The Superbowl ads this year were fairly mediocre, on top of often being oddly dated and consistently anti-women. But one ad is getting a lot of discussion/attention in the green world: The Audi ad about the Green Police.
If you didn’t see it, it depicts a new police force arresting people for choosing plastic bags at the supermarket or setting their jacuzzis at too high a temperature. Then a driver of an Audi “clean diesel” is waved right through an eco road block.
Was it funny? Yes (it’s hard not to laugh when the eco-police, on their Segway’s, ask a real policeman to “step out of the car” for drinking out of a styrofoam cup).
But was it also cringe-worthy? Yes. The ad really plays on all the worst stereotypes about how going green is hard and how you’ll be judged. The redeeming quality is that the person doing the ‘right’ thing, the driver, gets a free pass.
But in terms of promoting green consumer choices, does Audi help the movement (and its own product) or hurt it?
What do you think?
ANDREW SPEAKING
‘Is the World Better Off Because Your Company Is In It?’: Examining Corporate Climate Responsibility
3 Responses
The Cheap Trick song is awesome
The anteater is awesome
The idea of environmental police intruding on people’s personal lives is funny. But it is also making fun of environmentalists.
I hate when environmentalists lecture people about what they should do. I believe that if something is
GREEN EASY and FUN
people will do it
I think the people who like this commercial the most are people who already make fun of environmentalists.
I think in that sense the ad can be harmful. All of the green things enforced by the green police are good things to do. But if the ad encourages making fun of environmentalists more than it encourages protection of the environment it is a negative thing. Just because I think this doesn’t mean I don’t think it is a funny commercial.
I just don’t think it is worth it in the grand scheme of things to make fun of green habits by having police satirically arrest people for having incandescent light bulbs.
How is this cool to my environmental friends. The same ones who support a ban on incandescent light bulbs??
A hilarious ad making fun of environmentalists is not good in my book since I am an environmentalist.
Also Green Car of the Year? According to GREENCARS.COM
I’d go by GREENERCARS.ORG pictured above, (double click to enlarge)
If you want an example of environmentally-related satire that I think is funny and I like, look no further than Dwight K. Schrute’s RECYCLOPS! on the office
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jgDu79jRmMQ&feature=player_embedded
agree? disagree? if it makes thousands switch from a Benz to a diesel Audi is it worth getting made fun of ?
I think the ad is genius and so the Audi marketing department workers.
The ad itself is no doubts raising extra attention in a funny manner to green way of living. They certainly help the movement.
it has to be pretty complicated to market something as “green” and “luxury”
luxury items don’t make sense to me in a world where people can’t even get clean water or electricity. I try to live at my minimum comfort level and donate to people in need but could do much more than I do if society encouraged this type of behavior.
I’d rather have my car a toyota corolla than gets like 39-40 mpg and use the money I saved from not buying an Audi to get solar panels for myself or some kids in Africa without any electricity. Audi’s site has a comparison and it said there is no environmental benefit of the TDI compared to a toyota corolla 4 cylinder