On the two American continents, it is a habit for competitors to take on each other in commercials, most funnier than the ones before. Most of the times though, the messages relayed by this type of commercials are subtle and extremely effective. Nissan Brazil's division was a bit too offensive, reckons Ford.
Now, we don't speak Portuguese, so we have no idea what the two rappers (dressed as Ford employees) are mumbling about. According to Reuters, the main message the ad is sending is not that the Tiida is a great car, or that the Focus is a bad one. The message is that the Americans have made a fortune out of charging way too much for the hatchback models they sell (the Focus sells for $1,800 more than Tiida in Brazil).
"All the luxury that I got, I got it with your money," the rappers say in their video according to Reuters. "Don't weep because you're paying extra money -- your money was well spent, look what I do with it."
For a few days, Nissan's staff had a blast with the commercial, until Ford stepped in and got an injunction that tossed the ad right off the TV screens. After that, Ford went to the police and made a criminal complaint on the grounds of "improper brand use" and "unfair competition."
Enjoy. Or not.
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