I have often felt that advertisers can do a lot for setting the pace of how our society acts. For the past few years and especially the last two years I wonder about which came first in society's actions.
Do advertisers act upon the jaded view society takes on most things today or do advertiser's commercials create a "monkey see, monkey do" scenario for our immature youth to emulate?
A few years back there was a car advertiser showing a beautiful couple driving a convertible car at full speed down a highway while tearing off their clothing and throwing it out of the car leading one to believe that eventually this driver and passenger would be nude. I suppose, depending on one's mentality and values one could come to that final judgment.
Then about two or three years ago a sub sandwich manufacturer showed a man in a business suit, complete with a briefcase, running up to a female wolf nursing her pups and this guy diving in to suckle among the pups. That one was enough to question the mentality of the advertiser and I wrote them about the bad taste of this ad only to receive an answer that they thought the ad was humorous. I now boycott that advertiser's product.
This year the advertising has either gotten worse or I have gotten much older and at the age of 73 just cannot believe my eyes and ears. Where have all the good guys gotten to?
A fast food restaurant in the summer of 2008 has had two advertisements airing. One where a woman comes up to two men who are eating a hamburger and asks one what he did to deserve the burger and he tells her some heroic deed and she accepts his answer. She then asks the same question of the 2 nd fellow eating his burger and he tells her he just likes them and the next thing we know she slugs him! Is this burger maker advocating physical violence?
The second commercial from the same company goes along in the same vein where a fellow at an office vending machine asks the same question to which the one burger eater states he found a new star and the 2 nd burger eater answers the question with the statement that he helped. The questioner then sneers at the 2 nd burger eater and verbally abuses him, calling him names and I can only presume that this fast food chain also advocates verbal abuse.
Is this what the world has come to? Is this supposed to be funny? Is this setting a fine example for our young viewers? I think not! So this advertiser is now on my long growing boycott list.
A major telephone provider has decided to sponsor thieves with their latest ad since it shows a guy in the next booth to a diner who leaves his palm phone or whatever on the table and the guy in the next booth sneaks his arm over and uses the diners phone while the commentator tells us all the great things that can be done on the owner's instrument and when the owner tries to take his property back, the thief smacks the owner's hand. Great! Well, I guess this provider just made my list.
The worst one to date is the latest ice cream manufacturer's ad which shows a bunch of little kids playing soccer and a bunch of adults standing around when the ball heads over this one mom jumps out, kicks the ball, and screams right in a little kid's face, "In your face" stopping the stunned little boy right in his tracks! Nice one guys! Shame on you for advocating parental interference in a child's game and for showing terrible parental behavior! I will never buy another ice cream anything from your company ever again.
Now if you like this form of advertisement then that is o.k. because we all have our own values. However, if you don't then do something about it by letting the advertiser know they are lowering the standards of our society by praising and emulating poor taste or poor behavior. Let them know with emails or written letters and tell them you are not going to buy their products.
There are still a lot of responsible advertiser's out there and we support them. However, as parents if we are complacent about what the advertisers are saying to our young viewers then we are not doing a good job for our children.
This in only my opinion. What do you think?
