Suicide, Not So Painless

It's really obvious when ad men and marketers can't come up with a good idea and they're under a deadline. After thousands of ideas get rejected, and thousands more die in the conceptual stage, they're left with nothing and the client is standing there tapping a Rolex and wondering where the hell the commercial is.

That is the moment when the ad men and marketers lose their minds.

In a last gasp, do or die attempt, they pitch one last idea. Because it really is the last idea, the client takes it and the commercial is made. Nine times out of ten the spot is absolutely forgettable.

But some are just so bad, so reprehensible, that they stir up controversy and are only forgotten when the public flushes them from their collective memory.

The one's we have today revolve around one theme: suicide.

The first is a GM ad from the 2006 Super Bowl. Everyone calls it the "Suicidal Robot."



While the robot dreaming about killing itself is bad enough, what's worse is that the commercial doesn't actually say anything about GM's cars. They have a 5 year warranty. So what? That's nothing special.

Besides the small amount of controversy the ad stirred up from suicide prevention groups, everyone forgot about this spot pretty quickly. Which is perfectly acceptable.

The second ad is from Audi, and it's brand new. While it definitely pushes the car's main selling point, let's just say there's a particular lack of taste.



What's worse, that the man tried to kill himself in the first place? Or that he was pissed when he failed? Or, is it that he later tries to off himself with the side window?

For all that is good, sweet and holy in this world, what was Audi thinking? While the ad is certainly intended to be funny, and it is in a very, very dark sense, this demonstrates no selling point.

Oh, so the diesel is so clean that you won't die. Wonderful. I'm very glad that I know that now. So the next time I off myself I should try a gasoline powered version of the A5.

Thank you Audi, I couldn't have deduced that without your help.