Here, kitty, kitty...
April 22, 2004 6:16 AM   Subscribe

Here, kitty, kitty. Help control the pet population... buy a Sportka.
posted by debralee (30 comments total)
 
Harsh!

Did I miss something, or does that cat appear to die at the end?
posted by vito90 at 6:29 AM on April 22, 2004


uh yah, it's pretty clearly seen. the car decapitates the cat. it's head falls into the car, it's body to the ground.

it's not funny or cool or hip, it has no edge... the ad just lays there like the dead cat. it also crosses the line with me in terms of the kitty abuse, and i'm not easily offended by shite like that at all. for instance, i own and regularly re-read the hilarious "1001 things to do with a dead cat". but this ad is just a lead weight turd, from any angle.
posted by t r a c y at 6:43 AM on April 22, 2004


"Killing kittens" has certain ... connotations.

And so do sport cars.
posted by brownpau at 6:44 AM on April 22, 2004


I was wondering when I would get to see that. Thanks debralee. I think. (Although I do like the way the cat's limp body slides down the windshield. On preview: missed the falling head. Yuck. When the cat does a double take, is it because he sees a pile of cat heads below?)
posted by Dick Paris at 6:46 AM on April 22, 2004


sick asshole
posted by shoos at 6:55 AM on April 22, 2004


What's with the ads for fruits and vegetables on this thread?
posted by tippiedog at 6:56 AM on April 22, 2004


For a little context, Snopes has the lowdown.
posted by rocketpup at 7:09 AM on April 22, 2004


This has been exposed as a pretty idiotic piece of viral marketing (there was a piece about it on adage.com). I think there wass a link to it from boingboing a while back, but I can't seem to find it.

Apparently, this ad was "not supposed to be released" after the client (Ford) viewed the ad agencies work and rejected it as being too tasteless.

Yeah right.
posted by davehat at 7:15 AM on April 22, 2004


Aha, it wasn't boingboing, it was snopes (thanks rocketpup).

Don't know how I got those sites mixed up.....
posted by davehat at 7:18 AM on April 22, 2004


This has been exposed as a pretty idiotic piece of viral marketing

Viral marketing isn't idiotic.

People who participate in it by posting things several weeks after they've been exposed as viral marketing are idiotic.
posted by soyjoy at 7:31 AM on April 22, 2004


That came out harsher than I really meant it because of the adherence to the format. I don't literally mean that you're idiotic, debralee, but I've seen this discussed to death all over the Web (and, if I'm not mistaken, in Drabble), and couldn't believe it hadn't been here. I don't think people should be rewarded for launching these "bad publicity" campaigns by having MeFi's level of attention, and I just hope people will stop and think about that the next 50 times someone comes up with another one of these.
posted by soyjoy at 7:52 AM on April 22, 2004


Reminds me of this one [wmv] from here.

I thought at first the thing has just strangled the cat, which I found much funnier as it seems fittingly understated.
posted by ed\26h at 8:06 AM on April 22, 2004


I found the bird-slapping-Ka ad hilarious, because I don't have a pet bird. I have a beloved pet cat, and find this one totally offensive and horrifying. I don't know any retarded people, so if they killed one of those in an inventive way I'd laugh and laugh.

On the other hand, I totally want a SportKa.
posted by nicwolff at 8:29 AM on April 22, 2004


Distasteful? Yes. Funny? No.

Specifically, it's unfunny despite being distasteful. I think that the bird ad was much funnier, partly because it was shorter and snappier.
posted by LittleMissCranky at 8:55 AM on April 22, 2004


And here we are, talking about Ford and Sportkas. Mission accomplished.
posted by gottabefunky at 9:12 AM on April 22, 2004


BABIES EVERYWHERE!!!

Oh, wait.

I actually thought it was funny. I prefer evil cars and decapitated cats to farting horses.
posted by emelenjr at 9:36 AM on April 22, 2004


ed\26h — thanks for that link; I missed it the first time around and just spent the last five minutes laughing my ass off. I need that.
posted by papercake at 10:26 AM on April 22, 2004


I like ads where nothing dies, nothing farts, nothing is X-TREME!!!!, and nothing says "zoom-zoom." But anything is better than a giant armpit with feet.
posted by purplemonkie at 10:26 AM on April 22, 2004


Dude. That was horrible.
posted by Lynsey at 11:04 AM on April 22, 2004


Dude. That was awesome.

But sooooo three weeks ago. I'm over it.
posted by pfafflin at 11:19 AM on April 22, 2004


The bird one is funnier.

Just want to say that I love animals: pets, wild, whatever -- well, excpet humans.
posted by Dick Paris at 11:30 AM on April 22, 2004


No matter how many cats it decapitates, it's still a Ford, and thus lame.
posted by kindall at 11:41 AM on April 22, 2004


It could have been funny if the chop had been quick, but the little bit of struggle in there makes it a tad uncomfortable for me, which is a shame coz i fancied a chuckle.

I'm a dog person.
posted by Frasermoo at 12:34 PM on April 22, 2004


I winced. Then I laughed.
posted by Dark Messiah at 1:03 PM on April 22, 2004


Oh, yeah, that's the kind of car I'd want. A Christine that I can easily parallel park.

The ad is just real enough that you look at it twice. Whoever did it (and leaked it, and keeps showing it to people so it keeps getting talked about) did a great job.

I'd never buy the car in a million years.
posted by chicobangs at 1:48 PM on April 22, 2004


Ford's not too happy about it.... they're so lame.
posted by adamms222 at 2:15 PM on April 22, 2004


Hm.
I remember reading about this a while ago and sort of wanting to see it. Was kind of limp though. Maybe reading the article ruined it for me - but maybe not, since I didn't really laugh at the first one either, and I hadn't read a description of that one before it happened. What I did like was the very nicely done fantasy illustration on the Ka's promo site, with the Ka leading a horde of demons and dragons as they chased down some fairies, pixies, unicorns, and what have you.

Oh well.
posted by kavasa at 4:03 PM on April 22, 2004


People have funny looking cars in other countries.
posted by ph00dz at 9:59 PM on April 22, 2004


Yes indeed... none of the cars in england have any wood on the exterior at all! :)
posted by ed\26h at 2:06 AM on April 23, 2004


I think they save their wood for the interior over there.
posted by ph00dz at 12:09 AM on April 24, 2004


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