from AdWeek’s AdFreak.com

Viewers rise up against ‘Saved by Zero’ ads

The murderous hatred being directed toward Toyota’s “Saved by Zero” ads has been building for a few weeks now, and it’s become semi-official with this Associated Press story. A number of Web sites—EsquireBest Week EverConsumerist and Jalopnik among them—have been hosting rants about the ads, which feature the admittedly awful 1983 song “Saved by Zero” by British new-wave group The Fixx. By and large, viewers feel an urge to end their own lives and/or other people’s when the ads come on: “It makes me want to kill someone/never ever buy a Toyota.” “Marketing 101, don’t piss consumers off, don’t get on their bad sides, don’t cultivate contempt.” “I CAN’T EVEN EXPRESS MY OUTRAGE WITHOUT USING CAPS LOCK.” Clearly it’s the feel-bad campaign of the year, and from a company (and industry) that doesn’t need any extra help in hurtling down the crapper.

—Posted by Tim Nudd

[ click to read at AdFreak.com ]