# "COVER the EARTH"?!! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [August 11, 2003, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cover-the-earth/194426 "2003-08-11T17:10:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Avalonian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ee7513/32.png) [@Avalonian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Avalonian)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2003, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cover-the-earth/194426/1 "2003-08-11T17:10:11Z")
A mini-rant, because I’m busy today. How fucked up is [this shit](http://www.sherwin-williams.com/)? My wife and I first saw the image in question, on the right side of the splash page linked above, on a Sherwin-Williams truck while driving to California for a short vacation. It put both of us off. Seeing it again yesterday, while looking for paints, just made me mad again. A) Covering the world in paint (bright red paint, even) is a bad, bad idea on so many levels. What possible point could there be to such an ad campaign? It bothers me to see such a concept, even if its an exaggeration, espoused as the central theme of any company. B) On a metaphorical level it’s pretty bad too… thanks to the color they chose for their display, it looks like the Earth is being drenched in fresh blood. Nice touch. In short, S-W has pretty much driven me _away_ from ever buying their paints with this one image, which they seem to be plastering everywhere they can. Too bad, because we’ve got a lot of painting to be doing in our house in the near future. I’ll buy Martha Stewart paints before I buy this shit. Shallow? Perhaps… but a stupid (and mildly offensive) ad campaign has this sort of effect on me. ---
**Author:** ![UrbanChic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/9dc877/32.png) [@UrbanChic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UrbanChic)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2003, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cover-the-earth/194426/2 "2003-08-11T17:17:10Z")
Isn’t it customary to link to the thread you’re parodying? ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Ashtar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ea924/32.png) [@Lord\_Ashtar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Ashtar)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2003, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cover-the-earth/194426/3 "2003-08-11T17:23:38Z")
Dude, are you for real? ---
**Author:** ![World\_Eater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f04885/32.png) [@World\_Eater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/World_Eater)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2003, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cover-the-earth/194426/4 "2003-08-11T17:29:03Z")
If you put your ear real close to the OP, you can hear the ocean. ---
**Author:** ![Coldfire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a587f6/32.png) [@Coldfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coldfire)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2003, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cover-the-earth/194426/5 "2003-08-11T17:29:36Z")
Should we reveal to him that Chevrolets aren’t _really_ made of rock either, or would that be too much for one day? ---
**Author:** ![Avalonian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ee7513/32.png) [@Avalonian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Avalonian)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2003, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cover-the-earth/194426/6 "2003-08-11T17:30:08Z")
_laughs_ I like the fact that **World Eater** responded to this. My day is complete. ---
**Author:** ![lno](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a8b319/32.png) [@lno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lno)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2003, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cover-the-earth/194426/7 "2003-08-11T17:31:20Z")
No, no, Chevrolets are _like_ a rock. Or so James Coburn has told me. ---
**Author:** ![Avalonian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ee7513/32.png) [@Avalonian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Avalonian)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2003, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cover-the-earth/194426/8 "2003-08-11T17:32:19Z")
Me too! What a coincidence… ---
**Author:** ![Kantalooppi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/a5b964/32.png) [@Kantalooppi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kantalooppi)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2003, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cover-the-earth/194426/9 "2003-08-11T17:35:21Z")
Of course, the ad’s subversive. I mean, the ad gets a _whole new meaning_ when you consider that “SWP” can also stand for “Socialist Workers’ Party”. Hee hee hee. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2003, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cover-the-earth/194426/10 "2003-08-11T17:37:08Z")
How about if I just paint the _town_ red? On the off-chance the OP is serious: SW has been using this logo(in various forms) for several decades, if not from the beginning. It’s not a new thing by any means. ---
