Thread: UK Stores' Christmas Advertising Board: Oblivion / Ship of Fools.


To visit this thread, use this URL:
http://forum.ship-of-fools.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=70;t=028809
Posted by Felafool (# 270) on :
 
Every year major stores seem to compete to see who can bring out the best/slickest/sweetest/yuckiest Christmas ad for TV. So we have Marks & Spencers and John Lewis

But what about this one from Sainsbury's. It's certainly topical, but is it tasteful? Sainsbury's

In a journalist's review it is a 'dangerous and disrespectful masterpiece' http://gu.com/p/43a3t/tw

Agree? Disagree?
 
Posted by Bishops Finger (# 5430) on :
 
Not sure - it's certainly poignant and beautifully filmed. I don't see that it makes WW1 look beautiful - however, if it makes people ask WTF were they fighting each other for.......

......and I shan't be shopping at Sainsbury's. Not because (or in spite of) the ad, but simply because I don't like crowds, and prefer my local one-check-out Co-Op!

Ian J.
 
Posted by Porridge (# 15405) on :
 
But the commercial doesn't depict the First World War as "beautiful;" it depicts the fabled Christmas truce as beautiful. And for those who participated, and those who heard of it later, so it was.

That WWI, in its totality, was a grisly and perhaps pointless horror is well-known. So wars are.

Is it crass to exploit humanity's highest hopes and values in the service of selling us more crap? Of course; and it's nothing new. A new car will give us "freedom" -- if only we can afford it. New make-up or clothes will grant us "love" -- if only we can afford them. A new service will grant us "security" -- if we can just afford it.

Is there a way to prevent such high-jacking of human ideals?
 
Posted by Zoey (# 11152) on :
 
How about if the journalist had used the word 'sanitised' instead of 'beautiful'? That's what he was saying, I think - that the trenches as depicted in this ad don't show anything of the horrific reality.

I think I agree with his point and I don't think it's sufficient to counter-argue that the horror of WWI is already well-known enough. I'm in my early 30s and think I have only relatively recently become consciously aware of the horrific conditions described in the trenches and of the fact that I probably can't really imagine anywhere near how awful it was. (Partly through going to see All Quiet On The Western Front which a local arthouse cinema screened this year, partly through reading Ben Elton The First Casulty a few years ago.) I suspect that there are a large number of adults younger than me who haven't given very much thought to what WWI was actually like for the people involved (indeed I think I'm saying that I was such a person 5 to 10 years ago).
 
Posted by Ariel (# 58) on :
 
Sanitized. The actors all look too clean, cheery and well-fed to be properly convincing. The whole thing looks like a jolly romp - though it is poignant. It's romanticized.

But then that's part of recruitment anyway. Young men aren't going to want to sign up to spend hours half-starved and shivering in some godforsaken outpost where someone out there who's never met you wants to kill you, if diarrhoea doesn't get you first.

Still, if the ad makes people think about reconciling differences and sharing - the product placement is fairly minimal - no bad thing.
 
Posted by Enoch (# 14322) on :
 
I don't know whether anyone else has seen it yet. I think it's only been released simultaneously world wide in the last few days, It's not directly related to Christmas, but you either find this new Unilever advert inspirational or very, very yuck. Perhaps there's something nasty, tired and cynical in me. But it's the way it seduces the bright-eyed and bushy-tailed in the service of commercial promotion that makes me squirm somewhere deep inside.

I used to regard this Coca Cola one as the acme of nauseous Christmas adverts, though, if it's possible the 'I'd like to teach the world to sing' one from the same source is even worse. It is uncannily like "Tomorrow belongs to me". I first saw Cabaret shortly after it was released, and that's now over forty years ago. I can still remember the chill in the cinema as that particular scene developed.

Am I the only person who feels like this?
 
Posted by L'organist (# 17338) on :
 
I agree that the 'soldiers' in the Sainsbury's ad look very clean and well-nourished but, hey.

