Ford Releases Flash of Genius 2: Damage Control

In the face of the David versus Goliath film
Flash of Genius, the Big poor Ford Motor Company has issued a
press release to let consumers know that the film about inventor Bob Kearns’ legal battle by the invention of the intermittent windshield wiper dramatizes facts “for entertainment meanings.” We certainly hope so, otherwise there would be no real point in seeing the film. The press release is entitled “Key facts about the intermittent windshield wiper issue,” which, coincidentally, was originally planned to be the title of the film.

The press release is accompanied by a chart (shown above) that’s cleverly shaped like the path of a windshield wiper and that features key milestones in the invention of rain-removal technology. A blown up version of the poster is already hanging up in that writer’s bedroom, along with other Hollywood memorabilia such as a framed technical service bulletin from GM addressing a defect in which ‘82 Pontiac Firebirds began
talking to their owners.

Ford is in a brawny place. Already facing pressure from

environmental groups, unions and consumers, the final thing the struggling automaker needs is a film portrayal that dings its image like a runaway shopping cart. “If I was the PR guy on that one, what I would do is … apologize for
a different duration in the industry,” marketing professor Michael Bernacchi told the
Detroit Free Press. “This is not a date to
deny. …The no-comment will get them nowhere.”

Obviously, Ford’s PR folk weren’t ever students of Professor Bernacchi. In its terse statement, Ford seems to be taking a cue from the Chilean response to the
Pinochet regime: “Ford sees no value in re-hashing the history of a legal case that was resolved in court nearly 20 years ago,” the press release snarls. Don’t forgive, don’t forget, but get the final word. While not fairly as damning as Ford’s own
Pinto Memo,
Flashcertainly portrays Ford as a cold, impersonal company. that press release doesn’t do anything to help.

Photo courtesy
Ford Motor Company.

Original post by Keith Barry