When this Chevrolet Super Bowl ad popped up Friday featuring a post-apocalyptic Silverado pickup and a sting at Ford, we noted it was a rare, but not unheard-of public joust between the two brands. Someone at Ford took it a little more personally: Not only did Ford ask General Motors to pull the ad, it pressured NBC to bench it from tonight's Super Bowl. The ad's still on.

In a statement released a few minutes ago, Chevrolet says Ford sent a cease and desist letter, demanding the spot showing Silverado owners munching Twinkies and mourning the non-survival of their Ford-owning buddy. A source familiar with the dispute says Ford also called on NBC to pull the $7 million, one-minute air time.

Joel Ewanick, GM Global Chief Marketing Officer, says Chevy was standing by its claims that the Silverado is "the most dependable, longest lasting full size pickup on the road."

"We can wait until the world ends, and if we need to, we will apologize," Ewanick said in a statement. "In the meantime, people who are really worried about the Mayan calendar coming true should buy a Silverado right away."

We asked Ford for a comment, and have yet to hear back; we'll update when we do. But all of this will be over sometime in the first quarter of the game when the Silverado ad is set to air, and where the Giants and the Patriots will settle their scores on the field.

See Motoramic's roundup of all of this year's automotive Super Bowl ads here