PeaceBang

29 Comments

1. I preached a sermon recently where I pointed out in our culture we are pressured to serve the MasterCard rather than the Master God. This commercial proves my point.

   Comment by god guurrll — October 28, 2007 #

2. btw…you have an ad by Google for Mastercard. Talk about irony.

   Comment by god guurrll — October 28, 2007 #

3. Amen on the commercial. Wrong, wrong, wrong.

   Comment by jinnis — October 28, 2007 #

4. Are you kidding me? You were actually offended? It’s called a t.v. “commercial”, not a t.v. “not-for-profit”. Would you feel better if they showed the woman using her MasterCard to make a donation to the DNC or MoveOn.org? Or maybe if she was purchasing some carbon offsets? Lighten up.

   Comment by spiceman — October 28, 2007 #

5. Amen Peacebang.

   Comment by Tracie — October 28, 2007 #

6. Yea, Spiceman, I’m totally offended, ’cause that’s my right as a consumer. They’re trying to sell me something they think I’ll find glamorous and appealing, and I’m telling them that they’re insulting my intelligence and integrity, as well as everyone I know who isn’t a vapid materialist. Smarten up. It’s called critical viewing.

   Comment by PeaceBang — October 28, 2007 #

7. I’m sorry, what are you doing watching the world series? in such an era of war and genocide, you should be spending your time volenteering for the Red Cross! you should not even own a TV– donate it to goodwill!

   Seriously dude, lighten up! Nobody walks away from watching that commercial thinking ‘oh–i must run and get myself a mastercard! or take some fencing lessons!’. The point of the MC campaign is stop and appreciate little moments in life. One ad features a bunch of kids dancing. Another is about a father and son at the ball game. This one happens to show a glamorous girl doing fancy things. Horrible atrocities are happening in the world. But there is also beauty. we are lucky enoguh to live in a priviliged country. It’s ok to take a moment and appreciate what we have.

   Comment by Gordy — October 29, 2007 #

8. Gordy, I am the daughter and the sister of men in the advertising industry. I know how it works, babe. That commercial is vile, there’s no other name for it. It celebrates and tries to make attractive gross materialism. What’s next: a little valentine to Imelda Marcos and her shoes? Beauty and rampant narcissism are not synonymous. Go back to the office and tell them you were unable to persuade me that the ad is anything but toxic waste.

   Even those in the ad industry have some responsibility to be sensitive to the times we live in. If MC wants to appeal to the Paris Hiltons of the world, that’s a perfect spot. Who produced those ads, anyway?

   Comment by PeaceBang — October 29, 2007 #

9. Class warfare is so 1960s.

   Comment by patrick — October 29, 2007 #

10. None of the things in the commercial is materialistic. With the exception of singing lessons, they’re stereotypically “rich people” hobbies. Nonetheless, they’re non-material pursuits. Only the “gravity flight” and “vintage racing” seem off-limits to those without sufficient means. The rest — horseback riding, cliff diving, especially singing lessons, and even scuba and cliff diving — are accessible to most people, particularly depending on what part of the world one lives in.

    I’ve got to agree with Gordy; the World Series is a far greater display of decadence than the sum of all the activities in this commercial.

    Comment by Fake Steve Jobs — October 29, 2007 #

11. Right. Snorkeling and fencing lessons aren’t materialistic. Wow — where you guys trolling from again?

    I do agree with you that the World Series is pure, sheer Roman decadence. The cool thing is that it’s available for anyone with a television or radio to participate in.

    Comment by PeaceBang — October 29, 2007 #

12. If you think the MC commercial was offensive, look for the Barbie shopping one-”Shopping is the best!” or some such sentiment. I laughed, and sighed, then wondered if it would be recalled for lead content

    Comment by NDM — October 30, 2007 #

13. I think the thing that’s annoying me most is that they’re not materialistic by the definition of materialistic. They’re activities, not things. Someone doing an activity they enjoy is not collecting material possessions or overly concerned with doing so. Not to be (too) pedantic, I guess I’m willing to let that slide as meaning “associated with materialistic people” (where apparently “rich” is synonymous with “materialistic” — again, not a huge stretch, but incorrect).

    Still, I’m not sure why you’ve lumped snorkeling (scuba diving, in the commercial) in with fencing. Fencing’s the one I felt weirdest “defending”, but the angle I was approaching it with was this:

    I received an Ivy League education, even though my family definitely couldn’t afford it. (Princeton covers 100% of your “demonstrated financial need”.) Lots of Princeton’s “feeder” prep schools had similar policies, and lots of those schools had fencing programs. So, it’s not as though some homeless guy could panhandle for a day and go fencing, but it’s not wholly inaccessible.

    Scuba diving’s the activity that made me qualify my previous comment with “depending on what part of the world one lives in”.

    Points for bringing up the accessibility of the World Series. I had been thinking more of the exorbitant salaries MLB players command and the associated advertising/endorsements that go into the game. The Olympics (and even college sports) seem somehow more free of that same baggage. I’d forgotten the fans’ sentiments, which are certainly not materialistic.

