Wow, I wouldn't have imagined that Ford would approve such an ad. Maybe this is an extreme case, but we see very often ads, billboards, or similar that you say to yourself "who approved this?". And it's just something that doesn't add up in your mind.

Sometimes poor advertisement goes through several pairs of eyes and still gets published (and no one knows why).

Maybe we need more pre-tests before the official launch. I, for instance, work in a company that's developing a test design platform that helps you better understand your target audience. We use facial-recognition software to map out the emotions of your customers and see their genuine reactions to the client's content. That way, at least you contrast your (crazy) ideas with the people you target it to beforehand.

Anyway, thanks for sharing this case of marketing gone bad. Even the big ones fail miserably!