**Author:** ![Planet\_of\_the\_Shapes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b77776/32.png) [@Planet\_of\_the\_Shapes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Planet_of_the_Shapes)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2003, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cover-the-earth/194426/11 "2003-08-11T17:43:02Z")
I think you need to relax. Its just a corporate slogan. If it said “drown small children in paint” then you might have a point, but it doesn’t. Having said though - it is a crap slogan. I mean, who’s going to see that and feel inspired to go out and buy their paint? ---
**Author:** ![Avalonian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ee7513/32.png) [@Avalonian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Avalonian)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2003, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cover-the-earth/194426/12 "2003-08-11T17:43:40Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by jr8 \* > \*\*SW has been using this logo(in various forms) for several decades, if not from the beginning. It’s not a new thing by any means. \*\* Huh… well, I really hadn’t seen it before, so that’s something. I’m not particularly serious, though. For one thing, I’m not all that busy… I’m working, but very very bored. Just wanted to rant about something stupid. Picked a good topic, no? 😛 **Kantalooppi** … OH. MY. GAWD! I think you’ve uncovered the secret plot behind this subliminal advertising. Watch your door… they may be coming for you right now! ---
**Author:** ![Avalonian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ee7513/32.png) [@Avalonian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Avalonian)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2003, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cover-the-earth/194426/13 "2003-08-11T17:44:46Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Planet of the Shapes \* > \*\*Having said though - it is a crap slogan. I mean, who’s going to see that and feel inspired to go out and buy their paint? \*\* That was pretty much my feeling on it too. Just wanted to have some fun with it. ---
**Author:** ![Mac\_Guffin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/2bfe46/32.png) [@Mac\_Guffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mac_Guffin)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2003, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cover-the-earth/194426/14 "2003-08-11T17:51:28Z")
Dude, that ad campaign is like a hundred years old, and you are JUST NOW noticing it? Sheesh. ---
**Author:** ![Mac\_Guffin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/2bfe46/32.png) [@Mac\_Guffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mac_Guffin)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2003, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cover-the-earth/194426/15 "2003-08-11T18:00:02Z")
I am tooo slow. ---
**Author:** ![Avalonian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ee7513/32.png) [@Avalonian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Avalonian)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2003, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cover-the-earth/194426/16 "2003-08-11T18:02:14Z")
Me too, apparently. ---
**Author:** ![KarmaComa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e36b37/32.png) [@KarmaComa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarmaComa)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2003, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cover-the-earth/194426/17 "2003-08-11T18:03:08Z")
**Particlewill** , I can’t believe you’re dissing someone for seeing an ad for the first time. **World Eater** , I may be the only one here who completely agrees with you. I think that the attitude that the image conveys (sure, in complete hyperbole) is fucking disgusting, and disgustingly everpresent. Mind you, it makes sense that it’s 50 years old. It stinks of the kind of mindless, post-war commercial bombast you’d see in a Tim Burton suberb. In that sense, it’s just laughable that the company hasn’t updated their campaign (or the attitude they convey). ---
**Author:** ![World\_Eater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f04885/32.png) [@World\_Eater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/World_Eater)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2003, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cover-the-earth/194426/18 "2003-08-11T18:04:32Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Avalonian \* > \*\*_laughs_ I like the fact that **World Eater** responded to this. My day is complete. \*\* Perhaps I’ll change my name to **World Painter** and get to work. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2003, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cover-the-earth/194426/19 "2003-08-11T18:35:32Z")
**Cantalooppi** , you may just have hit on the topic for the next great conspiracy theory. After all, we’re now certain that Proctor and Gamble are really Satanists, and Arm & Hammer is in cahoots with Occidental Petroleum to foster International Communism – this is the obvious next step?! :smack: **Coldie** and **lno** : Probably the dictionary definition of “irony” could be that someone records a song about integrity, and then it’s sold to sell a product (with not even a reference to the point of the song)! :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2003, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cover-the-earth/194426/20 "2003-08-11T18:58:16Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by lno \* > \*\*No, no, Chevrolets are _like_ a rock. Or so James Coburn has told me. \*\* James Garner, isn’t it? (I have too much time on my hands…and nobody knows it but me…) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cover-the-earth/194426.md?page=2)