An observation...

originally posted by: stevieray

 

off-topic post removed to prevent thread-drift

 

Wow.

a reply to: stevieray
It seems that Darko & Mrs. are gone.

I recall being murdered by Gryphon, Krazyshot, and Antediluvian about 15 years ago.

Has nothing changed at ATS ?

How strange. Seems like it was sold a few times with new owners / players.

Yet it all stays the same.

How strange. Any reply besides zapping me ?

a reply to: Vroomfondel

The OP stands.

Of course it does. The observations of of it's decadence are sound and it was not my intent to take it down, merely add my perspective to the motive involved.

a reply to: randomuser

Speaking of Fink...
I found the following article very helpful for explaining the current trend of corporate insanity:
Postcards from Barsoom: Omni-Boycott

In the article, the author starts with the Bud-Light & Target brand implosions... describes Fink's role in incentivizing Woke Corporate Policies... then suggests a means to remind Corporate Boards who really pays their salaries.

a reply to: Vroomfondel

I have found that foreign commercials are, on average more interesting/entertaining than American commercials, which tend to be braindead, and sometimes it isn't even clear what product or service is being advertised.

As for the OP's observation, it really does strike me as racist and bigoted. Offended or bothered by mixed-race couples or gay couples in commercials? Yeah, that would be racist and homophobic. As for the way black folk are portrayed, I agree the the hip-hop stereotyping commercials seem almost like corporate blackface, except done with black actors; however, the overwhelming number of commercials using black actors, which I have seen, just have them acting like normal people.

And so-called "wokeness" isn't the cause of the creation of inane commercials. Rather, it's the dumbing down of society, which the marketing and entertainment industries are largely responsible for, although right-wing pundits and politicians play their part as well, e.g. labeling the Democrats and their policies as Marxist is about as ignorant and stupid as it gets.

I will acknowledge, however, that the "wokeness" of some shows and movies -- "The Rings of Power" and the new "Cleopatra" pseudo-documentary as prime examples -- is insufferable.

The overwhelming agreement with the OP by posters here, however, doesn't surprise me. If it walks like a duck, and talks like duck, it's a duck. To quote Maya Angelou:

When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time.

No doubt I'll be pig-piled upon by the usual suspects for my view, but it is what it is.

a reply to: MrInquisitive

Great writing skills. No judgment is taken by the benevolent.

It made me wonder if Jesus referred to dementia when he asked his father to forgive them on the cross.

I Saw a Commercial with two white Adults talking to their Child
about how Whites should be ashamed of their Supremacy or something to that effect.
I hit the Back and Forward on the Remote several times and it was Gone.
Filled in with Totally Different Commercials.
Kinda Freaked me Out LOL
a reply to: Vroomfondel

a reply to: Vroomfondel

What I've found is due to multitasking at work, and different developments in tech the last 20-25 yrs...have on the news in 1 room, 2 different browsers open...1 to Xfinity, the other the web...

Influence? Holy crap it's VAST. I still have our home answ machines, 3-4 mobile phones, tablets, home PCs, laptops.

And all these can be open simultaneously all day, everyday..and 24-7 we both are logged every-damn-where.

And so we "allow" media...all media...to get to us in multiples of influential nonsense.

Teens today are said to ge unable to sit thru movies without their cells n gamebo-whatever..at the same time.

Your point well stated. While we are watching things, doing things...in the background is always something else for most of us...and those we hear in the background....still subliminally influence us in ways you mentioned.

God bless!👍

originally posted by: TerryMcGuire
a reply to: stevieray

out to incomprehensible,

My apologies for commentary beyond your ken

Don't mistake obfuscating verbosity for intelligence.

originally posted by: stevieray
a reply to: stevieray
It seems that Darko & Mrs. are gone.

I recall being murdered by Gryphon, Krazyshot, and Antediluvian about 15 years ago.

Has nothing changed at ATS ?

How strange. Seems like it was sold a few times with new owners / players.

Yet it all stays the same.

How strange. Any reply besides zapping me ?

The Antediluvian is still around under various other pseudonyms.

With an obvious agenda.

a reply to: MrInquisitive

It isn't about them being there as much as that is *all* you see - diversity checkmark.

