There’s this commercial I saw for Plumrose ham slices where this man is shown enjoying the heck out of a big, fat, delicious ham sandwich. You see his hands holding the sandwich tenderly and his mouth lovely caressing each bite of the delectable treat but you don’t see the rest of him or his whole face until the camera pulls back and reveals he is a Hasidic Jew eating at a workbench in his basement with a single bare lightbulb overhead. His wife appears at the top of the stairs and inquires why he’s taking so long and he mumbles some excuse while palming the Plumrose bag.
Cute 'eh? What those crazy Jews won’t do for a slice of ham!
The previously described commercial does not exist but this one does-
A sleek Chrysler car is seen driving through the night, twisting and turing it sinuous way along the road. It pulls into a barn and a shadowy figure gets out and pulls a tarp over it to hide it. The figure comes toward the house, and in the light of the doorway a woman inquires if the approaching man is her husband and he say he is. His face comes into the light and it becomes evident he is a bearded Amish man.
Does Chrysler really think it’s OK to mock the seriousness one’s beliefs in this manner or do they just think they can pick on the Amish because they are low key and probably won’t sue. It was funny one one level but offensive as hell on the other.
I imagine there was some discussion about this in the ad agency when this commercial was filmed.
“This ad’s pretty offensive towards the Amish. What’s our downside?”
“They could boycott the product.”
“They already don’t buy cars.”
“They could boycott the stations that run the ad.”
“Ditto on watching TV.”
“They could threaten to harm us in some way.”
“Nope. Against everything they believe in.”
“So our only problem here is moral and ethical?”
“Pretty much.”
“Run that sucker.”
I don’t see how these commercials are any more offensive than the common phrase “I would kill for a (blank).” It’s not like they’re targeted toward the group in question, and they’re not disparaging. Just funny, suggesting that a product is SO GOOD that you’ll abandon your morals to get one. It’s over the top, and FUNNY!
Then again, I’m neither Jewish nor Amish, though a commercial with an Atheist falling to his knees and accepting Jesus for a burger would be pretty funny, I think.
There’s a commercial for some kind of car (I forget which one) which implies that this one guy is going to hell because he was too boring and didn’t buy their brand of car. Is that offensive to Christians?
John Paul sez - “Hey, offically I gotta you not to buy condoms, but if you’re gonna go ahead and do it anyway, I hear those ribbed Trojans drive the ladies wild.”
Astro, Perhaps the idea isn’t as “deep” “hidden” or “mocking” as you may think.
Perhaps they’re saying "Hey this car is so far out - even people who wouldn’t normally be impressed with such crap - LOVE IT!
Good marketing ploy, if you arent nose deep in conspiracy theories against worldwide religions.
Then again, i’ve never seen the commercial.
And if it is offensive to you - Write the bastards and tell them you’re offended. Hell, get an Amish picket line going… you may get some free cars out of it.
Azure Eternity: It’s not offensive to me, because any Christian (Or anyone for that matter) who is confident in their faith, wouldn’t be moved by something that rediculous. Of course, maybe their advertiser is the devil, and wants to upset as many as possible, while earning himself a few bucks selling cars to those people who looove or even hate the idea of going to hell, so much they’d spend $20k on a car to avoid it? It’s all humour right?
Just a ploy to make people laugh, and trust you on humour so much that they buy your junk.
That I don’t know either - But I can’t see being offended by it.
Recognize it’s absurdity sure - and probably NEVER buy that kind of car, indeed. But offended, never. I don’t think it’s my job to be weakened by bullshit propoganda on the television - threatening me to hell and such - when there are millions of paranoid people in the world, who don’t have a religion, to do it for me. (Cause God will choose my final destination, not the f’ing Ford Motor Company) In the meantime, I’ll enjoy laughing at goofy commercials.
Next they’ll have a commercial calling all Jetta owners "Auto-Nazi’s - But I sure as hell won’t sell it if they do.
Who says to laugh at myself I have to be the originator of the joke? Obviously if I’m laughing at a commercial making fun of artsy-fartsy types, not everyone involved in making that commercial was an artist.
So I see something in the commercial that rings true to life somehow, in a funny way, and laugh. You think no Amish person ever made a joke about their lack of acceptance of modern technology?
I bet there’s a whole genre of Amish stand-up comedy out there waiting to be discovered!
