to seek service jobs such as a speaker at a fast-food drive-in. In despair, the robot jumps off a bridge, but then wakes up and realizes it's a dream as an announcer says, "Everyone at GM is obsessed with quality."

On Wednesday, the robot and a video of the ad were prominently displayed atop GM's Web site, www.gm.com.

This week, Snickers pulled its Super Bowl ad after groups called it homophobic. The fact that the robot had to leave a good GM job to take lesser work also is in poor taste as GM and other domestic automakers are drastically cutting work force, said Dave Regan, a Michigan State University advertising instructor.

"When you saw those visuals, you had to question the people on the team," Regan said.

"It was not light-hearted and most people watch Super Bowl commercials to be entertained."
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At least GM has some balls 😀


http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/ar...ID=/20070208/AUTO01/702080372/1001/BIZ


THey caved in and removed the suicide scene 🙁

http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070209/UPDATE/702090442
 
everyone where i was thought that ad was depressing and didn't make any of us want to buy a GM.
 
I wouldn't mind if *all* super bowl ads were pulled...

It's fine to have advocacy groups to watch out for stuff like this - but when they are so dumb about it, probably makes it that much harder for legitimate concerns to be taken seriously.
 
Originally posted by: R Nilla
Originally posted by: SpanishFry
Originally posted by: ElFenix
everyone where i was thought that ad was depressing and didn't make any of us want to buy a GM.
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it was depressing, but I'm glad GM isn't backing down.
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:thumbsup: I agree.
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thirded. This country is too damn whiney these days. Those thin-skinned bastard groups need a slap in the face.
 
Well it makes sense now... i think GM was going for controversy. The ad sucked, and was actually depressing... it certainly didn't make me want to buy GM.
 
Next thing you know PETA will be protesting the Bud commercial where the dog gets dirt spots and pretends to be a dalmatian because it is discriminatory against non-dalmatians.
 
In other news budweiser has been asked to pull down it's rock paper scissors commercial, because it offends the families of those who have been stoned to death.
 
Originally posted by: Quasmo
In other news budweiser has been asked to pull down it's rock paper scissors commercial, because it offends the families of those who have been stoned to death.
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LOL, wow it is good to see at least some people are not afraid to make a few jokes!
 
On second thought, actually, considering GM's current status... and I remember seeing their financial report when I attended a recent Ontario Hockey League game... it's like that one Seinfeld episode, if all your instincts are wrong, then logically, the opposite of anything you think must be right.

Thus GM should pull the ad to save their business.
 
Most of GM's ads this year were lame. The "robot" one and the HHR one with the old half naked dude dancing around are burned into my mind the most.

GM has two of my favorite commericals. The Corvette one with the kids flying them through the air was great..and I think pulled after some lame ass advocacy group said that it encouraged wreckless driving :roll:

The other one is the Cadillac commercial where they compare the XLR to a bullet was cool too.
 
Originally posted by: vi_edit
Most of GM's ads this year were lame. The "robot" one and the HHR one with the old half naked dude dancing around are burned into my mind the most.

GM has two of my favorite commericals. The Corvette one with the kids flying them through the air was great..and I think pulled after some lame ass advocacy group said that it encouraged wreckless driving :roll:

The other one is the Cadillac commercial where they compare the XLR to a bullet was cool too.
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I always found the Cobalt SS/Corvette "Little Brother" commercials worthy of a chuckle. 🙂

Of course, I'm the middle brother in my family, so I can see the humour from both sides.

- M4H
 
Originally posted by: MercenaryForHire
Originally posted by: vi_edit
Most of GM's ads this year were lame. The "robot" one and the HHR one with the old half naked dude dancing around are burned into my mind the most.

GM has two of my favorite commericals. The Corvette one with the kids flying them through the air was great..and I think pulled after some lame ass advocacy group said that it encouraged wreckless driving :roll:

The other one is the Cadillac commercial where they compare the XLR to a bullet was cool too.
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I always found the Cobalt SS/Corvette "Little Brother" commercials worthy of a chuckle. 🙂

Of course, I'm the middle brother in my family, so I can see the humour from both sides.

- M4H
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Is that one where it keeps bumping the back of the Corvette? That was a cute one too.
 
how many employees did GM lay off last year? ~4,000? Problem I had with this commercial, is that here you show those employees' replacements that can't do a good enough job either. Then the poor robot arm kills itself. Piss-poor commercial overall.

Actually, I thought it would probably make little kids cry or something. Probably not as much as the violence on display during puppy bowl 3 though...that was off the hook!
🙂
 
Originally posted by: vi_edit
Is that one where it keeps bumping the back of the Corvette? That was a cute one too.
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Yep. Can't find any working links, and even YouTube is drawing a blank. 😕

There was the "bump" one, the one where they keep overtaking each other until the Corvette flies off (and gets pulled over), and the one where they're passing a beach-ball back and forth.

Edit - Request thread if anyone has them.

- M4H
 
Originally posted by: MrChad
Originally posted by: ElFenix
everyone where i was thought that ad was depressing and didn't make any of us want to buy a GM.
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I agree. I thought the ad was in poor taste.
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WTF, it was a ROBOT!!!!!!!!! Do you get depressed when you throw away garbage or old appliances? Since you do effectively kill those products when you do. Oh noes! you're a murderer!
 
Originally posted by: Ktulu
Originally posted by: MrChad
Originally posted by: ElFenix
everyone where i was thought that ad was depressing and didn't make any of us want to buy a GM.
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I agree. I thought the ad was in poor taste.
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WTF, it was a ROBOT!!!!!!!!! Do you get depressed when you throw away garbage or old appliances? Since you do effectively kill those products when you do. Oh noes! you're a murderer!
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the robot was personified.

my garbage is not. and stinks.
 
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