Well, the folks at Kia--the Korean car company I kinda lambasted in an earlier post about not coming close to living up to their slogan of "The Power To Surprise"--have finally got their shock-and-awe stickshifts out of neutral.
Kia's most recent TV ad in Canada, for its Spectra model (that sweet, lil' unassuming thing to the right), has unleashed a good ol' fashioned brouhaha, bringing everyone from women's groups to police associations into the fray.
For those of you who haven't seen it (and Lord knows I searched YouTube high and low for it, 'cuz God forbid Kia would actually have it on its site!), it goes something like this:
- A couple is passionately making out in a car pulled over on the side of a highway.
- You see the flashing red lights of a police car behind them.
- The guy looks sheepish as his blonde lover pulls herself off him.
- She makes her way over to the police car, tucks her hair under a police cap, gets into it, and drives away.
I've seen a lot worse in Catholic high school drama productions, but it has sure 'nuff touched a raw nerve up here.
"I saw the ad for the first time on Tuesday at my home, and I was a bit surprised," said Quebec Provincial Police Association President Jean-Guy Dagenais. "Is it insulting? Yes, a bit, if you are pulled over by a blonde, you will get a ticket, not a kiss."
Actually, if I were pulled over by a blonde in Quebec, I would get a heart attack. The QPP officers I have "met" on the road are bad-ass, jodhpur-wearing bulldogs. But I digress. Dagenais goes on to say:
"It's in bad taste, and besides, more people will remember the woman than remember the brand of the car."
Uh, wrongo Mr. Dagenais. For once, I hear a bitta buzz 'bout Korea's automotive pride-and-joy on these shores other than the reaming they get in the blogosphere (Oy, check 'em on Technorati and weep).
Later this week, Mr. Dagenais will be meeting with his counterpart at the Montreal Police Brotherhood, Yves Francoeur, to decide whether to send a formal letter of complaint asking KIA to pull the ad from television.
If I were Kia, I'd be waiting for it with bated breath...and an action plan to launch immediately upon reception.
Fasten your seatbelts! This could be a bumpy ride.