Discussion Topic
Misleading Ads
Posted on 06/25/08, 02:09 pm
Tried to pick a boring title... Would prefer this to be an Adult Discussion as this topic deals with Advertisers misuse of sexuality in order to appeal to a young audience.
I am not a prude - although I have personal boundaries in place. I am (for the most part) a live and let live person. However, it is my personal belief that when it comes to young people (even & especially those in their late teens) society needs to have proactive boundaries in place to ensure their well-being.
That's why I think this particular ad went too far.
JCPenney's "teen sex" ad [updated] - ParentDish
http://www.parentdish.com/2008/06/...
Following are excerpts from the above article.
"The commercial clearly pokes fun at the trusting mom who sits upstairs reading her magazine while the kids "go downstairs to watch TV." At the same time, it's sending a message to teen customers that today is the day to have sex with your boyfriend, right under your mom's nose."
"Edited to add: As it turns out, everyone, JCPenney did not authorize this ad. (Let's let out a collective whew.) There's a lot of finger pointing going on right now; JCPenney is blaming its ad company Saatchi & Saatchi, who in turn is blaming the production company Epoch films.
According to Gawker, the commercial won an award at the Cannes Lions Awards this past weekend. Penney's chief marketing officer has been quoted as saying, "It's obviously inappropriate and nothing we would ever condone."
* * *
It is all very well & good that the AD is obviously NOT going to be run on TV - but, apparently it is available for viewing on YouTube - and, as you can see - it was put out there by AOL in their news format.
Do you think this should or should not be available for viewing?
Should something be done about its availability?
I am not a prude - although I have personal boundaries in place. I am (for the most part) a live and let live person. However, it is my personal belief that when it comes to young people (even & especially those in their late teens) society needs to have proactive boundaries in place to ensure their well-being.
That's why I think this particular ad went too far.
JCPenney's "teen sex" ad [updated] - ParentDish
http://www.parentdish.com/2008/06/...
Following are excerpts from the above article.
"The commercial clearly pokes fun at the trusting mom who sits upstairs reading her magazine while the kids "go downstairs to watch TV." At the same time, it's sending a message to teen customers that today is the day to have sex with your boyfriend, right under your mom's nose."
"Edited to add: As it turns out, everyone, JCPenney did not authorize this ad. (Let's let out a collective whew.) There's a lot of finger pointing going on right now; JCPenney is blaming its ad company Saatchi & Saatchi, who in turn is blaming the production company Epoch films.
According to Gawker, the commercial won an award at the Cannes Lions Awards this past weekend. Penney's chief marketing officer has been quoted as saying, "It's obviously inappropriate and nothing we would ever condone."
* * *
It is all very well & good that the AD is obviously NOT going to be run on TV - but, apparently it is available for viewing on YouTube - and, as you can see - it was put out there by AOL in their news format.
Do you think this should or should not be available for viewing?
Should something be done about its availability?
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Reply #1 06/25/08 6:43pm
I don't know if the ad would be as responsible for as much as it may seem like. If kids have a mom who isn't watching, they are probably going to experiment, even without any TV at all. It's not the music or the ads, the movies, the Tv or other people as much as their hormones. I guess the ad seems tacky, I can see that. I think kids have a much more mature attitude about sex when they are exposed to sex, as long as the exposure is truthful about it. I think it is like anything, kids are better exposed to as much truth as possible, as long as it makes sense to expose them to it at the stage in their lives. In my house we told our kids about sex at a very early age and they seem to be pretty mature about the subject. But we were not real shy about it and made sure we were honest about it. -
Reply #2 06/26/08 4:03pm
I have a buddy that is constantly sending me these over the edge ads. Don't know where he gets em, but it's always a big company, Verizon so on. Never see them on tv, so must be publicity or stricktly net.
