Substantially less than mollified
A few weeks after I contacted VW to let them know how unsavory their new fast ads are, one of their lackeys responded:
Right, I must have forgotten somewhere between 7th grade English and graduate studies in literature that "clever and innovative" means "discriminatory and retrograde." Somehow I am neither refreshed, nor entertained by their women-hating.
I hate to be the one to point fingers, but it feels like our country's current administration has something to do with the market's embrace of what seems best described as a "fuck all, I'm the MAN" attitude promoted on a rash of commercials today. That in this era of testosterone-charged machismo, we've ushered in a crueler, more violent national creed. In a nation where the media defines every political policy as a "War," where the president gads about in a Top Gun costume, where torture becomes a new American export, and where wars on foreign territory stand in for foreign policy, it is not surprising that violence has become the new American ideal.
And so I see the VW "fast" as part of a crop of violent and destructive ads, such as the ad promoting the new Gap store in Manhattan featuring out-of-control customers and employees gleefully destroying the old building, or the Toyota ad which hypes larger than life destruction with a meteor careering into the earth, or the energy drink ad showcasing a robotic scare-crow blasting away farm vermin, including hippies.
I could go on; violence has become such a norm that we are nearly blind to its subtle variants of discrimination, such that marketers can label this violence as "refreshing," "entertaining," and "innovative."
Thank you for sharing your comments with our Volkswagen website. We have noted your concerns and would like to apologize if you found the nature of this ad offensive.
We here at Volkswagen of America strive to share the experience of our brand of driving excitement to Volkswagen Enthusiast's [sic] through clever and innovative spots, created by a refreshing and entertaining national advertising campaign.
Please accept our apology, once again. We appreciate your submission and invite you to visit again soon!
Ivan
Volktalk
Right, I must have forgotten somewhere between 7th grade English and graduate studies in literature that "clever and innovative" means "discriminatory and retrograde." Somehow I am neither refreshed, nor entertained by their women-hating.
I hate to be the one to point fingers, but it feels like our country's current administration has something to do with the market's embrace of what seems best described as a "fuck all, I'm the MAN" attitude promoted on a rash of commercials today. That in this era of testosterone-charged machismo, we've ushered in a crueler, more violent national creed. In a nation where the media defines every political policy as a "War," where the president gads about in a Top Gun costume, where torture becomes a new American export, and where wars on foreign territory stand in for foreign policy, it is not surprising that violence has become the new American ideal.
And so I see the VW "fast" as part of a crop of violent and destructive ads, such as the ad promoting the new Gap store in Manhattan featuring out-of-control customers and employees gleefully destroying the old building, or the Toyota ad which hypes larger than life destruction with a meteor careering into the earth, or the energy drink ad showcasing a robotic scare-crow blasting away farm vermin, including hippies.
I could go on; violence has become such a norm that we are nearly blind to its subtle variants of discrimination, such that marketers can label this violence as "refreshing," "entertaining," and "innovative."
posted by aelis at 9:47 AM
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