As for the outrage - rather manufactured IMO.

No one is saying its about the Somme or typical of WWI in its entirety, but the pockets of troops along the front line who observed a truce at Christmas 1914 is well-documented and has been known about for decades - Sainsbury's haven't made it up.

And they are giving the profits of sales of the 'retro' chocolate bar to the Royal British Legion.

As for the others: John Lewis is OK; M&S is grimly twee; the Coca-Cola one sets my teeth on edge (no, 'holidays' are not coming, Christmas is); as for Unilever - motion discomfort bags all round, please.
 
Posted by cliffdweller (# 13338) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by L'organist:
the Coca-Cola one sets my teeth on edge (no, 'holidays' are not coming, Christmas is)
sigh. I thought it was only my fellow American evangelicals who went in for this inane argument. Here's a
partial list of upcoming holidays
 
Posted by Palimpsest (# 16772) on :
 
Better duck. I'm sure the "war on Christmas" rhetoric will be showing up soon.

I find the Sainsbury commercial well meant. It's the old problem of how do you judge someone who does something good in order to enhance their reputation.
 
Posted by Philip Charles (# 618) on :
 
I initially thought that John Lewis was trying to sell GNU/Linux, Tux and all that.
 
Posted by Oscar the Grouch (# 1916) on :
 
In Canada, I've just seen the Christmas advert for Target (big store). Tacky doesn't begin to describe it. Made me almost nostalgic for the Coke Christmas adverts...
 
Posted by Enoch (# 14322) on :
 
I've been thinking overnight as to what it is that really gets up my nose about, particularly, the Unilever advert and the Coca Cola ones. It's that in the service of their sales, they are attempting to perpetrate a categorisation sleight of hand.

Buying, selling and making a profit from doing so is a beneficial, legitimate activity. I may be irritated by people pressing me too hard to buy their products, but the intention is most adverts is clear. What these adverts do, though, and what I object to, is the suborning of
quote:
whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.
in the service of trying to sell me something.

Coca Cola, for example, are trying to get me to feel that just as it would be good and wholesome if the whole world sang in perfect harmony, so I can do my bit to bring that about by drinking their product, that a Coca Cola isn't just a soft drink, but a sacrament of humanity's noblest aspirations.
 
Posted by Laurelin (# 17211) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Palimpsest:
I find the Sainsbury commercial well meant. It's the old problem of how do you judge someone who does something good in order to enhance their reputation.
Good point. And the Guardian can be terribly up itself - some of its moral crusades irritate me as much as the Daily Mail's, although for different reasons. [Biased]

But at the end of the day, if this advert makes you want to shop at Sainsbury's because you were so moved by the film, well, that's their job done. Recalling the savage, pointless slaughter of young men just to buy Christmas groceries may not be the most tasteless thing ever (I think that Guardian article overstates the case, although I do love the top commenter's remark about the disgusted reaction in the cinema) but this hasn't made me want to shop at Sainsbury's now: the opposite, in fact. I'm not on some great moral crusade here - I don't think Sainsbury's is worse than many other brands and I certainly don't plan to boycott it on some kind of permanent basis.

Hmm. I dunno. Mixed feelings.
 
Posted by IngoB (# 8700) on :
 
Well, as a German I very much appreciate the break from the usual negative display of the "other side" in the Sainsbury ad. And FWIW, either the actors were Germans or they were subbed by Germans. The sung and spoken German was perfect, not a hint of an accent...

The most unrealistic part of the ad was England winning a football match against Germany, of course. [Biased]
 
Posted by Laurelin (# 17211) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by IngoB:
Well, as a German I very much appreciate the break from the usual negative display of the "other side" in the Sainsbury ad.
That is true, and does a lot to redeem the ad. [Smile]

quote:
The most unrealistic part of the ad was England winning a football match against Germany, of course. [Biased]
[Killing me]

I do really like the film in itself. [Smile]

[ 14. November 2014, 14:16: Message edited by: Laurelin ]
 
Posted by Felafool (# 270) on :
 
Thanks, IngoB. Good to have a German view, despite the reference to football - our ball definitely crossed the line.

