Ford of India's current tagline is "Go Further." If you're their advertising agency, that's apparently code for "Go Too Far."
Some images from ad agency JWT India's latest campaign for the Ford Figo in India recently surfaced online, sparking a great deal of controversy for their cartoonish and misogynistic artwork — in particular, the one above that shows disgraced former Italian Prime Minister and noted scumbag Silvio Berlusconi with three tied-up women in his hatch.
"Leave your worries behind with Figo's extra-large boot," the ads say. So what's the message supposed to be here, kill the strippers who might tell the press about your weird sex parties after you stuff them in the back of the roomy Ford Figo? Okay then.
And then there's a similar one that, according to Business Insider, shows Paris Hilton hauling off the Kardashians in her Figo. (Like she'd drive a Ford!)
Ford later apologized for the ads, saying, "We deeply regret this incident and agree with our agency partners that it should have never happened. The posters are contrary to the standards of professionalism and decency within Ford and our agency partners."
Besides the weird misogyny primarily in the first ad, I would argue that they aren't even very good. The artwork is so poor that you can't really even tell that those are supposed to be Berlusconi, Hilton, or the Kardashian sisters. It's just not good advertising.
I do, however, kind of like this next one, particularly because you can tell who the people are and because it makes sense. And it's hilarious.
Come on, you know he's been wanting to do that for years.
Hat tip to Automatch!