    Comment by Fake Steve Jobs — October 31, 2007 #

14. (Didn’t realize that last comment was as long as it is. I suppose this probably isn’t worth the time I’m putting into it.)

    Comment by Fake Steve Jobs — October 31, 2007 #

15. Ah, found it. I also vaguely recalled an Olympic fencer with a distinctly nonmaterialistic upbringing. From the Stanford Daily: Westbrook speaks on fencing, racism, poverty - Biracial Olympic fencing medalist rose out of ghetto, now helps others find a way out

    Comment by Fake Steve Jobs — October 31, 2007 #

16. Offended watching a stupid, and purely fictional, commercial… but seemingly unmoved by, or oblivious to, the actual “rampant inequality” you actually CHOSE to watch.

    Baseball has for years been a ridiculous sport where the participants are paid ungodly sums of money to stand around or sit for hours chewing tobacco and waiting for an occasional ball to come their way.

    The average salary for the Boston Red Sox is over $3.5 MILLION - Now that really is offensive.

    Comment by Beeblebrox — November 1, 2007 #

17. God, yer killin’ me. What deathless rhetoric! Guys, I love ya, and by all means knock yourselves out here for as long as you have breath, but I’m out. Don’t quit your day jobs for a spot on the debate team.

    Comment by PeaceBang — November 1, 2007 #

18. I happened upon this thread, and I gotta tell ya, it’s stuff like this that is exasperatin’ about the liberal/progressive/whatever-the-proper-name-of-the- moment is.

    The commerical is odd, but it’s not marketing aimed at Paris Hilton-types. Those folks don’t worry about credit cards, they have people to handle those matters. The commercial is aimed at people who aspire to do such things. As one writer mentioned, folks are probably using their plastic for groceries, but there’s no problem with dreaming about a Greek vacation, as close to that sort of thing as most of us will get. If that close. Still dreaming of things we think pleasant ought not be wrong.

    As for grousing about the Boston Red Sox salaries, yes, of course, major league baseball players are paid high salaries. As are musicians, attorneys, businesspeople and even some ministers. That you can’t appreciate what a Red Sox player does makes his activity no less worthy than that of an artist whose work I can’t fathom, but who nonetheless commands stratospheric prices in the marketplace.

    The thing is that rather than denying the success of those whose activities we find unworthy, we ought to be doing something to make the world better. Bitching on a blog (including this one) isn’t helpful. Do something.

    Comment by stumber — November 1, 2007 #

19. Don’t quit your day jobs for a spot on the debate team? Way to avoid responding to the argument.

    Cf. irrelevant conclusion.

    Comment by Fake Steve Jobs — November 5, 2007 #

20. 2 million children die every year because they lack vaccines. How many children have the sermons immunized? How much money have they raised to deliver vaccines?

    It took an avaricious and gluttonous man of business, whose work is supported by “offensive” and “insensitive” advertising — Bill Gates — to fund $1 billion worth of vaccines, four times the money donated by the entire country of Norway. His business, which the ministers find so disgusting, has saved 42 million children from hepatitis B, 4 million children from diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis, 5 million children from bacterial meningitis and pneumonia, and 3 million children from yellow fever. Vile business has delivered 54 million more vaccinations than the minister’s pious sermons.

    What difference have these sermons — so furious in tone and so idle in effect — made? They have indulged the smug satisfaction of feeling morally superior. They condemn other people and praise the minister — praise how charitable and Christian the minister is, compared to selfish and sinful business.

    But the greed of the agora has done more for the poor than the sacred indolence of the ministry.

    Comment by Gravamen — November 5, 2007 #

21. Well, that was RIGHT ON TOPIC. Thanks for sharing.

    Comment by PeaceBang — November 5, 2007 #

22. It’s fun reading these heated debates over a simple commercial…but listen to the opinion of someone probably A LOT younger than all of you: When I saw this commercial, I wasn’t offended at all. I’m not rich, and the thought of this commercial actually offending someone never crossed my mind. I actually like this commercial because I know that if I work hard enough, I can do all of that stuff with the money I earn(MasterCard hopes I use their services). It sort of inspires me to work hard and earn money. Plus, I like the song that the girl sings. I never forgot that it was a commercial, but I also didn’t feel like I was being brainwashed or pressured into doing all of those things or using that creditcard. Come to think of it…I think I have better things to do than to try to change people’s opinions about a commercial. No worries to the people that rant on and on about this commercial; it will be replaced with another commercial in a while that you will probably also find offensive for your own personal reasons. Have a nice day~

