# I am the Lorax I speak of the cars **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [March 5, 2012, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-the-lorax-i-speak-of-the-cars/614823 "2012-03-05T15:59:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Buck\_Godot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/buck_godot/32/6573_2.png) [@Buck\_Godot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buck_Godot)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2012, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-the-lorax-i-speak-of-the-cars/614823/1 "2012-03-05T15:59:39Z")
From [here](The Lorax helps market Mazda SUVs to elementary school children nationwide) and elsewhere > [@](#): > > The Lorax — that squat orange creature Dr. Seuss created to speak for the trees — is now hawking SUVs at elementary schools across the land. This is Wrong! Wrong! Wrong! on so many levels I’m not sure which is worse: the total distortion of the Lorax’s message to the point of reversal? The crass a manipulation of our nation’s youth? The fact that school adminstrations agreed to what is basically one big car commercial? The fact that school funding is so low that they would agree to this for a lousy thousand bucks? Nothing left to do put throw up my hands (followed by my lunch), and hope the next dominant species on the planet can do a better job. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2012, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-the-lorax-i-speak-of-the-cars/614823/2 "2012-03-05T16:12:04Z")
I couldn’t get the link to work for some reason-[is this it?](http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/virginia-schools-insider/post/the-lorax-helps-market-mazda-suvs-to-elementary-school-children-nationwide/2012/02/28/gIQAQhRMiR_blog.html?tid=sm_twitter_washingtonpost) ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2012, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-the-lorax-i-speak-of-the-cars/614823/3 "2012-03-05T16:14:26Z")
I like that the top comment below the linked article is “Well, somebody has to teach these kids irony.” ---
**Author:** ![Buck\_Godot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/buck_godot/32/6573_2.png) [@Buck\_Godot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buck_Godot)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2012, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-the-lorax-i-speak-of-the-cars/614823/4 "2012-03-05T16:18:13Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > I couldn’t get the link to work for some reason-[is this it?](http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/virginia-schools-insider/post/the-lorax-helps-market-mazda-suvs-to-elementary-school-children-nationwide/2012/02/28/gIQAQhRMiR_blog.html?tid=sm_twitter_washingtonpost) Yes that’s it. sorry for the bad coding. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2012, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-the-lorax-i-speak-of-the-cars/614823/5 "2012-03-05T16:21:19Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > I couldn’t get the link to work for some reason-[is this it?](http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/virginia-schools-insider/post/the-lorax-helps-market-mazda-suvs-to-elementary-school-children-nationwide/2012/02/28/gIQAQhRMiR_blog.html?tid=sm_twitter_washingtonpost) From the story. > [@](#): > > Some reached out to touch the cars. A few kneeled to have their photographs taken. Others erupted into a spontaneous chant. “Lorax car, Lorax car, Lorax car!” they said. > > One of their classmates quietly objected. > > “The Lorax doesn’t drive a car,” he said. Smart kid. ---
**Author:** ![Hero\_From\_Sector\_7G](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/65b543/32.png) [@Hero\_From\_Sector\_7G](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hero_From_Sector_7G)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2012, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-the-lorax-i-speak-of-the-cars/614823/6 "2012-03-05T16:47:26Z")
The only thing of interest here is the how the advertising campaign sheds light on the cognitive dissonance most of us have in regards to environmentalism; SUVs aren’t bad, but dressing them up will inspire a pit thread. Good job, the Lorax would be proud. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2012, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-the-lorax-i-speak-of-the-cars/614823/7 "2012-03-05T17:14:06Z")
I don’t know. The school gets needed money, and no one is forcing the parents to buy a car. All they have to do is test drive one to get more money for the school library. If the administration and the parents are behind it, so be it. ---
**Author:** ![Phatlewt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a698b9/32.png) [@Phatlewt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phatlewt)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2012, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-the-lorax-i-speak-of-the-cars/614823/8 "2012-03-05T17:38:25Z")
Aside from the chutzpah of using Dr. Seuss’s cautionary tale of consumerism run amok to sell SUVs, there’s also the sad truth that we underfund our schools such that public schools need corporate sponsorship. ---
**Author:** ![MandaJo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac91a4/32.png) [@MandaJo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MandaJo)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2012, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-the-lorax-i-speak-of-the-cars/614823/9 "2012-03-05T17:46:51Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > I don’t know. The school gets needed money, and no one is forcing the parents to buy a car. All they have to do is test drive one to get more money for the school library. > > If the administration and the parents are behind it, so be it. But they are forcing the kids to listen to an advertising spiel in the middle of the instructional day. As a teacher, it’s kind of hard to, on one hand, claim that class time is this valuable and important thing that really can’t be wasted and then turn around and cancel lessons for the sake of advertisements that aren’t even vaguely relevant to the kids or the educational purpose of the school. And I think there’s a real risk of becoming dependent upon advertisers for operating expenses, which could lead to undue influence upon educational content. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2012, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-the-lorax-i-speak-of-the-cars/614823/10 "2012-03-05T17:50:18Z")
> [@MandaJo](#): > > And I think there’s a real risk of becoming dependent upon advertisers for operating expenses, which could lead to undue influence upon educational content. If it has already happened then it is no longer a “real risk”-it is a _fact_. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2012, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-the-lorax-i-speak-of-the-cars/614823/11 "2012-03-05T17:52:35Z")
