John Oliver eviscerated General Motors on Sunday with a fake ad that used a number of the 69 words the carmaker urged workers not to use in a previously "confidential" PowerPoint made public last Friday.
The list, released by the federal government as part of a settlement over the company's bungled recall of defective cars, discouraged workers from using such terms as apocalyptic, cataclysmic, deathtrap, decapitating and Kevorkianesque.
On his Sunday HBO show, “Last Week Tonight,” the comedian noted that the company held meetings to discuss the faulty ignition switches that are linked to at least 13 deaths. He imagined executives bouncing around phrases and words they believed would be associated with the issue.
“There are no bad ideas here,” Oliver quipped, pretending to be a GM employee. “Just bad cars.”
The hilarious fake ad, which starts at 1:44 in the video above, tells viewers "driving a GM car is so smooth it's like butter -- and you're toast!"
The final pitch line: "Why walk through the valley of the shadow of death when you can drive?"
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