SilverNRed Posted February 5, 2007 Posted February 5, 2007 I'm really starting to wonder how hard it is to get a job at the New York Times. At this point I think you can just get wasted and scribble some stuff on a Burger King napkin and it'll be in the paper the next day. Link February 5, 2007Advertising Super Bowl Ads of Cartoonish Violence, Perhaps Reflecting Toll of War By STUART ELLIOTT No commercial that appeared last night during Super Bowl XLI directly addressed Iraq, unlike a patriotic spot for Budweiser beer that ran during the game two years ago. But the ongoing war seemed to linger just below the surface of many of this year’s commercials. More than a dozen spots celebrated violence in an exaggerated, cartoonlike vein that was intended to be humorous, but often came across as cruel or callous. For instance, in a commercial for Bud Light beer, sold by Anheuser-Busch, one man beat the other at a game of rock, paper, scissors by throwing a rock at his opponent’s head. In another Bud Light spot, face-slapping replaced fist-bumping as the cool way for people to show affection for one another. In a FedEx commercial, set on the moon, an astronaut was wiped out by a meteor. In a spot for Snickers candy, sold by Mars, two co-workers sought to prove their masculinity by tearing off patches of chest hair. Obviously. Seriously, right after the Snickers ad where the two guys accidentally kiss, I looked at my dad and said "Iraq" and he nodded his head. My big problem with that ad was that it was almost too heavy-handed with its strong anti-war message. If stupidity was a building, this article could have ended right here and been the HSBC Tower in Buffalo. But Stuart Elliott keeps going and eventually constructs the Sears Tower of stupidity. Then, too, there was the unfortunate homonym at the heart of a commercial from Prudential Financial, titled “What Can a Rock Do?” The problem with the spot, created internally at Prudential, was that whenever the announcer said, “a rock” — invoking the Prudential logo, the rock of Gibraltar — it sounded as if he were saying, yes, “Iraq.” To be sure, sometimes “a rock” is just “a rock,” and someone who has watched the Super Bowl XIX years in a row only for the commercials may be inferring things that Madison Avenue never meant to imply. Soooooo.....Prudential Financial came up with their logo and slogan years in advance to reference the eventual Iraq War? What the hell? Still no word on if the Sierra Mist commercials were a reference to Katrina. Prudential Financial Logo
Hollywood Donahoe Posted February 5, 2007 Posted February 5, 2007 The mainstream media is simply obsessed with Iraq. To hear them tell it, there's nothing else going on in the world.
KD in CA Posted February 5, 2007 Posted February 5, 2007 Simply in keeping with the New York Times motto of "All the news that can be twisted into BUSH BAD! we can print".
Chilly Posted February 5, 2007 Posted February 5, 2007 Simply in keeping with the New York Times motto of "All the news that can be twisted into BUSH BAD! we can print". Yeah, the article is really saying "BUSH BAD!". Especially since, you know, it doesn't even mention Bush once. SNR is right, this guy is a jackass. He was probably told by the Times to write a soft news piece on Superbowl commercials. He attempted to find deeper messages in these commercials instead of just realizing that they're !@#$ing commercials, not movies, and their entire purpose is to sell products.
MattyT Posted February 5, 2007 Posted February 5, 2007 I'm not sure what credentials you need to be an Advertising Commentator at any paper, but it seems painfully obvious that Stuart Elliot is under-qualified.
5 Wide Posted February 5, 2007 Posted February 5, 2007 My bowl of cheerios this morning spelled "ooooooooooooooooooooooo" It gave me a chill. I felt like Al Qaeda was in my spying on me from the hallway.
/dev/null Posted February 6, 2007 Posted February 6, 2007 The mainstream media is simply obsessed with Iraq. To hear them tell it, there's nothing else going on in the world. Now that's not a fair assessment. There's Global Warming and Lindsay Lohan too
erynthered Posted February 6, 2007 Posted February 6, 2007 Now that's not a fair assessment. There's Global Warming in Lindsay Lohan too Fixed.
molson_golden2002 Posted February 6, 2007 Posted February 6, 2007 I'm really starting to wonder how hard it is to get a job at the New York Times. At this point I think you can just get wasted and scribble some stuff on a Burger King napkin and it'll be in the paper the next day. Link Obviously. Seriously, right after the Snickers ad where the two guys accidentally kiss, I looked at my dad and said "Iraq" and he nodded his head. My big problem with that ad was that it was almost too heavy-handed with its strong anti-war message. If stupidity was a building, this article could have ended right here and been the HSBC Tower in Buffalo. But Stuart Elliott keeps going and eventually constructs the Sears Tower of stupidity. Soooooo.....Prudential Financial came up with their logo and slogan years in advance to reference the eventual Iraq War? What the hell? Still no word on if the Sierra Mist commercials were a reference to Katrina. Prudential Financial Logo Oh my! You have found the smoking gun! Yes, this one op-ed from the advertising section proves your theory about the media. The, "Oh, they're, like all stupid, ya know," theory. Come on. I know what you are doing. You are trying to "prove" that Bush and Cheney's words about Iraq "progress" are correct and the entire media is just, well, stupid. Believe the politicians! They are the truth!
molson_golden2002 Posted February 6, 2007 Posted February 6, 2007 The mainstream media is simply obsessed with Iraq. To hear them tell it, there's nothing else going on in the world. Yes, they should hide the story the way Bush hides caskets coming home from Iraq. Mommy, make it go away!
Chilly Posted February 6, 2007 Posted February 6, 2007 There really should be a new slogan for all you people, "MediaBAD!"
X. Benedict Posted February 6, 2007 Posted February 6, 2007 There really should be a new slogan for all you people, "MediaBAD!" actually the piece was stupidly titled - the writer does not have much control over the headline and the piece does not address any connection between a war toll and the shape of advertising other than an opening insinuation. Also there is no corroborating interviews with the folks that made the commercials to see if Iraq is what they had in mind. It is sloppy editing for their business section.
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