Tuesday, November 6, 2001

Advertisers, media working hard to sell patriotism
Laura B. Weiss is a columnist for the Daily Utah Chronicle at the University of Utah.

In a time of international crisis, Uncle Sam is quivering in his greenback-lined boots.

After the Sept. 11 attacks, citizens of the nation were numb. However, while the rest of society was slowly regaining feeling, executives in the advertising industry were gearing up for their largest challenge yet — convincing Americans to buy.

The economy was sure to take a plunge if advertisers didn’t take immediate action. So they did — with dramatic news coverage, conspicuous product placement and an overwhelming onslaught of red, white and blue-themed advertisements.

The results of their well calculated plans have yet to come in. But there is more than enough evidence to suggest that their commercial crusades have effectively struck a chord with assurance-hungry citizens.

Companies are attempting to capitalize on the vulnerabilities of a nation that does not know quite how to contribute during a time of crisis. And they are doing it under the shady — and annoying — guise of patriotism.

College students naturally don’t have superfluous amounts of money to spend re-building the economy. However, advertisers’ post-attack efforts affect our lives in more ways than are immediately apparent.

Let’s first consider the television industry. Though not all members of the college community are avid CNN watchers, almost all of us have tuned in at some point over the past month to see what is happening around the world.

Fortunately, breaking news has slowed down significantly after Sept. 11. Yet, when we tune in, there is still a complete and immediate sense of urgency.

Even when CNN news anchor Paula Zahn covers a story about two young girls in Ohio raising money for the families of firefighters, she narrates it as if it were a breathless update.

The on-screen title reads “America Under Attack” and ominous music plays in the background, as the camera pans to a grassy lawn, where the pig-tailed patriots jovially battle on with their squeegees in hand.

Though the findings of anthrax on Capitol Hill and the case of the hospital worker who died after contracting respiratory anthrax are valid and pressing news stories.

In their quest for viewers’ attention, they have effectively engaged in the worst kind of media-where, after pounding viewers over the head to get the message across (and to keep viewer numbers high), network promoters pound viewers some more.

The same unfortunate scenario applies to post-Sept. 11 advertising in general.
If you continue to watch CNN, you will bear witness to an inundation of nationalistic advertisements. One of the best guilt-inciting promotions is for plastic flags that, as the advertisements claim, “attach easily to cars, mail boxes and desks.”

At the end of the 60-second promotion, the advertisers have convinced viewers that the United States cannot win the war without the viewers sacrificing three easy payments of $19.99 for something that was, most likely, produced in China.

Advertisements like these cross the line between good taste and, well, vulturism — where a few conniving entrepreneurs find a way to exploit the most tragic of events.
Admittedly, the formulation that spending money contributes to a recovering economy is cut and dry. If nobody spends money, no one is going to make money.

However, the formulation advertisers present — that spending money contributes to a recovering economy and somehow helps fight terrorism-requires a Herculean stretch of the imagination.

In the Oct. 29 issue of People Magazine, Discover Card ran a full-page ad that read, “You’d be surprised how many ways there are to help.”

The writing includes words like “toothpaste,” “wind-chime,” “pancakes” and “lumber” — all suggestions of what you can buy on your Discover Card to help boost the economy and supposedly fight terrorism.

Yes, next time you anticipate brushing your teeth or building a log cabin, the Taliban will retreat in fear, knowing Americans across the 50 states will purchase their goods on a credit card with a picture of their flag on it.

Innately, there is nothing wrong with making new purchases. But do not make them because advertisements have fooled you into believing these purchases are necessary as a loyal U.S. citizen.

Additionally, the Ford Motor Company has stepped over the line of reasonable patriotic advertising, promoting their 0 percent financing and claiming “We’re doing our part,” as if producing cars — something they’ve done for quite some time — makes them American heroes.

Not only should we condemn these post-Sept. 11 advertisements for their crassness and manipulation of American sentiment, but we should also recognize that advertisers are neither creative, nor are they breaking new ground in the advertising industry.

In 1943, the cigarette company Lucky Strikes formulated an idea that resulted in the most successful advertising campaign of that decade.

Faced with a shortage of green ink necessary to print the Lucky Strikes label, the company converted to a white package and aggressively promoted their product with the slogan: “Lucky Strike green has gone to war!”

It’s idealistic to think that Americans have become more savvy in detecting the devices of advertisers.

Only time, and a few more commercials, will tell if the classic aphorism is true-that history repeats itself.

Laura B. Weiss is a columnist for the Daily Utah Chronicle at the University of Utah. This column was distributed by U-Wire.