I swear, people on the comm are deeply uncurious and in denial about basic facts. The ad was unquestionably promoting eugenics in a silly tongue and cheek way 🤪. We live in a fascist state where people and companies feel more bold in coming out of the closet as evil; how is it so hard to believe that they’d run an ad like that?
I doubt it’s just this comm though. Americans in general are as in denial about the state of things as the 1930s Germans before them. Things are more outrageous than they feel comfortable with, so to maintain their view of a just world, they just become further detached from reality. It’s easier to think the ground under you is stable than scramble to deal with the quicksand.
Dumb ad exec - “What if we did something like a pun on genes and jeans? We could get whatever it girl is hot right now with blue eyes because we sell blue jeans.”
Another dumb ad exec - “But what if people think it’s about eugenics, given the political climate right now?”
Dumb ad exec - “No way, people understand what a pun is.”
The dumb public - “…”
The ad execs published conversations they had with “syd.” They asked explicitly if she was willing to “push the envelope” and she agreed that “they should go all the way lol.”
Everyone involved in the ad absolutely knew it was a eugenics joke.
Are you sure that’s not referring to the run-of-the-mill sexual exploitation of young women that this industry is known for? Because there is a lot of that in the commercial for sure.
What’s “pushing the envelope” about run-of-the-mill sexual exploitation? Your own descriptor points out how common it is.