I have been seeing a commercial in which the words of a patriotic song are changed to sell Old Navy merchandise. This offends me, especially when I think of how many people died for our country. Does anyone else feel this way? I am not usually bothered by commercials; I usually ignore them.
What song, and what lyrics?
Joe
I can’t find the commercial you’re referencing, but keep in mind that this retailer is marketing itself by quite deliberately invoking a branch of the military, dead sailors be damned, to peddle cargo shorts, bikinis and flip-flops, so I suppose there are lots of things at which we could take offense if we really put our minds to it.
If it’s a glurgy country patriotic song, then there is nothing that could debase the song any more than it already has been debased.
Here’s the commercial: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VKsuAI0M2nw
Pretty much every single company has a Fourth of July sale, complete with red, white, and blue everywhere. I don’t really see how this is more offensive than any of that.
Annoying? Yes. Offensive? No.
Given that Old Navy is participating in a nationwide donation drive for military care packages for the second year in a row, no I don’t really care if they changed the lines of a public domain song.
I watched the commercial. That’s “God Save the Queen,” isn’t it?
Yeah, hard to get offended since we cribbed the song from the British, anyway. And don’t get me started on the national anthem.
As long as I don’t have to listen to a bunch of celebrities singing, “Give a little bit”, I’m good.
I can’t say it bothers me at all. There’s really no such thing as a patriotic melody. Once you’ve changed the lyrics, it is no longer a patriotic song (or in the cases of John Brown’s Body or the Anacreontic Song, once you’ve changed the lyrics it becomes one).
Even without lyrics, though, melodies that are commonly recognized as patriotic can be changed by changing the context. After all, one of the most popular melodies from that font of stirring patriotic marches, John Phillip Sousa, is now best known as the theme for Monty Python’s Flying Circus.
Hey Brother, Minute you got a conception or something to hang over America… as soon as you pin her down, she will surorise ya. Your monolithic view will never trump my my view of exapansionism and wonder. And perhaps rolerence. You’re not really concerned about America. You are concerned about your stake and hopeless nostalgia. Everything that made America great militarily has been diffused and distorted thought the lense of the Republican Corporoindustral Machine has lost all honor and sense of justice. We fight for the same reasons all other fascist societies have fought. I’d be ashamed to be a soldier, today.
Is this a parody of something?
I find your position that one must never parody a patriotic song because “won’t someone think of the dead soldiers” much more offensive that a commercial using a familiar patiotic melody to sell flip-flops. Those dead soldiers fought for our right to mock and satirize our government and national character, as much as they fought for anything.
The thing I wonder about is whether, if there’s still a Martin Luther King Jr. Day 50 years or so from now, will there be ads featuring amusing caricatures of him hawking products the way they do now with Washington and Lincoln.
I assumed it was posted when not sober.
I have a dream… of mattress savings!
Yeah, I can see it.
It’s been interesting to read the responses. As I said, usually commercials don’t bother me at all, And I couldn’t figure out why this one did. I’m not a super-patriot, I don’t have a big flag in my yard, and July 4 is my least favorite holiday. My reaction to this commercial amazed me, so that’s why I asked. I usually watch everything through the DVR and just fast forward through the commercials, but last night I was watching something live and saw the commercial three or four times. It will all be over Monday and we can get on to the Back-To-School commercials.
I’m offended by the use of “vacay” rather than “vacation” in one of their commercials. It just sounds wrong!
Yeah, what about those sandwich shops that have the gall to call what they sell submarines?
And damn me for thinking “Hey, I could get out in front of the curve by cartooning “Li’l MLK” as a mascot!”