On a radio phone in this morning, there was much divided opinion, including negative views from veterans and service personnel.

I like the film in and of itself, but I think I agree with the concern that Grauniad expresses, in asking the question what comes next? The journo hypothesises a film of a disabled child and a Jewish child swapping small tokens on the way to the gas chamber. A bit extreme, I agree, but it makes a point.

As another example, should Match of the Day, or the Football Association, advertise itself by showing scenes from Hillsborough, Heysel, Ibrox etc. with a strapline something like 'a game of life and death? It's far more important than that' (Shankly)

I think not.
 
Posted by Siegfried (# 29) on :
 
For those of my generation in the US, the "I'd like to Teach the World to Sing" commercials are a fond bit of nostalgia. They always ran a Christmas version (holding candles and forming a Christmas tree) during the annual broadcast of "A Charlie Brown Christmas". The other one that has a similar rosy glow was the first sighting of the Norelco Santa.
 
Posted by Sioni Sais (# 5713) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by IngoB:


The most unrealistic part of the ad was England winning a football match against Germany, of course. [Biased]
I don't know how many stores Sainsburys have in Scotland and Wales, but that part won't have done them any good at all.
 
Posted by Callan (# 525) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Sioni Sais:
quote:
Originally posted by IngoB:


The most unrealistic part of the ad was England winning a football match against Germany, of course. [Biased]
I don't know how many stores Sainsburys have in Scotland and Wales, but that part won't have done them any good at all.
Not sure that the BEF really equates to 'England'. In any event, I got married on 1 September 2001 so England winning at football is less implausible than (ahem!) other nations winning at their national sport.

Still, I can imagine the briefing. "Look here Carruthers. In a few hours from now you and your chaps are going to be charging German machine gun positions. I'm going to be honest with you, most of you chaps aren't going to be coming back. But what the war needs right now is a futile gesture. And it's going to flog a shit load of chocolate, so it won't have been in vain. Any questions?"
 
Posted by Enoch (# 14322) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Siegfried:
For those of my generation in the US, the "I'd like to Teach the World to Sing" commercials are a fond bit of nostalgia. They always ran a Christmas version (holding candles and forming a Christmas tree) during the annual broadcast of "A Charlie Brown Christmas". The other one that has a similar rosy glow was the first sighting of the Norelco Santa.
Norelco don't exist here, but that advert's not too bad. It doesn't pretend to be doing anything more than just trying to persuade me to buy something.

I've never seen the Coca Cola Christmas version of 'I'd like to teach the world to sing' before. If such is possible, to me that's even yukkier than the more familiar version. Putting aside nostalgia for the advertisements of childhood, I'd be interested if anyone disagrees with what I said about the usual one above and wants to speak up for it as good, wholesome and inspirational.
 
Posted by Kelly Alves (# 2522) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Siegfried:
For those of my generation in the US, the "I'd like to Teach the World to Sing" commercials are a fond bit of nostalgia. They always ran a Christmas version (holding candles and forming a Christmas tree) during the annual broadcast of "A Charlie Brown Christmas". The other one that has a similar rosy glow was the first sighting of the Norelco Santa.
It also became a top forty single and was very popular as schoolroom incidental music ( lyrics shifted to remove Coke plug.) Yeah, emotional connection to that song is complicated.
 
Posted by Kelly Alves (# 2522) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by IngoB:
Well, as a German I very much appreciate the break from the usual negative display of the "other side" in the Sainsbury ad. And FWIW, either the actors were Germans or they were subbed by Germans. The sung and spoken German was perfect, not a hint of an accent...

The most unrealistic part of the ad was England winning a football match against Germany, of course. [Biased]
They won? i thought the game was cut short. Ah, well.

