Intel hijacks ThrustSSC/Bloodhound reputation for cheesy commerical

[velocity]

I've been in Europe the past three weeks and came across this loser ad:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQV0H6wjpxs

The ad was so bad that I sent an alert to Richard Noble who was getting plenty of other alerts from annoyed "thrusters." The commercial features a crude, out-of-proportion model of ThrustSSC that is equally guilty of being dressed up like a thrift store version of Bloodhound. Worse, the advert was supposed to be about supersonics but nobody told the video production people that the speedometer needed to go higher than 600MPH.

Richard has asked that I post a note to the LSR community in the USA to state that he and the teams had nothing to do with the ad's production and while Intel is a sponsor, no one bothered to ask, consult or otherwise contact any of the team about this miserable marketing mess.

For the complete story click onto to Richard's explanation:

http://www.bloodhoundssc.com/news/richard_nobles_diary/june_2012.cfm#orange
 
ThrustSSC and the Bloodhounders deserve much better than this.

"LandSpeed" Louise Ann Noeth

(the crazy American who dreams of some day kicking British supersonic butt)

[Seldom Seen Slim]

Louise:

Thanks for the note - and we had already been discussing the funky advert. for Intel.  Ah, those marketing people - sometimes forget to ask.  Yet once upon a time I was the "talent" in an ad for Nikon - and they went so far as to make us cover the camera brand (one of ours, that is) when it did not say "Nikon".  But they paid us well, so I gave them the honor of covering the interloper's ID.

Best wishes for the Brits to get something out of the Intel ad - beyond what they've already got, at least.

[velocity]

FOLKS . . .

From Richard Noble:

"Huge battle going on here with Orange and Intel!  It seems that the Intel San Diego phone is being launched in the US as well. Could you have a look to see whether they are pirating ThrustSSC images in US as well?"

If anyone sees this commercial running in the USA, please give me a shout with PM or post it here. Noble will be very grateful for any help.

Speedy Regards,

LandSpeed Louise

[velocity]

oops!

Jon, I am guilty of NOT reading the section before posting and saw Robin's thread after the fact. I apologize and will do better in the future. . . .

LSL

[Robin UK]

Louise - I'mm cut to the quik!!! How could you possibly ignore me?  Seriously, no probs and thanks for spreading the word. Lawyers are now involved - ouch!. Could be costly for somebody so let's hope it's Orange (aka France Telecom) and Intel. Sad thing is that the whole campaign is rather good even though the product is unlikely to threaten Apple's iPhone.

In their response to the BBC, Orange/Intel say that they simply created a "generic" fast car for the ad. Don't think so. Take a look at this montage. What they've done looks pretty clear to me - their ad vehicle is the one in the middle btw 

Robin