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September 16, 2009

Just stick to the jingle, guys.

As a dedicated fan of all things sport, I spent approximately 20 hours this weekend watching both NCAA and NFL football. A few times during this epic couch potato session, I observed a commercial from Shawnee Mission Kia about their mid-sized sedan, the Optima. Only after seeing it for the 5th or 6th time did I notice something. 

You may not notice anything out of the ordinary at first, but when you see it, you'll shit bricks.

OTIMA 

Wait, what? This has to be a joke, right? Wrong. Shawnee Mission Kia actually approved and ran a TV spot that prominently features the Kia Otima. Not the Optima. The Otima. Holy Moses.

Needless to say, I assumed this spot would be promptly pulled down and replaced with a revised version featuring the correct spelling. Well, you know what happens when we assume. Kia, either because they don't know or don't care about the misspelling of THE NAME OF THE FUCKING CAR, went ahead and ran the same version during the Royals game last night.

Sure, it's pretty likely that only 12 people were watching a Royals game on September 15th, but you'd think a car dealer wouldn't want to showcase their ineptitude to even 1 potential car buyer, right? Wrong again. In fact, Kia is perfectly happy associating themselves with poor quality control not only on TV, but in the social media space as well. 

That's right, boys and girls -- they posted the commercial on their Facebook page. Check it out in the videos section or see it posted in all its glory on their wall. Unbelievable. I hope these guys make vehicles better than they make TV spots.

UPDATE: Did I have a typographical error in a blog post about a typographical error? Yes. Did I promptly fix it when notified of my mistake? You betcha. Is this so meta that my brain is exploding?

BANG!

Uh-Huh.

UPDATE PART 2: Apparently, fucking up the name of the very product you're pitching isn't limited to car dealerships. This is a sign from the McDonalds on the campus of The University of Missouri. Thanks to Kim English (@Englishscope) for the pic.

Picture 1

Posted by Nick Kinney on September 16, 2009 at 10:56 AM | Permalink
Categories: Advertising

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Comments

Why does this shock you? I routinely see holiday spots for businesses days or weeks AFTER the holiday. And sometimes it's on purpose, like when a business has a buy in place and wants to use up the remaining spots, so they say, "What the hell, it's January 16 but just keep running that Christmas spot."

Posted by:Dean at Pro Copy Tips | September 16, 2009 at 07:39 PM

Tug- Just goes to show you, people need to stop, take a breath, and check what they are sending out. Hey- I make mistakes all the time- just did yesterday on a spreadsheet. But, that's why its mandatory that before something goes PUBLIC, you need a second or third pair of eyes even.

Last week, I caught 2 spelling errors on a client's ad. I would have died if I was in their shoes now. I freak out when I see a misspelling on mine on Twitter for gods sake! And you know how small those phone key pads are.

Posted by:Cindy Augustine | September 16, 2009 at 08:18 PM

Is the typo you fixed the "its" (possessive) vs. "it's" usage? Because it still shows up on the post as "it's."

I suspect the McD's typo is a joke by an employee. The TV ad, though? Astonishing.

Posted by:Kate | September 24, 2009 at 10:56 AM

Don't know if you remember the Little Angus burger place in Westport. They had plastic letters on their sign, and people kept removing the "g." Finally, they painted it in so nobody could mess with it. It was more fun going to Little Anus, though.

Posted by:Liz Craig | September 24, 2009 at 01:39 PM

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