save the whiners!

So its been a while since my last post, but as the summer heat starts to simmer over the East Coast (to cover those days when pending tornadoes or hurricanes just don't "do it"), tempers are flaring up over attack ads that have started to get more and more prevalent. Two such ads have come into the spotlight this past week:

First comes this ad from the consumer-friendly folks at PETA, who unveiled this in the buffet-happy community of Jacksonville, Florida. The argument stems over whether the message, encouraging folks to go vegetarian to live healthier, slimmer lifestyles, is really as well-meaning as PETA claims to intend it is, or whether it is an attack ad against overweight people.

The second ad comes from closer to home, as Coors Light is under fire in Canada for releasing these ads in British Columbia, to take shots at Torontonians like myself to sell beer. Many complaints swamped Coors' PR inboxes over the past week, as many tourists in B.C., mostly Torontonians, were hit with the ad straight on while on vacation. (Ironically enough, this ad was created by DraftFCB, based in...you guessed it, Toronto!)


Now, not to dwell on the individual effects of either, but more to bring up a general topic: should these sort of mocking ads ever see the light of day? Are attack ads meant to go beyond the political spectrum, and attack individuals based on very general topics, like their body type or city of residence?

Why? Why not?

The best ads are meant to push the edge...whether its "Daisy" for a Presidential nominee, "1984" for a Mac desktop, or Paris Hilton hawking a double-cheeseburger, shock appeal is what sticks in your head. Why the media acts so surprised that companies and agencies are still willing to push the envelope today is perhaps the only real shock left from these developments.

And unlike taking unwarranted shots at their subjects, like recent anti-Obama ads that have targeted him as being a Socialist, Fascist and Hollywood Elitist all at the same time, what the ads suggest are not so far fetched. Sure, people have free will, but is recommending a salad in such bad taste (no pun intended)? And while I am a proud Torontonian, any walk down Yonge Street on a busy Saturday will bring out some questionable language in people, and surely we could polish up on our intrapersonal skills every once in a while. There's a reason we pride ourselves on being the New York of the North, people!

Just stop getting so worked up, people! We're in the middle of a recession, stuck in a neverending war, and Glenn Beck is still talking...is this really the worst we've got to deal with!?!