Any ways, not on tv!! Already can sense from what is in reach of adolesents already is far out. No way they can hold on to innocense like in my generation. -
Reply #3 06/26/08 4:07pm
And meant to say that there's no way JCPenny didn't know 1st hand!! -
Reply #4 06/26/08 4:25pm
The reality is that we CANNOT protect our children - media, peer pressure or whatever. Adolesence is a transitional phase. Love your children, be there for them but don't be hurt them when they opt for an alternative route. Don't judge - try to understand
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Reply #5 06/29/08 8:22pm
They've removed the ad.
And I have not allowed the TV on in my home sense February... Seems to be the only way. Now when I do turn it on rarely It seems really really out there. It never stays on for long. -
Reply #6 06/30/08 4:57pm
I don't believe we can protect young people from the media, the T.V or anything else like this. I have to agree with scarlett on this. I think even if we didn't have adverts like this, young people would be curious and will look at things like this with their peers, on the Internet, in magazines, the media bombards us with images and messages. The only thing we can all do is talk to our children about this, be truthful, treat them as adults, encourage to ask questions. I haven't had kids yet but my mam brought me up in this way, she told me about my periods from an early age, we talked about things when my body started to change, i remeber coming home quite embarrassed because other kids had noticed i was filling out and made fun, I hadn't even noticed. We also chatted about stuff on the T.V. Of course once my teens really started i did try to go my own way, anyway I'm rambling. The point is that we can only be honest and truthful and discuss these issues. -
Reply #7 07/25/08 11:02am
This is a truely nightmarish topic for an open society. I believe in free speech -- I'm not sure about free advertising. And I'm not sure that advertising is the same as "speech" in the sense the framers of the Constitution meant it. But what can we do? I don't want to rewrite the constitution, but I hate the utter crap that pours out of the TV in a constant stream. Boomers made anti-social attitudes cool -- wall street picked it up and disrespect has been a staple of mainstream culture (which is profoundly affected by advertising) ever since. Think about it -- Is driving the speed limit cool? Working a 9-5 job? Being an adult? Being a family person? Is having children out of wedlock cool? (Check out the Hollywood couples). I'm not making a statement about the above -- some of which I do, and some of which I don't. I have the right to choose AS AN ADULT. But how do we handle the "intellectual" (if you will) rights of teens and pre-teens? They're not adults yet, and I do believe they need to be protected in some way from the Krap-fest that exists outside the gates of childhood. But how?
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Reply #8 07/25/08 12:04pm
The only real way to protect kids is to teach them the truth. When someone says something is cool, what is the truth about that? Where is this "cool" ? Does cool have any basis in reality at all? Does it mean that others impression of how you appear creates who you are? Even changes the way you really are? It's a complete illusion. And so it is "cool" or good to be falling for an illusion? It is the in thing to do to be suckered into spending your money on things you really don't need? That it makes you something special to be like everyone else? Does anyone see the irony in that? The only solution to all of this is for people to wake up. To see how all this is truly empty. Not to believe it is empty, but to actually see the reality of the emptiness for themselves. A bunch of people agreeing what is cool or in thing to do because they are scared of being different, or of doing the wrong thing, and it is safest to be like others and all agree on what is the in thing to do. Yes, being afraid and playing it safe and conforming, that is real cutting edge stuff. It can look pretty silly when you really take a good look at it all. -
Reply #9 07/25/08 12:15pm
But it's not that easy. By the time they're pre-teens (in general) their peers exert far more influence on them than their parents, advertising and pop culture tends to reinforce those trends, and you can't hermeticly seal them in a bottle and make them listen to you. -
Reply #10 07/25/08 2:33pm
No, by the time they are teens it is too late. But this teaching could begin much earlier then that. There has to be a whole shift in this society. But are people willing to do what is really right?
I look at kids with their parents in the store, in the toy section. I watch as parents teach their children the falsehood that things are the source of their happiness. I know this. I have been taught this. When I am feeling bad or things get tough, I have this craving to just go and buy something new. This was taught to me from very early on, as with most people. Just one small example of how this all starts. There are many ways in which we teach the kids and many things of which this is true. look and seer for yourself.
It runs very deep and we cling to many of the causes of the problem. Does anybody see and are they willing to give up so much to make it right. No forcing, must be completely voluntary.
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