No, Lexus Did Not Intentionally Use 9/11 Imagery In Ad
Al Pacino once said in Godfather III something to the effect of "As soon as I'm out, they pull me right back in." That's how we feel about this manufactured conspiracy theory we were going to ignore - originated in a MediaPost opinion piece by Eric Sass - that a new Lexus commercial somehow uses 9/11-like imagery. This is a waste of time. Everyone is reading waaaaaaaaaaaaaay too much into this. What...all ads shot in NYC that show the skyline will now be accused of treading inappropriately on 9/11? Please. Yea, there's two cars in the commercial. It's hardly as symmetrical as some claim nor in any way reminiscent of 9/11.
If you want to complain about an ad that reminds us of 9/11, why don't we look at the Cingular billboards with the two bars extending upward from the board. Those ads have been running for years. Sure 9/11 sucked. It always will suck. It will always a sad day in our history. But to think marketers are maliciously trying to make fun of 9/1 is just indicative we all have way too much time on our hands to analyze this crap.
Comments
Lame.
It’s crazy how much people try to find conspiracy everywhere. In Brazil it happens sometimes but I think American people are much worse in that. (No offense.)
911 sucks. Hummers and SUV suck a lot of gas. Gas comes from the Middle East. Only one power in the the M.E. has nuclear capability.
Saudi Terrorists anyone?
Whatever 9/11 imagery was in that, I missed it.
However, there is an ad out for a car, can't recall now which one (which really means the ad was very unsuccessful) The city is turning on its side and people are sliding down the street, falling out of buildings. Whether intentional or not, the imagery is way too similar to that of 9/11 media footage.
Anyone remember what that ad was for?
The latest offensive 9/11 ad is for VLCC face scrub on Ads of the World - "some scars never go." Utterly overt and completely insensitive; the disaster was trivialised to a facial anomaly. Have we said goodbye to advertising ethics?
advertising... ethics? I'm not sure I read you...
hahaa! Throughout the entire time reading the post, I thought that we were talking about the porche.
I dunno....I think he's on to something here. The closing shot exactly frames the spot where the towers stood. And they are both racing to get out of New York, and there is a call to "safety." Sometimes a cigar is more than just a cigar.
I think a lot of people are being remarkably naive about this. I find it hard to believe that at least some people involved in the shooting of this commercial didn't know what they were suggesting when they created this controversial scenario. I suspect this is actually the work of lower level functionaries in the mind control division of the Military Industrial Entertainment complex's web of secret societies that make up the many tentacled octopus of clandestine organizations running the world from behind the curtain of everyday life. This, in the minds of the makers, is CREATIVITY: subtext that is the subversion of our overly commercialized culture, created by self-hating would-be artists in lieu of the great novel, film or painting they will never have the discipline to complete.
Or maybe it's just another car ad that shows the metal.
team one is out here in LA. most people in LA don't even know what happened on sept. 11.
most people in LA don't even know what happened on sept. 11
That made me laugh, until I remembered that I was in LA that day, supposed to fly out that morning, and got stuck there for six extra days. I know you were joking, but I can assure you that LA was a very very different place those few days, in a good way. Made me look at my former home city in a whole different light.
Now, back to the previously scheduled airing of Dr. 90210....
9/11 imagery is buildings crashing down & planes on course for said buildings, not a skyline. Who, upon sight of their skylines, thinks of ashen tragedies of Chicago, San Fran & Seattle? Not many.
Actually I thought the final shot did evoke 9/11 ...but I am from the northeast.
I then thought they had great opportunity to play this out in different cities as regional ads (Escape from Alcatraz, Over the Border, etc). But I guess that didn't happen .....
I know that "we will never forget" - but this is just stupid. There is a difference between remembering and respect, and obsessing.
You can't go looking for signs of 9/11 in everything everyday! Good grief, if you try hard enough you can find "signs" in anything - but that doesn't mean they are really there.
Hmmm. Maybe Lexus started this "conspiracy theory" to get all of you talking about their lame creative.
Maybe the coup I just witnessed is a conspiracy. Seems like it's a dirty word these days.
Charles Frith
Bangkok
I've been living in Manhattan since before 9/11, and I never would have thought there was any connection. If there's any ethical problem with the ads, it's that the routes those cars took would have really taken them about 15 hours, assuming they started during rush hour. But that would have made for one very boring commercial... and the media buying would be tough.