Some car ads are supposed to encourage "impure thoughts", but this really isn't the typical one that's designed to stimulate one's carnal pleasures. The one we're talking about here leans more towards the lyrical arts, since the root cause to most of the "emotional unrest" happening here is because of poetry.
The limerick involved here is Thomas Dylan's 1951 poem, "Do not go gentle into that good night." The poem, which isn't really something that inspires "gentle and congenial" thoughts to begin with, speaks about "not going gentle in the good night." It's about taking action, frustration, anger--and even aggression. Apparently, Ford decided to up its lyrical chops and use it as its inspiration for its Ford Mustang ad.
The ad used the tagline: "Don't Go Quietly"--vaguely close to Dylan's poem. The scene started with another line from the poem: "Do not go gentle into that good night." Most of the scenes depicted dystopian images of workplace struggle and worker stress. The most significant and often repeated line in the poem, "Rage against the dying of the light," was also included in the voice over, and the scene showed a yellow Mustang going up from a parking garage and up to the street. It ended with the iconic "Pony" driving on a city road.
Apparently, the advertisement offended 12 people, who filed complaints and wrote to Britain's Advertising Standards Authority (ASA). That's enough for the ad to be banned from airing. According to the advertising regulators, the commercial encouraged 'dangerous driving,' which we honestly think lacked enough substantial evidence to fully support their claims. In its defense, Ford claimed that the commercial portrayed the Mustang as the 'antidote to a dull life,' and the term 'rage' here isn't meant to portray unsafe or angry driving on the road.
The ad, which was produced by Global Team Blue, only took a minute to play on air. Watch and see for yourself if it deserves to be axed 'not gently into that good night' by the ASA.
EDITOR'S NOTE: Ford UK's loss is Ford France's gain as the ad has been aired in the country, with nary a protest from the liberal French people. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2X5j8mCi-Kw
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