Sharing

satyricon234 · Post by **satyricon234** » Tue Aug 17, 2004 6:44 am

Does anyone recall the concept of sharing? Apparently modern television advertising has decided that it is OK to be stingy and selfish if the product is good enough.

Last night I saw a McDonald's commercial that made me really mad. The slogan, "Protect your chicken" or something. The ad starts with someone hitting a volley ball and saying "If you take my nuggets this is your head." WHAT? Not only is it OK to be selfish but now they are condoning violent enforcement?

Another McDonald's offenders is the two girls who are out shopping. The impression throughout the commercial is they are best friends who share everything but when they go into a McD one girl refuses to share her french fries.

Then there is the Cheeze it commercials. Their slogan, "Get your own box." In these commercials it is also OK to lie to your significant other while being selfihs because the crackers are so good.

I don't get mad at much but I think people are rude and selfish enough without being encouraged by their Cathode Ray God.

Are commercials in other parts of the world as bad as those here in the USA?

susnfx · Post by **susnfx** » Tue Aug 17, 2004 7:03 am

In my experience the replies to this thread will go something like this:

"The concept of sharing is Christian; therefore, any commercial showing or encouraging sharing is simply another way the Christians are trying to force their ideology on everyone else. Blah, blah, blah, blah...."

Just so there's no misunderstanding, I'm posting this with tongue firmly planted in cheek and a winking eye.

Susan

BrassBlower · Post by **BrassBlower** » Tue Aug 17, 2004 7:28 am

or "this is an illustration of how selfish the Republicans/Democrats are."

GaryKelly · Post by **GaryKelly** » Tue Aug 17, 2004 7:39 am

I don't own a TV (haven't for nearly 4 years now) so I dunno if the same adverts (commercials) are on over here. Last time I saw TV the ads were all for low-cost loans, insurance, and how to sue people if you'd been injured in an accident.

vomitbunny · Post by **vomitbunny** » Tue Aug 17, 2004 7:48 am

Er,...ah.....sharing is for communist. Bad for the economy. Things like stinginess and divorce are good for the economy. Big business likes things like that. That's why a corporation can lose 20 million dollars due to poor management and still award 30 million in executive benifits. And if you don't go along with that....uh...you don't understand economics and are stupid...... So.....uh.......that's why we are the way we are.

JessieK · Post by **JessieK** » Tue Aug 17, 2004 8:03 am

My response is that junk food, such as the stuff in the commercials in question, appeals to the least common denominator, those who buy cheap crap food, regularly, instead of better food, and so does the behavior they demonstrate. America is getting more and more full of low- or no-income, undereducated people, and that's McDonald's (and other junk food makers') biggest demographic. The people who are willing to date/marry people who go to prison for short sentences for petty theft or violence and the like, those who have relatives who do those things, or those who do those things themselves, are the same people who make up most of the customers of junk food. Of course there are exceptions, but statistically, that's the way it is. They have middle class white chicks acting in those commercials so they can pretend that what I've pointed out isn't the case.

IDAwHOa · Post by **IDAwHOa** » Tue Aug 17, 2004 8:30 am

JessieK wrote:My response is that junk food, such as the stuff in the commercials in question, appeals to the least common denominator, those who buy cheap crap food, regularly, instead of better food, and so does the behavior they demonstrate. America is getting more and more full of low- or no-income, undereducated people, and that's McDonald's (and other junk food makers') biggest demographic. The people who are willing to date/marry people who go to prison for short sentences for petty theft or violence and the like, those who have relatives who do those things, or those who do those things themselves, are the same people who make up most of the customers of junk food. Of course there are exceptions, but statistically, that's the way it is. They have middle class white chicks acting in those commercials so they can pretend that what I've pointed out isn't the case.

Do you have studies to cite for those comments? or do you have your tounge "firmly planted in cheek and a winking eye"?

amar · Post by **amar** » Tue Aug 17, 2004 8:32 am

sure, i wouldn't want mcdonald's food every day...but i confess that I do like their food, always did.

carrie · Post by **carrie** » Tue Aug 17, 2004 8:35 am

I think you're all missing the point (but Jessie especially, I must say): nearly every ad, in my opinion, aimed at every socio-economic group, has that same theme: It's MINE MINE MINE. *I* have this car! *I* have Andersen windows! Advertising by its very nature is fundamentally anti-sharing. And even if the ads *show* something resembling sharing (guys being all warm and fuzzy together with their cans of beer), it's a SALES ploy, for heaven's sake, to try to make people feel they're doing something socially good if they buy a certain product. I haven't seen those McDonald's ads--they certainly sound awful. But to pretend that other ads are any better is naive, in my opinion.

Not that I have strong feelings about this stuff.

Carol

amar · Post by **amar** » Tue Aug 17, 2004 8:52 am

i want a bigmac, now.

IDAwHOa · Post by **IDAwHOa** » Tue Aug 17, 2004 8:53 am

cskinner wrote:I think you're all missing the point (but Jessie especially, I must say): nearly every ad, in my opinion, aimed at every socio-economic group, has that same theme: It's MINE MINE MINE. *I* have this car! *I* have Andersen windows! Advertising by its very nature is fundamentally anti-sharing. And even if the ads *show* something resembling sharing (guys being all warm and fuzzy together with their cans of beer), it's a SALES ploy, for heaven's sake, to try to make people feel they're doing something socially good if they buy a certain product. I haven't seen those McDonald's ads--they certainly sound awful. But to pretend that other ads are any better is naive, in my opinion.

Not that I have strong feelings about this stuff.

Carol

How about cosmetics commercials, or other beautification genre's? YOU ARE NOT GOOD ENOUGH. YOU NEED OUR PRODUCT TO FEEL BETTER ABOUT YOURSELF!!! YOU ARE WORTHLESS UNLESS YOU LOOK LIKE THE PERSON IN OUR AD

or

YOU ARE NOT WORTHY UNLESS YOU USE OUR PRODUCT.

Crimeny. I don't have many feeling about commercials either. I look at them as entertainment and would NEVER buy anything based on what is presented in a commercial.

Well, there was this one item a while ago....... :roll:

dubhlinn · Post by **dubhlinn** » Tue Aug 17, 2004 8:55 am

I agree with Carol,advertising is the ART of getting you to buy what you don't really need and probably didn't want in the first place.
I have never seen an add. that compelled me to buy whatever it was promoting.
MacD's adds are no worse than any other type of add in the sense that all advertising is a con.
What I do find objectionable is the hype and bombardment of adds geared to the "latest" movie merchandising junk especially when ,as is usually the case,aimed at young kids. In lower income families this can lead to serious problems to both the kids and to the parents who try to find the cash to buy this crap so their kid is not the only one on the block without the latest piece of crap.
Major restrictions are in place concerning the advertising of booze and ciggies,but when it comes to exploiting the dreams of little kids it seems to be a free for all with victory to whoever has the largest advertising budget.
The amount of junk my son had bought for him in his younger years was staggering but I could afford it .There were many who could not but bought it anyway out of love for their children and worried how to pay later.

Another gripe is that the adds get in the way of a good programme just that little bit to much for my ever declining concentration.

Slan,
eh..D.

amar · Post by **amar** » Tue Aug 17, 2004 8:55 am

not i want to put on lipstick. norcal, what have you done to me?

Martin Milner · Post by **Martin Milner** » Tue Aug 17, 2004 9:08 am

Do people really aspire to eat at McDonalds?

avanutria · Post by **avanutria** » Tue Aug 17, 2004 9:14 am

I think I had a birthday party there once, back when the Fry Kids were still major characters...