Ford Sued Over Insipid Marketing Tagline
March 30th, 2009 6:56 PM
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Ford apparently isn’t the only firm that “speaks car.” The ChiTrib reports that a Pennsylvania parts dealer is suing Ford for using the line “we speak car” in recent ads, claiming it has used the phrase for six years. Frank’s Auto Supply of Uniontown, PA uses wespeakcar.com as its website, and has used the trite neologism in advertising since June of 2003. The parts dealer is suing Ford in federal court, seeking unspecified damages and a ban on Ford’s use of the phrase. The upside to ripping off another marketing tagline? No one really misses the unoriginal ad when it gets pulled.
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As a resident of Pennsylvania, I'll confirm that Frank's Auto Supply has been using that tagline for 6 years, and also say that their ads are far more annoying than anything Ford could come up with, and, if I recall correctly, misogynistic to boot.
I never saw the Ford ads using this tagline, and also as a PA resident, never saw Frank's either. Their marketing isn't working now is it.
Now Honda makes kickass commercials. The Cog where a Euro Accord is being assembled by a Rube Goldberg-like method, the "Power of Dreams" ad, that diesel cartoon ad, the live commercial with skydivers spelling HONDA in free fall, the Civic musical road. "The power of dreams" is a great tagline as well. I can't remember any Ford commercial other than the one with that hot woman that says "You've got to put Mercury on your list".