Anyway-- cried like a Girl Scout with a skinned knee. As said above, it's a decent short film. The young actors made the most of their little moment, God bless them. There are a lot more carnal, greedy ways to flog products, it's nice to see simple generosity and kindness promoted as a selling point.

If it takes a grocery store to remind us that peace is better than war, and that religious traditions can be used to include rather than exclude, so be it.
 
Posted by balaam (# 4543) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Kelly Alves:
quote:
Originally posted by IngoB:
The most unrealistic part of the ad was England winning a football match against Germany, of course. [Biased]
They won? i thought the game was cut short. Ah, well.

Anyway-- cried like a Girl Scout with a skinned knee. As said above, it's a decent short film. The young actors made the most of their little moment, God bless them. There are a lot more carnal, greedy ways to flog products, it's nice to see simple generosity and kindness promoted as a selling point.

If it takes a grocery store to remind us that peace is better than war, and that religious traditions can be used to include rather than exclude, so be it.
What IngoB is hinting at, and as an Englishman it pains me to say this, is that the actual no-mans-land game was 2-1 to Germany.
 
Posted by Kelly Alves (# 2522) on :
 
See, I heard about the game, but I never heard about the results. Well done, Germany!
 
Posted by Curiosity killed ... (# 11770) on :
 
Which actual no-man's land game? There were several. (There are letters in the IWM that they had on display for the 90th anniversary of the end of WW1 in 2008 with descriptions of games on the
Front.)

If you want to see a really poignant retelling of that story try War Game which celebrates the lives of Michael Foreman's uncles who were either killed on the Front or died of their wounds shortly afterwards. There's a film too.
 
Posted by Palimpsest (# 16772) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Siegfried:
For those of my generation in the US, the "I'd like to Teach the World to Sing" commercials are a fond bit of nostalgia. They always ran a Christmas version (holding candles and forming a Christmas tree) during the annual broadcast of "A Charlie Brown Christmas". The other one that has a similar rosy glow was the first sighting of the Norelco Santa.
My favorite was the commercial where a polar bear cub shares a bottle of Coca Cola with a baby seal rather than.. eating the seal.
 
Posted by Enoch (# 14322) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Palimpsest:
My favorite was the commercial where a polar bear cub shares a bottle of Coca Cola with a baby seal rather than.. eating the seal.
Is that this one? I don't recall seeing it before. Perhaps it wasn't used here. An advert that fitted that summary could have been horribly sugary, but that's actually quite witty. It also doesn't make the brand name a subliminal message to something that is pretending to be higher minded.

Since polar bears don't have pickets like kangaroos, there's a bit of a mystery where the bottle suddenly comes from.
 
Posted by The Rogue (# 2275) on :
 
They are all adverts. This means they are aimed at a targeted market whose opinions of history/Christmas/life are well researched and known to the advertisers and they have calculated/decided what to put in their adverts to optimise store attendance.

Presumably the die-hard customers are more or less by-passed as they will come anyway (except they won't want to seriously put them off) and it's the fringe shoppers who could go there who they are targetting. The ones who would never go there can be completely ignored or even insulted - it doesn't matter because sales will be unaffected.

I know it's a generalisation but does this mean that if you react favourably you are in that target group and if you don't you're not?

Unfortunately if there are sanitised views of WW1 around this kind of thing will re-enforce them rather than challenge.
 
Posted by North East Quine (# 13049) on :
 
The antidote to schmaltzy Christmas adverts.
 
Posted by rolyn (# 16840) on :
 
I learnt the other night that one Christmas 1914 football encounter had 50 on the English side and 72 on the German side. Unfortunately the ball ended up being punctured on one of the spikes meant for impaling advancing troops.

If the Centenary of WW1 can be used for selling stuff then it could be argued some good came out of it. I don't see it can besmirch the memory of those who took part. Come Winter 1914 the stark realisation that a dirty dangerous conflict was not going to script would have been rather more at the front of minds than the manner in which events would be perceived 100 rs later.
 
Posted by M. (# 3291) on :
 
North East Quine, I've never seen that before, it is wonderful!

