Update: Ford isn't too happy with the GM (Chevy) ad and made a request to have the ad pulled from Sunday's Super Bowl. But GM Global Chief Marketing Officer Joel Ewanick is standing his ground, saying:
"We stand by our claims in the commercial, that the Silverado is the most dependable, longest-lasting full-size pickup on the road. We can wait until the world ends, and if we need to, we will apologize. In the meantime, people who are really worried about the Mayan calendar coming true should buy a Silverado right away." (emphasis added)
It would appear GM "gets" the 2012 scam. Whether or not he is joking isn't relevant, Ewanick has highlighted the core motivation behind the Mayan doomsday nonsense. Whether you are a crackpot with a book to sell, a multi-million dollar film production company, or a car manufacturer, you stand to profit from people's fear. Sad.
ORIGINAL: It's perhaps as inevitable as seeing a partially-clad Danica Patrick trying to sell us domain names; the 2012 Mayan doomsday phenomenon is coming to this weekend's Super Bowl!
All this doomsday nonsense was bound to grab the attention of one or two marketing departments, and for the famous 2012 Superbowl ads, the automobile manufacturer Chevy wants you to know that when the end of the world comes, you'd better be driving their car.
But if you drive a Ford, you'll die.
Wide Angle: Will the World End in 2012?
The doomsday parody shows a Chevy Silverado pickup being driven by a guy -- with a dog for company -- as he rolls through the ruins of a city. He coasts past what appears to be the head of a large Transformer, a crashed flying saucer, a burning Bob's Big Boy and gurgling volcano. To push the point home, the opening scene shows a newspaper headline "2012 Mayan Apocalypse" with the subhead "Will the world end today?"
(It must be the end of the world, we're being forced to listen to Barry Manilow's "Looks Like We Made It.")
Eventually, the apocalypse survivor (plus dog) meets up with some buddies. They all drive Chevys. But where's Dave? Sadly, he drove a Ford. Which means Dave avoids the misery of an eternity listening to Manilow's ballads because... Dave's dead.
ANALYSIS: Dear 2012 Doomsayers, We Will Be Watching You
Have a watch:
Car manufacturer competition and doomsday fun-making to one side, the one thing that caught my eye was the image used on the front of the newspaper.
In 2008, I wrote my debut article on the 2012 hysteria over at Universe Today called "No Doomsday in 2012." Accompanying my article, I Photoshopped an image of a Mayan temple plus apocalyptic explosion. I have no clue if Chevy was inspired by my depiction of doomsday, but I'm happy to take the credit nonetheless...
Image credits: Chevy, Universe Today
Tags: 2012 Phenomenon, Auto, Cars, Driving and Safety
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