I remember when I was a kid, we had a school project where we were supposed to watch commercials and tally how many minorities we saw. This was in the '80s to prove a point about how bad it is to see no one like you in ads.

I would like to see the same project done with straight whites doing regular straight white things.

It isn't about racism but about the p7sh for DEI necessarily excludes.

a reply to: Vroomfondel

Its a push to take away any and all identity. Cultural identity, ethnic identity, national identity, racial identity, political identity and now gender identity. Humans are humans. Even families won't exist.
I keep having this lurking thought in the back of my head that this is to ready us to accept alien human hybrids we'll be told are hear.

a reply to: MrInquisitive

I think you are missing the point, and that has led you in a direction you did not need to go.

My point is not that I am offended or bothered by bi-racial or gay people in advertising. The problem is that it remains constant and it is rare to see a commercial now that does not include some specialty minority group and stands in stark contrast to advertising in other countries. I am not offended by the inclusion of bi-racial or gay people in advertising, but rather the apparent necessity to put them everywhere all the time. Advertising should reflect demographic, if it is doing its job, to influence the greatest number of potential customers. Woke advertising seems to be under the impression that by far the greater majority of this nation are bi-racial and/or gay. That is simply not the case. Or, they are simply fomenting an agenda. Based on the quantity and quality of demographic data, I have to conclude it is the latter - the subject of the OP.

Also, your assessment that the problem is the dumbing down of America is not misplaced. However, wokeness is one of the main tools in that dumbing down. The state controlling the narrative in virtually every aspect of life, as evidenced by the advertising, is indeed fascist. Though I fail to understand your calling it marxist. Marxism is anti-racist which I would think, based on your comments, you would be in favor of.

The OP is a reflection on the nationwide persistence of a very specific agenda. Your response to it is to pinpoint your focus on me and my interpretation of the agenda. If you do not see this advertising trend as liberal left agenda then I am afraid there is nothing I, or anyone else, will say here that will open your eyes.

Truly, if it walks like a duck and talks like a duck, its probably a liberal toeing the line and not even aware they are doing the work of the fascist state - the useful idiot. (note: the use of the word idiot is part of the original quote regarding those manipulated to propagation of the fascist agenda, not a personal insult directed solely at you)

a reply to: Vroomfondel

As I said - The advertising aim seems to be selling the people more than the product.

ACME Widgets wants everyone to know they are open-minded, tolerant, diverse ... so they produce all their commercials with DEI checkboxes populating their ads. What about ACME Widgets themselves you ask? Who cares? No one buys them based on how good they actually are as product; it's about whether or not they push all the right triggers in their signaling.

So ACME Widgets might be a load of crap and break two seconds after you start widgeting, but since they show you all the right things in their ads, they are obviously superior to Joe Bloe Widgets because Joe Blow attempts to actually show how good their widgets are, not show you all the right people.

It is not just the commercials. The TV shows have lots of gay/lesbian couples on them or mixed race couples more than in real life. The gay couples act Gay Like....don't know any gay guys who act like that personally. The Lesbians...I've known quite a few of them and none of them act like the Lesbians on the TV. The gay guys are acting way too nice and the Lesbians act way too loving. Not normal at all. Theses people acting probably do not know how real gays and lesbians act. Most of the gays and Lesbians I know have relationships just like straight people do around here. Only in movies do they act like what they are portraying them like. The gays and Lesbians act like normal couples and not like in the movies. You can't even tell they are gay in real life most times.

Maybe in LA the gays and Lesbians act like that, but I doubt it. Who makes up these scripts that are pushing this faggish acting.

Same with the mixed race relationships, seems like they are trying to convince people going with someone of a different race or marrying them will result in a better outcome....in reality...the same kind of result happens between mixed race couples as one race couples. In fact, sometimes in mixed race relationships there is more conflict because one of the partners believes their race is superior, and it is just as often the blacks that act superior as the whites. Racism goes both ways.

I myself do not look at race as something to judge someone by. I look at their integrity and personality. I only know a handful of black people around here, and they seem to be normal people to me. We do not have a lot of blacks here that I notice, but then again I do not look at people's color much. I do notice people who have weird haircolors and that have jewelry hanging from their face or are covered by tattoos. I can't understand why people want to color their hair pink, green, blue, etc... I don't understand why people would want to put holes in their bodies to hang things on. But it is their body, I suppose they got the right to do whatever they have been conditioned to believe is cool or whatever they call it these days.

