Maybe I need an "unethical" category, too
You know, I'm all for irony. In fact, in highschool I was known both for my sweetness and my sarcasm. Ironic, right? And I promise you, this blog would be far more cynically bitchy and sarcastic if it wasn't that those things don't really read well over the internet. Still, even for my taste, the new Diesel ads are a bit much. I mean, "Global Warming Ready?" Do we really want to glamorize the apolcalypse? Don't get me wrong, I love Diesel's controversial photography, and I know that the intent is not to glamorize global climate change. But regardless of weather or not that's the intent. . . doesn't it do so, just a little? I expect Diesel to be controversial and ironic. But I know a hell of a lot more about branding than most people do. I don't think most peopel are subtle enough to pick up on the paradoxical element of it. Let's face it: most consumers aren't English or Media Studies majors. Most people just aren't gonna get it. And therefore, since most people are going to take it in a straightforward sense, I don't like the message "Global Warming Ready."
Labels: Sustainable/Ethical
posted by La Principessa at 2:33 PM
13 Comments:
agree. not EVERYTHING needs to fit neatly into the pages of fashion magazines.
Exactly. I understand that Diesel needs to be provocative, but considering that 40% of Americans refuse to believe that Global Warming is happening at all, I think that it's too damn risky. Controversial is one thing. Stupid is another.
it's good to talk about advertising... i often get the feeling that they don't really want us to talk about it, just to obey....
i agree completely when i first saw that one in the desert with the sand running out of the shoe i thought how stupid are advertising campaigns becoming? i mean come on now people. i do love the pictures but they can say something else and still get the same kind of sales.
I hate the adds. It's as though golbal warming is a good thing. Which it isn't. Deisel should have thought those adds over.
I completely agree that advertising needs to be discussed--I'm not going to feel guilty about being consumer--after all, who isn't? But in order to be a good consumer, you MUST be a critical one!
And Lena, I agree, it's just thoughtless. I totally understand that the adds are satirical, but the fact of the matter is that most people are just going to think that it's trivializing global warming. Which is so, so, so not ok.
Awesome post. I love the line "Do we really want to glamorize the apolcalypse?" So right.
Becoming earth friendly is very "in" right now. I guess it's Earth Awareness month, and after Al Gore's movie everyone's awareness is heightened, but yeah, this is a bit much.
Love it, you need an unethical or at least stupidity category.
So glad you bring this up! I admit I do like the irony of the ads, I just think it has been taken too far. I like the one you showed a photo of because it has kind of a wtf are these tropical birds doing here? feel to it. But the one with Mt Rushmore and the Eiffel tower... it really seems like it's glamorizing it to such an extent that I worry what some people think when they look at it. Just because in those two ads and others it seems like the models are enjoying that they now live in a paradise because of global warming. I think the ads could have been done in such a way that they could still have used the same high-impact images but the models could look "distressed" rather than so happy. That sounds kinda dumb and I suppose with branding you don't want the people in your ads to look unhappy, but I think they can make the models and clothes look "cool" and desirable anyways. (I admit I don't know much about advertising though.) Especially now that "being green" is so trendy (but hopefully not just a trend) I think that it would benefit Diesel to show that they have this awareness. Which is funny, because I think they ARE trying to do this, but like you said I don't think everyone will get it. I think it comes across as them just joking about it which just leads to trivializing something that is such a serious subject.
p.s. jeez, sorry I wrote such a book
Especially subversive as St. Mark's Square in Venice (see background) is going to be flooded a few years from global warming anyway.
Long before its warm enough for the parrots.
What I like about this ad is that it gives its audience some credit. Too many ads speak to me like I'm a vacant twit just because I follow fashion.
And frankly I don't think about eco-issues as often as I should, and this is a very pointed way of reminding me.
hi..great post, you inspired me to share my own thoughts about it too on my blog. my professor showed us this ad in one of my media studies courses and I agree completely with what you said. i'd love to exchange links as i'm a new blogger. my address is http://selfcontainedmonad.blogspot.com/
Hi Merideth, don't apologize! I enjoyed reading your response.
Fauchon Junkie, I actually really like adds that are a little intellectual, too.
Tsubibo, I loved your post on this! You went into far more depth than I can, considering that my post was little more than a whiny "This is irresponsable." You articulated what I should have--it's not that it's wrong for advertising to be aware of world issues, it's that the messages it sends are completely contradictory.
Post a Comment
<< Home