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David Spates Jeeps shouldn't be shown on the beach Something about that Jeep commercial bugged
me. I wasn't sure exactly what it was that had rubbed me the
wrong way, but something sure did. As I sat there wondering what
exactly it was about this television commercial that irked me
so, my Dad hit the nail on the head. "That's cheap, showing the Jeeps on the
Normandy beach," he said. Exactly. That's precisely the element of the
Jeep commercial which was so disconcerting. In case you haven't seen it, allow me to describe
it. The commercial shows the beach at Normandy during D-Day.
Weary American soldiers, the ones who survived the epic assault,
are shown piled into a World War II vintage Jeep as it climbs
a steep sandy hill. As the soldiers' image fades, it's replaced
by a handful of shiny modern Jeeps posed on the beach. Dad was right. It's a cheap stunt. Jeeps played a vital role in the World War
II. There's no denying that, and no reason to deny it. The Jeeps
proved themselves to be tough, powerful, versatile and the perfect
tool for the tasks at hand. Gen. George Marshall even went so
far as to call the Jeep "America's greatest contribution
to modern warfare." But to use the images of D-Day, a battle
in which as many as 6,000 Allied soldiers were killed in the
first day, as a ploy to sell SUVs is just, as Dad said, cheap.
Certainly DaimlerChrysler can find a pitch that doesn't employ
emotional blackmail to sell overpriced four-wheel drives that
don't hold a candle to their rugged 1940s-era predecessors. If DaimlerChrysler wanted to remind the buying
public of the role Jeeps played in American history, that would
be one thing, but to show the Jeeps standing proudly on the same
beach where our grandfathers died is crass and insensitive. And that got me thinking some more. If the makers of Jeeps are willing to take
advantage of patriotic feelings tied to World War II in an effort
to boost their bottom line, I wonder what other tasteless tricks
Madison Ave. has up its sleeve, particularly in the wake of the
Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Now, come on. You don't honestly think this
sense of nationalistic community and helping-thy-neighbor will
continue forever, do you? It's a matter of time before the lawsuits,
filed on behalf of the victims' families, start rolling in, if
they haven't already. There are plenty of slimeballs out there
who are concerned with nothing more than making a buck, and the
deaths of thousands of innocent people will prove to be too much
of a temptation for them to ignore. All of this may sound harsh and cynical, and
I hope I'm wrong, but I doubt I am. I know how the money-grubbers
of this world think. Any angle that increases the odds of cashing
in is fair game. Damn the consequences and full speed ahead.
It started happening hours after the first plane crashed into
the World Trade Center. There were reports of a few gas stations
in the Midwest charging more than $4 for a gallon of unleaded.
They had no basis for such a price increase other than they thought
people would pay it. They were hoping to capitalize. Now before you Jeep fans get all bent out
of shape, don't think for a second that I'm comparing the Normandy
commercial to the wave of World Trade Center ambulance chasing
I fear is coming. The commercial simply got me wondering - a
graceless commercial that led me to consider other avenues of
thought, that's all. What I am saying is that sometimes more consideration should be given to the message before it's presented. My grandfather fought in World War II, and he made it home alive. Thousands of men didn't, and their memories shouldn't be used to sell the latest suburban gas-guzzlers. · · · |