Range Rover has a new ad where they park two unattended Range Rover SUVs in Times Square and film with a hidden camera to document all the people who walk up and marvel over the cars. Wow, this makes me think of one thing above all else: the Times Square car bomb plot by Faisal Shazad. And in this commercial, terrorists the world over will see what great car bombs these new Range Rovers will make, as they attract huge crowds, and then they can detonate them to kill and injure the largest number of innocent civilians possible. I know I’m not the only person who thinks primarily of this when this ad runs on TV, so they really should have known better.
Look, they could have parked their SUVs anywhere except for Times Square, and it would have been fine. Okay, maybe not in Iraq, but you get the idea. The Times Square bomb plot was with an SUV with dark tinted windows, and that’s what’s in this ad. (I mean, the plot was not with a Range Rover, but it's similar enough.) So why not park them in Washington Square Park? How about in another city? Why not at a tailgate party at an NFL game parking lot? How about anything except for making an ad that reminds everyone of a terrorist attack? Hey, at least the attack failed, but this ad looks like a training film for how to make it work the next time. And that’s just bad for business.
I’m sorry to have to mention this, but it’s true: this is a really insensitive ad, and it’s really dumb for them to have made it. It’s not quite as bad as if an airline ad showed a shot of a plane flying so that it looked like it was flying into a skyscraper, but it’s pretty close. For everyone who thinks of the failed Times Square car bomb plot when they see this spot, they will always think of terrorism when they see a Range Rover from now on, even if it’s just in the back of their mind. In my opinion, Range Rover has shot themselves in the foot here, and it’s all because of where they decided to shoot the ad. It’s a good commercial other than that, and it would have been so easy to avoid the problem if they had just used a little common sense. They really should have known better.
I’m sorry this isn’t lighthearted in tone like I usually like to be, but sometimes things require a serious response. I don't have anything against Range Rover (they're beautiful cars!), and they obviously didn't do it on purpose. Maybe they'll be lucky and nobody will notice. I just don't see how people could not notice; and if they do, then it could be a PR disaster. And nobody wants that for their product.
I can’t find this ad online yet, but it’s on TV, and it’s hard to miss. But here’s the Wikipedia page detailing the Times Square bomb plot, in case you've forgotten (like the guys at Range Rover obviously did!):
