Pontiac - Wide Track

Often times, advertisers take beloved cartoon characters and use them to promote their products.  It makes sense.  People like the cartoon characters, so they'll have good feelings when thinking about the product.

This Pontiac commercial from the 1998 Super Bowl features the Road Runner and his arch nemesis Wile E. Coyote.

The commercial starts out in a familiar manner: The coyote is trying to catch the Road Runner.  To gain an advantage, he utilizes technology from the ACME corporation.  But the technology backfires, and the Road Runner gets away.

So far, this is just like the cartoons we all used to know and love. 

But the next time around, something has changed!  This time, Wile has wisely ordered a Pontiac Wide Track.  Thanks to the Pontiac, he is able to stay in pursuit and eventually catch up to his feathered nemesis.

Wait a second...aren't we rooting against the coyote?  Aren't we supposed to want the Road Runner to escape? 

Why the hell did they give the featured product to the cartoon's antagonist?  Is this the message they really wanted to send: It helps the bad guys win?

The commercial thankfully ends before we actually see the coyote catch the Road Runner, but it seems obvious how this is all going to eventually play out: The Road Runner is going to be the coyote's dinner.

I'm surprised that Pontiac didn't follow this up with a commercial where Bugs Bunny gets run over by Elmer Fudd's Grand Prix.
Rating: 1 TV - If there was anyone out there who had really been clamoring to see Wile E. Coyote finally win, then this commercial is for you.  For the rest of the country, I think it might be a little disturbing.