M.
 
Posted by luvanddaisies (# 5761) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by North East Quine:
The antidote to schmaltzy Christmas adverts.
I love you so much for introducing me to that - I shall be chortling at it at random intervals all day [Snigger]
 
Posted by Enoch (# 14322) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by North East Quine:
The antidote to schmaltzy Christmas adverts.
That's excellent.

Will US shipmates know the original film that it is taking off? Or for that matter, recognise the various Scottish places they fly over, or in one case, land in?
 
Posted by fletcher christian (# 13919) on :
 
I find the add very distasteful to be honest. Pedalling death to sell Christmas stuff. Hmmm.

posted by Rolyn:
quote:

I learnt the other night that one Christmas 1914 football encounter had 50 on the English side and 72 on the German side. Unfortunately the ball ended up being punctured on one of the spikes meant for impaling advancing troops.
I've era that this whole affair was a manufactured myth, along with the whole Christmas truce thing. I can't recall where I read it, but the gist was that there were ceasefires and brief meetings over trenches leading up to and including Christmas, but they were very small and by no means widespread. The same writer dismissed the idea of football matches being played as complete myth - that one side might have tapped a home made ball of some kind around at some point, but the idea of a football match being played with a proper football amidst shells, craters, body bits and barbed wire is ludicrous. Personally, I'm not sure what to think, but the football story certainly has a whiff of myth about it to me.
 
Posted by Siegfried (# 29) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Enoch:
quote:
Originally posted by Siegfried:
For those of my generation in the US, the "I'd like to Teach the World to Sing" commercials are a fond bit of nostalgia. They always ran a Christmas version (holding candles and forming a Christmas tree) during the annual broadcast of "A Charlie Brown Christmas". The other one that has a similar rosy glow was the first sighting of the Norelco Santa.
Norelco don't exist here, but that advert's not too bad. It doesn't pretend to be doing anything more than just trying to persuade me to buy something.

I've never seen the Coca Cola Christmas version of 'I'd like to teach the world to sing' before. If such is possible, to me that's even yukkier than the more familiar version. Putting aside nostalgia for the advertisements of childhood, I'd be interested if anyone disagrees with what I said about the usual one above and wants to speak up for it as good, wholesome and inspirational.
It was originally aired in the late 60s, and tied into the sense of opportunity youth had and aspired to--that we could all live in harmony. No political implications, as in "Tomorrow Belongs to Me". Also, I think you're confusing the setting of "Tomorrow Belongs to Me" with the song itself. It is intentionally juxtaposed with the Nazi imagery to shock the audience.
 
Posted by Augustine the Aleut (# 1472) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by L'organist:
I agree that the 'soldiers' in the Sainsbury's ad look very clean and well-nourished but, hey.
*snip*
An historian friend, often brought in as a consultant to film-makers, has pointed out that most of these films (and I would imagine all the more so for commercials) feature actors with historically inaccurate clean and even teeth. Most rank-and-file soldiers came from malhourished and impoverished backgrounds and were on the average smaller than our contemporaries. She greatly admires the makeup artist in the Name of the Rose who mediaevalized the actors' teeth.

Apropos another comment, I'd like to teach the world to sing does sound an awful like tomorrow belongs to me. I had never thought of that.

In any case I have a policy of ignoring (including changing the channel) all Xmas advertising until after S Nicholas' Day. I find this approach very comforting and soothing.

[ 15. November 2014, 14:43: Message edited by: Augustine the Aleut ]
 
Posted by Porridge (# 15405) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Enoch:
quote:
Originally posted by North East Quine:
The antidote to schmaltzy Christmas adverts.
That's excellent.

Will US shipmates know the original film that it is taking off? Or for that matter, recognise the various Scottish places they fly over, or in one case, land in?
This US shipmate, having laughed aloud at the commercial, would love any explication any true Scotsman cares to offer.
 