It's a free country, I just wonder why anyone would want to hang a ring on their nose

originally posted by: ketsuko
a reply to: MrInquisitive

It isn't about them being there as much as that is *all* you see - diversity checkmark.

I remember when I was a kid, we had a school project where we were supposed to watch commercials and tally how many minorities we saw. This was in the '80s to prove a point about how bad it is to see no one like you in ads.

I would like to see the same project done with straight whites doing regular straight white things.

It isn't about racism but about the p7sh for DEI necessarily excludes.

Don't know which channels you watch, but on the ones I view, I still see caucasian, heterosexual couples and families in commercials. Agreed that there is much more diversity than there used to be in commercials, but I am in favor of that. And for a country that is fast approaching the point where the collection of minority groups equals the ethnic majority group in terms of demographic numbers, it makes sense for advertisers to be more inclusive with the casting in commercials. That said, Latin-American, and Asian-Americans (of all sorts) are still under-represented in commercials. although this is not the case on foreign-language broadcasting channels, of course.

A school class homework project to tally the number of "straight whites doing regular straight white things" would still come up with a fairly high proportion of commercials, although how can one always tell a straight white person from a gay white person can be tough. Were Mr. Whipple and the Maytag repairman straight or gay? The same goes for Marge from the old dishwashing commercials and Mrs. Olson from the Folgers commercial (Mrs. Oleson could've been married to Mrs. Olson).

But back to the OP's point, I am honestly surprised by anyone being put off by the diversity in the casting of commercials these days, unless they just don't care to see people that look different from them in commercials representing the common person.

originally posted by: Vroomfondel
a reply to: MrInquisitive

I think you are missing the point, and that has led you in a direction you did not need to go.

My point is not that I am offended or bothered by bi-racial or gay people in advertising. The problem is that it remains constant and it is rare to see a commercial now that does not include some specialty minority group and stands in stark contrast to advertising in other countries. I am not offended by the inclusion of bi-racial or gay people in advertising, but rather the apparent necessity to put them everywhere all the time. Advertising should reflect demographic, if it is doing its job, to influence the greatest number of potential customers. Woke advertising seems to be under the impression that by far the greater majority of this nation are bi-racial and/or gay. That is simply not the case. Or, they are simply fomenting an agenda. Based on the quantity and quality of demographic data, I have to conclude it is the latter - the subject of the OP.

Also, your assessment that the problem is the dumbing down of America is not misplaced. However, wokeness is one of the main tools in that dumbing down. The state controlling the narrative in virtually every aspect of life, as evidenced by the advertising, is indeed fascist. Though I fail to understand your calling it marxist. Marxism is anti-racist which I would think, based on your comments, you would be in favor of.

The OP is a reflection on the nationwide persistence of a very specific agenda. Your response to it is to pinpoint your focus on me and my interpretation of the agenda. If you do not see this advertising trend as liberal left agenda then I am afraid there is nothing I, or anyone else, will say here that will open your eyes.

Truly, if it walks like a duck and talks like a duck, its probably a liberal toeing the line and not even aware they are doing the work of the fascist state - the useful idiot. (note: the use of the word idiot is part of the original quote regarding those manipulated to propagation of the fascist agenda, not a personal insult directed solely at you)

You did make it sound as if you and your wife enjoyed these foreign tv commercials over American ones, because they evidently showed solely caucasian actors. Hence my interpretation of what you and others have written here. The US is a diverse country, at least in urban and a large part of suburban areas. I guess for a person living in a rural area, where the overwhelming majority of people are caucasian, it might seem weird to see see commercials suggesting a demographic mixture in the country as being the "commercial" norm. I'd just say those people need to get out to the big city some, to see what the makeup of the country actually is.

And again, I don't know what commercials you watch, but I see very few involving gay couples or anyone who is obviously gay. I've seen some mixed-race couples in commercials, but not that many. And it is not like there is a dearth of straight-acting caucasian people in commercials. It really seems like just seeing some of the former minority groups in some fraction of commercials bothers you and others, and that it is purely biased paranoia that keeps you from realizing that a lot of commercials do indeed still just involve straight white people. A question: how about commercials involving a mixture of ethnic groups, but still racially segregated couples -- how do you feel about them?

