Stay Free! | 27 November
Carrie McLaren
carrie at stayfreemagazine.org
Mon Nov 26 19:29:11 EST 2001
Hello, I hope everyone had a pleasant holiday and watched as much
television as I did. For the next STAY FREE, I'd like to compile some
of the worst examples of advertisers exploiting the war in
Afghanistan. . . so if you see anything egregious, let me know.
Financial services seem to be leading the pack, reminding those who
dare forget that investing in multinational corporations equals
freedom. The New York Stock Exchange, for example, associates itself
with the civil rights movement with the tagline, "Let Freedom Ring."
A new trade group, Invest in US, is running an ad picturing Osama bin
Laden under the headline, "He wants you to sell."
(http://www.investinus.org) Syndicated gossip columnist Liz Smith got
the message, writing that "the most important thing for citizens of
any age--for themselves and for their Uncle Sam and as a tribute to
the thousands who likely died--would be to call a broker and buy
stock in American companies this week, and next week and the next."
(9/18/01)
In other markets: Chevrolet urges us to "Keep America Rolling" with a
commercial that juxtaposes dramatic scenes of firefighters with a
shot of a Chevy.
http://industry.adcritic.com/content/chevy-keep-america-rolling-no-interest.html
Newcastle Beer has advertising posters in bars that say, "Drink
Newcastle to help the victims of September 11." AT&T ran a
commercial using dramatic footage of the World Trade Center to sell
AT&T Wireless services. Also, a video on their website compares the
heroic work of firefighters to the heroic response of the AT&T
network (they're not kidding). See:
http://www.att.com/response/spirit_dial.ram
Then there are all the talking heads airing their perverted views
about how we should just go shopping. Dick Cheney, for one, has
called shopping a way for ordinary citizens to "stick their thumbs in
the eye of the terrorists" (LA Times, 9/17/01). He's not alone, as
dozens of local and national officials have echoed this sentiment.
As far as I'm concerned, pushing SUVs and clothes and junk food in a
time of crisis is one thing. But if companies want to capitalize on
the war, they could at least not lie about it. There's nothing heroic
about the 13 mpg that Chevrolet Suburbans get. And many of the same
companies invested in this rah-rah Americanism are simultaneously
behind the scenes influencing media coverage of the war. Shortly
after the September 11 attacks, Procter & Gamble (which owns Tide,
Pampers, Tampax, etc.) told magazines it advertises in that no P&G
ads can be placed within 6-8 pages of terrorist coverage. No doubt
other major corporations have followed suit. Why else do you think
the New York Times runs all the war coverage in a special section
without ads? Not because it doesn't want ads to get in the way of the
news, but because it doesn't want the news to get in the way of the
ads!
Ultimately, the problem with all the exhortations to spend is what's
missing. Shop. Just shop. Don't read about U.S. foreign policy, or
volunteer for a nonprofit, or write elected officials to let them
know where you stand. Shopping is the media's way of turning a
profit. And the government's way of keeping us stupid.
- - -
I was talking to a friend the other night who told me her post Sept.
11 pet peeve: people who drive around in SUVs decked out with U.S.
flags. That sort of gets to the heart of the contradiction: Instead
of a patriotism that favors conservation--thereby reducing our
reliance on foreign oil--Americans' love of country is instead built
around cheap flags and plastic replicas of the statue of Liberty.
Urgh.
- - -
LINKS OF NOTE
"Save Harry" Potter campaign against Coca-Cola:
http://www.saveharry.org
"Grow Your Own Rainforest"
http://www.zoo.nsw.gov.au/taronga/gorilla/activities/frameset.htm
McDonald's has sponsored a kids' website with a section called "Grow
Your Own Rainforest." Yeah, kids, McDonald's may be killing off the
rainforests but, hey, you can just grow another one! Sorta like SUV
ads that promote getting back to nature while you in fact destroy
it...
"How Dare They.org
http://www.howdarethey.org
New site that challenges wartime profiteering by corporations.
Includes a handy form for writing your government representatives.
"School Sells Naming Rights to Gym"
http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/ap/20011116/bs/gym_sponsor_2.html
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