The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention has sent a letter to General Motors criticizing an ad that shows a perfectionist assembly line robot dreaming about jumping off a bridge after dropping a bolt. The group said the spot may encourage people to consider suicide as a solution to their problems. The group demanded that GM apologize, not air the spot again and remove it from its website.
GM has "no plans" to drop the robot spot, spokeswoman Ryndee Carney says. The ad currently is scheduled to air next during the Feb. 25 Academy Awards broadcast on ABC , she says.
GM has received "more than a handful (of complaints) but not a tsunami," she says. She says GM "did not intend to offend anyone."

GM should drop the ad now, says former Energy secretary Donald Hodel, who also was Interior secretary in the Reagan administration. Hodel's teenage son committed suicide 23 years ago.

"They should never have run that commercial, and they shouldn't run it again," says Hodel, who says he and his wife were shocked when they saw it. "If I had a child who committed suicide some time after watching that ad, I'd seriously consider consulting a lawyer and suing GM."


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This post has been edited by tobais: Feb 8 2007, 06:59 PM

I can see how it could have touched a nerve with some people.
I cannot see how it would encourage anyone.
It was a pretend robot, in a dream.
I was more offended and nauseated by the Snickers ad.

i personally laughed my *** off =P but i have a morbid sense of humor like that.. and hell..ive been suicidal before..and a lot..but it was a robot..i just couldnt take it seriously! i guess i can see why others would get offended, but i think it is one of those 'choose your battles' deals.

Seems like no one can do or say anything anymore without pi**ing off some group. I found the ad funny, and the snickers ad lame, but not offensive.

Where is freedom of speech going, when everything has to be politically correct? Like it or not, comedy is usually built from dark places (most comedians are a tad screwed up).

If we insulate our children from everything that might push them to ask questions, is that better??

I think the problem is that the advert could be triggering. I haven't seen it, but I bet it would make me think about IT.

That's the thing, it is going to get so down-hill with everything that soon our freedom of speech will be no longer present unless you have an attorney at your side.

I don't see anything wrong with it, it's a robot. I find that very futuristic, to have a robot with feelings, lol... but then again I can see it trigger some people, ugh, am I glad I don't have to make those kinda decisions every day.

~adorabelle

Oh, what a beautiful world it would be if no one was ever allowed to offend anyone.

Sorry, but in my opinion this is ridiculous. It's a stupid advertisement. I understand that some may find it offensive or upsetting. There are MANY advertisements that I find offensive and upsetting. But it is MY issue, therefore I must learn to deal with it or ignore it or get the help I need if I can't. The advertising company has no responsibility to make sure it doesn't offend me or someone else.

Good for them for not pulling the ad!

I was horrified when I watched this ad, and it was worse the second time. I have no idea what GM was thinking when they thought that ad would sell cars.

i found it funny but then again I'm weird like that. but i can see why people would find it triggering....hmmm its a line that must be drawn somewhere

Oooh, yeah. It's a bit controversial, but isn't everything in the right (or perhaps wrong) light?

I could understand how it might make some people cringe, but those are their issues and their issues alone, really.

I personally thought the ad was worthy of a smirk.

When i first saw that i was reminded of "Marvin the paranoid android" from the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. He was actual more of a depressed android. One line that sticks in my mind is "life, don't talk to me about life."
IMO Having the topic of suicide brought up by an inanimate object makes the topic less scary and easy to talk about. I don't see how that can do harm. Either way (positive or negative) it brings the topic to forefront.