My interpretation of youe observation and others' complaint is that you fear being overwhelmed by people who don't look like you, and that commercials are trying to "disappear" you, even if that isn't anywhere near the case.

As for other countries and their commercials, most other countries are far more racially homogeneous than the US, so it is no surprise that their commercials are as well.

Just looking below, at the next post, I see the assertion that the advertising seems to be selling the people more than the product. I think this is a ridiculous notion. The advertisers are selling the idea that people who look like these actors in a commercial will also like or appreciate a product or service. Businesses are not spending money to sell minority groups. No doubt, however, businesses are being sold by PR/advertising firms that it is in their interest to show minorities appreciating their products. But this makes total sense in a country as diverse as the US.

As for Marxism, it has very little to do with race, and instead is about social and economic class struggle, the goal of which is a revolution that leads to communism. Anyone that thinks Biden and other establishment Democrats, who are in the pockets of big business almost as much as Republican politicians, want the social economic order to be overturned are delusional. For that matter, the vast majority of liberal and progressive politicians similarly do not want to change the social economic order to one of communism, although they do want a diminishment of power by the rich and power elite.

Do want to say, however, that I have been pleasantly surprised by the response to my earlier comments. Not that you agreed with me, but that you engaged in good faith and in a reasonable manner.

a reply to: MrInquisitive

Usually when there is a white couple, either they are not hetero, or one of them has another obvious disability like I once saw one where one of the parents was deaf.

There are very, very few regular families even though such families still make up about 60 to 70% of the overall family makeup of the US.

This trend started long ago with the average dad character starting to become a complete, incompetent doofus in most media no matter his other qualities. Mom was the all-knowing wise one, but then at some point, both parents became idiots in favor of the smart kid. It's the same kind of thing. Most families portrayed are not normal families, but distorted.

The same thing as what rickymouse noted. There was a big push for more LGBTQ+BBQ characters, and lo and behold, suddenly every show had one, and in some cases, characters were even ret-conned to make them gay. The problem was that most of those characters were poor characters. It seemed the best those writers could come up with was the stereotypical flamin' gay stereotype. Now, I don't know about you, but I've worked and trained alongside a reasonable number of gay people. The "problem", if you will, with gays is that they are only different really in how they f--- basically unless you do get a flamin' stereotype. So you wouldn't know unless the actual topic comes up, and in the normal course of the day, it really doesn't all that much.

So when you add a gay character, you really aren't going to be able to showcase it very well if you're doing a good job with making a real human character. You either have to make them wear a shirt that specifically labels them, make them that flamin' stereotype so as to remove all doubt, or find ways to bring the subject up all the time.

Most of the writers opted to go with stereotype and they still do. In the cases when you do find a good character, it often happens that the subject of them being gay is brought up in awkward ways just in case the audience were to forget or a new viewer needs to be brought up to speed. Like I said, it's hard to do it naturally depending on the subject matter of your show or movie. An FBI agent in the field on a case has very few opportunities to bring up personal sexuality, for example.

originally posted by: randomuser
Larry Fink of Blackrock: “You have to force change.” Googled the term got nothing. Searched it on YouTube got nothing. It’s all over Twitter. Here is one tweet of him saying it:

Larry Fink - You Have to Force Change.

It all has to do with the ESG rating and these companies’ ability to get loans.

Funny you mention that as i was about to post this...
Two Companies that Own the World

a reply to: MrInquisitive

You did make it sound as if you and your wife enjoyed these foreign tv commercials over American ones, because they evidently showed solely caucasian actors.

This is what I said:

Races and genders were well represented. There were no obvious agendas or political championing. Children acted like children. Black people were just people. Couples were just couples. From one end to the other, it was just people being people.

I think you are seeing what you want to see, not what is there.

I don't hate the people. I hate the agenda that wants to shove them in everyone's face all day every day.

The only time I get truly angry is when any of these specialty groups targets children: teaching crt in elementary schools, trans time for 5 year olds, etc. And I will never think it is wrong to be angry at that. Never.