Apparently, commercials now cause suicide. You’ve heard us rail against those cause groups for every conceivable issue and ailment before and we’re going to do it again. The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention has asked GM to yank its Deutsch LA-created Robot commercial in which a dejected robot is fired and commits suicide…in a fucking dream! For fuck’s sake. When will this idiocy end? When will people realize we’re talking about advertising here and not brain surgery? When will people get their head out of their asses and laugh when a piece of humor is placed in front of them? It’s a robot…in a commercial. Hello?
It might be one thing to ask that this ad be pulled because it was illogical and it sucked but to assume a dreaming robot might convince someone to commit suicide” What next, as Catch Up Lady asks, “The Coalition of Flat Chested Women protesting the GoDaddy ads?” OK, so breast size isn’t a life-threatening issue but the point is taken.
The group wants GM to pull the ad from all media (Catch Up Lady reports she heard an ABC radio report this morning GM will, in fact, pull the spot) and issue an apology because they feel the ad “suggests a troubling and potentially dangerous message: that suicide is a logical and rational decision should one experience failure or lose their job.”
We do not, in any way, belittle suicide as a serious issue (in fact a childhood friend of ours did recently commit suicide) but with every plea one of these cause groups makes – and brands submit to, we move closer and closer to becoming a world full of…oh…inhuman robots devoid of the capability to discern the difference between fiction and reality. We pity the comedian today. Is there any joke that can be told without some cause group calling foul? We’re beginning to doubt it.
UPDATE: Apparently, early reports were incorrect or GM has changed its mind. The Detroit News reports GM won’t pull the ad and that it is “a story of GM’s commitment to quality It is not intended to offend anyone.” We’re thinking it should still be pulled but for entirely different reasons. It bashes robots which GM uses (illogical) and to poke fun at getting fired doesn’t align well with a company famous for lay offs.” Hmm. Perhaps these cause groups are right after all.
