Problem: Inappropriate vs. Appropriate

They've done it again...first it was Paris Hilton washing a car and eating a burger, and now it is actually two different ads: a VERY young teacher in a room full of teenage males striking stripper poses on a classroom desk while her students sing about her smaller-than-average backside, and another woman in a man's white button-up shirt rolling around on the floor eating a burger and listing off the "things" she wants "you" to "do" to her, ie. kiss, touch...and she stops short of skipping straight down the list to "number 1."

We know who these ads appeal to. And in this case, it extends even further to the Van Halen "Hot for Teacher" generation. HOWEVER...we find, once again, that the world around us cannot seem to tell the difference -- or, worse yet, refuses to admit to a difference -- between that which is appropriate for the viewing public and inappropriate for same. Carl's wants the business of young males. They've got it. They had it back when their ads displayed massive and inexpensive sandwiches dripping with condiments to "really fill up a man," if you will. "If it doesn't get all over the place, it doesn't belong in your face." A little disgusting, but cute, and excellent for the market they wanted. Doesn't Carl's Jr worry now, though, that they're hurting themselves by making women into chattel? Religious individuals everywhere boycotted them during the Paris ad campaign, and now those same individuals, PLUS teachers everywhere, PLUS many women will boycott them, too! But they have made their decision. They have shot their commercials, and paid for those commercials to be circulated. They didn't bother to consider (or don't want to consider) the appropriateness of the ads...they just know that "flat buns" sell flat buns.

The stations that play these commercials have taken that money, used it to pay their execs and their cameramen and their mailroom attendants, what-have-you, and have slapped those ads up on the screen for their viewership to do what they have been paid to do: give the ads airtime. Not once did those stations bother to determine whether or not it would be appropriate to air the ads; instead, they let the public decide whether or not to watch the ads, passing the buck to us. I appreciate that they want to let us decide...and I do decide, where particular shows and programs are concerned. I am very selective in the television I watch, and in the television I permit my children to watch. I cannot, however, be selective about the ADS they watch. I cannot keep my television from playing an inappropriate ad during a family program unless I leap up or grab the remote and switch off the television...often by which time the damage is done.

I can, however, protest the ads to my local television stations. And I have. I can purchase a DVR or a Tivo for the few programs I want to see, record them, and then play them for my children at a later time, fast-forwarding through commercials. I can also abandon television watching altogether and stick to movies...and BOOKS.

I have options. The first option I listed, however, is always the most important: make a statement. Again, STAND UP for yourself. The station won't do anything about their ads unless someone says something, and even then, it often takes more than one...but imagine that I am the one, and you are number two. Or number twenty-two. Or maybe just the one that makes the difference.

Now the solution: It is not wrong to decide that something is inappropriate for you and yours, and it is not wrong to state that you find something to be inappropriate. There are, of course, circumstances where your opinion is not required, is not helpful, or is none of your business, but at the times when it is required or helpful and is your business (ie. involves you directly), feel free to comment. In fact, feel it a necessity to comment.

Your business should be just as important to Carl's Jr. as Joe Schmoe Frat Boy, because they really do have a great Jr. Western Bacon Cheeseburger...which cheeseburger I will not be enjoying until a) these ads are off the air, and b) my diet is completed, just a few pounds from now. So there, Carl's...and ABC, NBC, CBS, what-have-you.

Problem solved,
Mommy