    Comment by blueberry-jamster — November 5, 2007 #

23. You are either jealous or a communist. I’m guessing communist and the fact that someone could acquire wealth through hard work and innovative thinking disturbs you. You want everyone to wear their white shirts and work for the same rate of pay regardless of their worth or skill set. You make me more sick than the commercial. On a side note, I do agree the commercial shows a very priveledged girl but in this day of Paris/Lindsay/Brittney worship nobody has the right to cry because this is the spoiled, lazy, and dumb world the masses have created. [Oh Justin, Justin. You are being so silly. No, let me amend that: so stupid. Are you going to spend the rest of your life contributing this kind of idiocy to a conversation whenever someone has a strong opinion you don't like? You remind me of that drunk, belligerent frat boy in "Borat" who has no idea that he's an embarrassment to his friends, to his school, and to humanity in general. BOOYA!!! Of course I'm not a communist; not even close. Nor am I jealous, especially because I'm lucky enough to be able to take tropical vacations on a yearly basis, fencing lessons if I want them, and because I have a much better voice than the singing chick. (That was a joke, but I really do.) Justin, perhaps you should study the concept of "context." Perhaps you should consider where people are coming from when they share their opinions before you jump to inane conclusions (what in that commercial suggests that the subject of it acquired her wealth through hard work, by the way?). Do you really think that many New England ministers are communists who deride innovative thinking and individual achievement? Think through what you're saying. Try not to enter a room full of strangers and feel that it's your right or responsibility to spew venomous and stupid generalizations, because no one will like you and you won't get invited to any of the really good parties. No one likes a reactionary. And learn how to spell, will you? - PB]

    Comment by Justin — November 15, 2007 #

24. The gross materialism and narcissism you so criticize in the commercial reveals itself in the musings of your life and the verbiage with which you post them in your blog. The level of anger, sarcasm, and derision coming from a minister of a Christian church is unbelievable. I could never imagine my pastor saying “God, yer killin’ me.” or “Tell yourself that! Jump on some lucky man and have some fun with that body!” Shame on you.

    Spend some more time reading the Bible or ministering others instead of buying chaises, taking yearly tropical vacations, trips to Europe, watching sports and movies, or on your PC. Perhaps you should reconsider the Christian aspect of your beliefs, or just drop the Christian facade from your UU spiritual practice. [Oh stop.Yer killing me. Welcome to the real world, toots, where God calls actual human beings who live in this actual society to the ministry. I know that's a shock. I'll hold your hand while you sit and absorb it all. To be perfectly serious, though, it's interesting to put me in perspective as a kid who was raised in serious affluence by the son and daughter of immigrants with the expectation that I would only move up the financial ladder in life. For me (and my sister) to have taken up the professions of teaching and ministry -- not exactly the lucrative careers imagined for us by our filthy-rich community (although honored by our parents) -- is exactly a small, quiet departure from the trajectory taken by our peers. In other words, I may look like a spoiled girl to you, but my means are quite modest in comparison to my upbringing. And you do know, I hope, that one can visit tropical destinations and live very well for $25 a day. You just stay away from resorts and mainline hotels and travel with pals to cut costs. You do have some pals, right? I'm mean, you're not too holy to have friends and everything? And P.S., I love, love, love my chaise! Thank you for remembering it! Oh, I better get off the evil computer and GO READ MY BIBLE NOW. - PB]

    Comment by Didgusted — November 18, 2007 #

25. What in the heck are you talking about? Oh, heaven forbid people spend their hard-earned money on things that they want! What a bunch of worthless hippies…[I got the distinct impression that the gal in the commercial was a trust-fund hippie type. She looked too young to have had many years out of college. I think if she had had more years on her, I would've reacted a lot differently. And oh, that VAPID little-girl voice! Poke my eyes out with a stick! - PB]

    Comment by James — November 19, 2007 #

26. to respond to some above comments way up around 10/30. I grew up in a urban environ but had a $14 goggle/snorkle and fenced for free at the local innner city YMCA. These were some of my favorite things. Great youth activities build a love for the world.

    Comment by gst — November 20, 2007 #

27. PeaceBang… Get a life! If you’re SOOO concerned about how horrible the world is get off your computer and go make a difference. I don’t even care about Mastercard, but I think it is pathetic that you sit here and complain about the other people who persue the things in life that they like… So shut up and go make the difference you feel so strongly that we need, but stop wasting your time being a baby and go save the world if you want to… PS. Your parents may know a thing or two about advertising, but you know nothing. [Travis, I'm a minister. I spend my life making a difference through counseling, preaching, advocating for social justice, consoling the bereaved, teaching, mentoring, and other good works. What are you doing with your life, Travis? I shudder to think. BTW, because it's such a difficult concept for you to grasp: this is a blog. It is a journal of opinion. It is a place to vent, to muse, to write for my readers who know how to carry on a conversation or dialog, which you don't. What you know how to do is to see an opinion you don't like, ignore its context, and feel entitled to spray your ignorance, arrogance and a good dose of testosterone all over the room without engaging in any thoughtful way with what's been said. Very, very disturbing. Especially from a student, from whom we might expect an actual contribution rather than idiotic foaming at the mouth. - PB]

    Comment by Travis — November 27, 2007 #

28. I though she had a nice voice, but that’s just my opinion, no one reads my blog. [But I DID read your comment, Jeff! - PB]

    Comment by Jeff — November 27, 2007 #

29. Given the increasing ignorant and pointless hostility of the comments here, comments are now CLOSED! Thanks for your contributions, those who actually had something to say.

    Comment by PeaceBang — November 28, 2007 #

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