Ford demands General Motors (GM) to remove Chevy Silverado Super Bowl ad for being controversial to the fact, but GM stands by its claims where Chevy is the “longest lasting” and “most dependable” truck.
In the debated commercial, a Chevy Silverado owner drives through a post-apocalyptic city and meets up with other Mayan end-of-the-world survivors, all of them driving Silverado. After noticing a friend missing, he asks the whereabouts of “Dave”. One of the survivors said Dave did not survive because he “didn’t drive the longest-lasting, most dependable truck on the road… Dave drove a Ford.”
On Saturday, Ford sent a letter to GM, demanding not to air the commercial during Super Bowl, refrain from any future use, and remove from websites such as YouTube and Facebook.
According to the letter by Ford’s lawyer Lynn Matuszak, Chevy’s claims are “neither truthful nor accurate,” citing research from R.L. Polk & Co. and the IIHS safety test. Matuszak wrote that Ford has more trucks with over 250,000 miles than Chevy does and the 2012 Forld F-150 is an IIHS Top Safetey pick, while the 2012 Silverado is not.
“In light of the foregoing, Chevrolet has no basis to imply that the Silverado is either safer or more durable than Ford’s pickup trucks, yet that false claim is precisely what is conveyed to the consumer,” Matuszak wrote.
GM has no intention of complying with Ford’s demands.
“We stand by our claims in the commercial, that the Silverado is the most dependable, longest-lasting full-size pickup on the road,” said Joel Ewanick, the CEO of GM, in a statement.
Ewanick did not forget to add humor on his statement.
“We can wait until the world ends, and if we need to, we will apologize,” said Ewanick. “In the meantime, people who are really worried about the Mayan calendar coming true should buy a Silverado right away.”
Ford did not run any commercial during Super Bowl this year, and the company’s global marketing chief Jim Farley regrets it.
“My biggest regret is we didn't create a long-form Super Bowl-like ad and promote it," said Farley in an interview with reporters at the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) convention in Las Vegas.
Last year, Farley has been on headlines for his quotes on Bill Vlasic’s new book “One Upon a Car.”
“I’m going to beat Chevrolet on the head with a bat. And I’m going to enjoy it,” Farley is quoted.
Alan Batey, head of Chevy sales for GM, responded as following last Friday in Las Vegas, according to Reuters.
“It’s interesting because Farley uses the analogy of using a baseball bat,” said Batey who has lived in U.K. and Australia. “Well, where I come from, you use cricket bats and they are like three times bigger. So, I actually [favor] my chances on that one.”
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