Posted by North East Quine (# 13049) on :
 
quote:
Most rank-and-file soldiers came from malhourished and impoverished backgrounds and were on the average smaller than our contemporaries.
I was talking to the local Girl Guides about the lives behind the names on our war memorial. One of men from our parish who was killed, aged 19, was 5ft 2 1/2 inches tall. Several of our 12 year old Guides are taller than that, and all of them were astounded at the idea of a 19 year old boy being only 5ft 2 1/2, and less than 9 stone in weight.
 
Posted by lilBuddha (# 14333) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Enoch:
quote:
Originally posted by North East Quine:
The antidote to schmaltzy Christmas adverts.
That's excellent.

Will US shipmates know the original film that it is taking off? Or for that matter, recognise the various Scottish places they fly over, or in one case, land in?
They do not need to. That is the brilliance of that commercial.
 
Posted by Kelly Alves (# 2522) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Enoch:
quote:
Originally posted by North East Quine:
The antidote to schmaltzy Christmas adverts.
That's excellent.

Will US shipmates know the original film that it is taking off? Or for that matter, recognise the various Scottish places they fly over, or in one case, land in?
The film was wildly popular on the film festival circuit pretty much the instant it came out, and toured in many cinemas in the US as part of short film showcases. ( I attended a few.) The book that came out further spread the film's popularity, and often the book and video were sold together, making it an almost ubiquitous Christmas guft for a good couple years. You can bet every childcare center had a copy of the book, or even the video if videos were allowed.

Also, I remember people sending a Youtube bootleg of the film to me on FB repeatedly. Before they started cracking down on these things.
The ad was hilarious-- not in the least because the little brat depicted never wavered in his gentle, angelic vocal style.
 
Posted by Enoch (# 14322) on :
 
If it's not blocked for you, it's here. The sequence that the Irn-Bru advert draws on so magnificently starts c 15 mins 50 seconds. It catches the boy treble style and accent perfectly.

There's a more recent sequel set a generation or so later that includes a snowdog.
 
Posted by cliffdweller (# 13338) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Enoch:
quote:
Originally posted by North East Quine:
The antidote to schmaltzy Christmas adverts.
That's excellent.

Will US shipmates know the original film that it is taking off? Or for that matter, recognise the various Scottish places they fly over, or in one case, land in?
Nope. But even w/o those cultural touchstones, it was awesome.
 
Posted by rolyn (# 16840) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by fletcher christian:
..... but the idea of a football match being played with a proper football amidst shells, craters, body bits and barbed wire is ludicrous. Personally, I'm not sure what to think, but the football story certainly has a whiff of myth about it to me.
The account seemed genuine to me fletcher. It was on Radio 2's Ballard of The Great War. They were using vocal testimonies from many years back.
I'm not sure the archetypical WW1 landscape to which you refer had really developed after 4 months of fighting. That came a couple years later when things had gone so large-scale and industrial it was totally beyond anyone's worst nightmare. The innocence of 1914 was then gone for ever.
 
Posted by Planeta Plicata (# 17543) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Porridge:
quote:
Originally posted by Enoch:
quote:
Originally posted by North East Quine:
The antidote to schmaltzy Christmas adverts.
That's excellent.

Will US shipmates know the original film that it is taking off? Or for that matter, recognise the various Scottish places they fly over, or in one case, land in?
This US shipmate, having laughed aloud at the commercial, would love any explication any true Scotsman cares to offer.
Let's see:

0:06 - Falkirk Wheel
0:09, 0:14 - Forth Bridge
0:21 - Mitchell Library in Glasgow's West End
0:22 - East Princes Street Gardens ice rink in Edinburgh
0:31 - Glenfinnan Viaduct
0:35 - Eilean Donan Castle
0:39 - The Glasgow Royal Concert Hall (obviously)
0:46 - Glasgow's City Chambers
0:53 - And the landing in George Square in Glasgow, prominently featuring the Walter Scott monument
 
Posted by Porridge (# 15405) on :
 
Many thanks to both Enoch and Planeta Plicata. As my Old Home folk hail originally from near Glasgow, I was interested to know the sites. I've never visited Scotland, but still hope to one day.
 