I was watching _The Simpsons_ last night when they showed a Lorax commercial for Mazda, and I could not believe what I was seeing. Is Theodore Geisel rolling over in his grave right now or what? ---
**Author:** ![MandaJo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac91a4/32.png) [@MandaJo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MandaJo)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2012, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-the-lorax-i-speak-of-the-cars/614823/12 "2012-03-05T17:56:55Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > If it has already happened then it is no longer a “real risk”-it is a _fact_. Well, we haven’t seen if teachers were discouraged from pointing out the irony, or if the library’s public funding was reduced by the amount of the donation, moving it was “nice to have” into “critical for operations”. ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2012, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-the-lorax-i-speak-of-the-cars/614823/13 "2012-03-05T18:44:50Z")
> [@Hero\_From\_Sector\_7G](#): > > The only thing of interest here is the how the advertising campaign sheds light on the cognitive dissonance most of us have in regards to environmentalism; SUVs aren’t bad, but dressing them up will inspire a pit thread. > > Good job, the Lorax would be proud. We’re sorry, **Hero**. Thank you for being the wise voice of… Wait. What exactly the fuck are you saying? ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2012, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-the-lorax-i-speak-of-the-cars/614823/14 "2012-03-05T18:49:18Z")
It’s not as though public schools haven’t exploited kids to make ends meet before. [Channel One News - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Channel_One_News) ---
**Author:** ![Beastly\_Rotter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/45deac/32.png) [@Beastly\_Rotter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beastly_Rotter)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2012, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-the-lorax-i-speak-of-the-cars/614823/15 "2012-03-05T19:04:41Z")
But I still need a Thneed, right? ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2012, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-the-lorax-i-speak-of-the-cars/614823/16 "2012-03-05T19:08:47Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > Is Theodore Geisel rolling over in his grave right now or what? One tidbit I heard on the radio the other day was that “The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T” was the first film with a major emphasis on commercial tie-ins. There were lots of toys marketed with the film, decades before Star Wars. Mr Geisel might not be as troubled by this as you think, although the environmental message in “The Lorax” is certainly a different kettle of fish. ---
**Author:** ![Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hentor_the_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2012, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-the-lorax-i-speak-of-the-cars/614823/17 "2012-03-05T19:19:20Z")
Everybody do do do do do do do need a Mazda. (Thunder stolen by Beastly Rotter.) ---
**Author:** ![Dendarii\_Dame](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbce88/32.png) [@Dendarii\_Dame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dendarii_Dame)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2012, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-the-lorax-i-speak-of-the-cars/614823/18 "2012-03-05T19:27:05Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > I was watching _The Simpsons_ last night when they showed a Lorax commercial for Mazda, and I could not believe what I was seeing. Is Theodore Geisel rolling over in his grave right now or what? Remember the episode where Krusty became a standup comic known for his cynicism about corporate America? And then he sold out to do a commercial for the Canyonero SUV? “Top of the line in utility sports/Unexplained fires are a matter for the courts!” ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2012, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-the-lorax-i-speak-of-the-cars/614823/19 "2012-03-05T20:20:31Z")
> [@MandaJo](#): > > But they are forcing the kids to listen to an advertising spiel in the middle of the instructional day. As a teacher, it’s kind of hard to, on one hand, claim that class time is this valuable and important thing that really can’t be wasted and then turn around and cancel lessons for the sake of advertisements that aren’t even vaguely relevant to the kids or the educational purpose of the school. > > And I think there’s a real risk of becoming dependent upon advertisers for operating expenses, which could lead to undue influence upon educational content. I agree. I don’t have kids, but I wouldn’t them to be advertised to in school. But if that school district (teachers, administrators and parents) are OK with it, then so be it. Do we know what the parents think? ---
**Author:** ![Greg\_Charles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/839c29/32.png) [@Greg\_Charles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Greg_Charles)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2012, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-the-lorax-i-speak-of-the-cars/614823/20 "2012-03-06T00:42:52Z")
When I was in junior high, we’d have some company come in once a year, and in a special class-canceling assembly, exhort us kids to sell magazines for them. The school got some money and we got prizes. I suppose exhorting kids to sell Mazdas to their parents isn’t much worse. Anyway, it looks like they were intentionally playing up the environment, since the CX-5 gets better mileage than other SUVs. Maybe the Lorax composed verses about how this SUV destroys his world so much slower than a Humvee or Suburban, and not that much faster than a mid-sized family car. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-the-lorax-i-speak-of-the-cars/614823.md?page=2)