Posted by Dave W. (# 8765) on :
 
And presumably Loch Ness at 0:28.
 
Posted by mark_in_manchester (# 15978) on :
 
quote:
Buying, selling and making a profit from doing so is a beneficial, legitimate activity. I may be irritated by people pressing me too hard to buy their products, but the intention is most adverts is clear. What these adverts do, though, and what I object to, is the suborning of

quote:

whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.
in the service of trying to sell me something.

Coca Cola, for example, are trying to get me to feel that just as it would be good and wholesome if the whole world sang in perfect harmony, so I can do my bit to bring that about by drinking their product, that a Coca Cola isn't just a soft drink, but a sacrament of humanity's noblest aspirations.
This passed without comment, but really speaks to me. Working in the corporate world had a lot of shite like that in it. Thanks, Enoch.
 
Posted by PaulBC (# 13712) on :
 
Being in Canada this ad is not visable . However basicly one has to trust the people who came up with the idea.
The Christmas 1914 truce is a documented fact also at that point in time the troops were still pretty neat& tidy , as oppossed to say August 1916 on the Somme and both sides did exchange smoking material, played football, doubtless did exchange chocolate . But this was on unit by unit basis.
But I would still think twice before using any war for advertising purposes
just a touch on tacky side of things.
 
Posted by Uriel (# 2248) on :
 
I've just seen the Sainsbury's ad and feel very uncomfortable with it. It's clear that at some point someone in a marketing meeting said "World War One is very popular at the moment, let's see if we can identify our brand with it and sell more stuff this Christmas". And someone in that meeting should have slapped them down for the suggestion, but being part of the myopic corporate world it was somehow approved as a great idea.

My discomfort comes because I don't want the Great War turned into a sentimental Christmas weepie, something to make us all feel good about sharing and fill us with warm fuzzy feelings. And then have those manipulated emotions taken and a corporate logo slapped on them, the company behind it trying to sidle into a place of complex human emotion and claim it for their brand. For me that has crossed a red line.

My experience of the war is bound up with reading the names on the Menin Gate, walking past the graves at Tyne Cot, seeing my great uncle's name inscribed on a wall, a man who for decades was missed by the grandfather I loved. That war, for me, is my children leaving flowers on the grave of a young man, their great-great uncle, quietly resting in the Belgian soil. It's the 100 men from my church's memorial whose stories I have researched, who left behind mothers and fathers, wives and sweethearts, who left behind fatherless children. And it's the graveyard in the small French village of Presau, where I saw the stones of 40 men, all who died on 1st November 1918, just short of the Armistice, every death completely unnecessary, and wondered at the pointlessness of war. For me this is holy ground, and I don't want the corporations to see these profound feelings as a marketing opportunity. It's commercialism gone too far.

If you do want to engage with some truly moving reflections on the Great War that aren't trying to sell you things then watch the Culture Show Special with the poet Simon Armitage - The Great War: An Elegy. It still has a few weeks to run on iPlayer, do watch it if you can. One of the best things I've seen on WW1. I say that as a self-confessed Great War nerd who has dragged his children round many, many war cemeteries, museums and battlefields (I am told that other families visit beaches on their holidays). Armitage tells seven stories from WW1 and then reads a poem, beautiful haunting poems, he has written about the story.
 
Posted by IngoB (# 8700) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by balaam:
What IngoB is hinting at, and as an Englishman it pains me to say this, is that the actual no-mans-land game was 2-1 to Germany.
Uhhhmm, no, I wasn't. I didn't even know that there really was a football game - I thought that this could well have been an invention of the advertisers (just how long can you show men not doing much else besides not killing each other?). I was just poking fun at the more recent football past there...
 


© Ship of Fools 2016

Powered by Infopop Corporation
UBB.classicTM 6.5.0