[hfelknor]

Well, maybe not.
Maybe Nissan AND their customers are generally too young to remember much beyond oh, say 1999?

Anyway, not being a TV watcher, I had not seen Nissans latest Commercial on Titan Trucks until tonight.

Good grief.
Talk about lack of taste.
OR, are they rubbing our faces in it?
OR, are they oblivious to the history of Japan and the US (And Britain, I might add)

The music playing over the commercial is the theme from "The Bridge on the River Kwai". (BRK)
The BRK was a movie that was produced back in the 50s.
It was based on the reality of the Japanese building the Burma Railroad using prisoners of war as slave labor in WWII.
And it was based on a real guy and real POWs.

The truth of the matter is that, regardles of what they are now, in the 1940s, they were cruel, sadistic bastards. Thousands upon thousands died in the POW camps while building this damn railroad and the bridges.

It is just too much that they would use this song from this movie about their atrocities. Just to sell a product?
If my uncles could crawl out of their graves, (Both KIA in WWII, Both in the Pacific theater) I'm sure they would, and Nissan would not be very happy about the results.
Some of us were around back then and some of us really don't want to think too much about those days.
But it was Nissan that decided to run the commercial, not me.

Nissan gets a letter about this and it won't be very nice. And if they don't bury the Commercial, the Newspapers get the next letter.

Homer

 

[Eric L.]

I know of both the commercial and origin of the song (Colonel Bogey's March) you talk about. The song was concieved for a pro-ally Hollywood movie based on a novel that was itself loosely based on real events, and has been used in many many many television shows and commercials (including in an early episode of the Simpsons where the baby escapes from a daycare center). In the movie, the Americans win of course and manage to blow up the bridge, a departure from the real life events in which the bridge was actually in operation for 2 years before being blown up by allied bombing. If anything, the whistling song was meant to display the fortitude of the POW British soldiers as they stood up against their captors, which seems to be a positive message to me.

Just my 2 cents on this, and I understand that the theme can be seen as insensitive if it reminds you of WW2 atrocities.

 

[GripperDon]

Different Times Different Viewpoints

Different cultures. Personally I AM AN AMERICAN and Damn Proud of it. I am sure you both are also.

So different points of view, I drive the car but I don't like what the Tojo crowd did and taught his troops to do. I drive a German Car also and Don't like what Hitler and his Nazi's thugs did and taught his troops to do. Nobody does or is or would defend them.

No body would.. If you lost a son there or a father those things will hurt till you die.

It's not a thing to argue about or even discuss too much in my opinion. Way too painfull for everyone concerned and cetinally there is no logic available that would work for anyone, Emotially charged topic. WOW

Outa here said too much already.

 

[Eric L.]

Well said Grip - there is not one answer that people will find perfect. I'll check out of this thread for your reasons stated.

 

[jaak]

What's the betting an American ad agency does the commercials for Nissan?

Google time...

Here we go:

"The new Titan advertising was created by Nissan’s agency, TBWA/Chiat/Day, based in Playa del Rey, California. "

From Nissannews.com

http://www.nissannews.com/nissan/news/products/relnissannews2003111393139.shtml

An interesting perspective:

http://www.baileycar.com/2004_Titan_html.html

Now consider that the people at the ad agency are trying to create and reinforce and image of "Built in America" for the Titan and that many or perhaps most of them that are in management and creative departments, are likely to have superficial knowledge of the elements of the campaign, such as music, due to their generation.

Perfect conditions for this kind of thing to happen.

I believe there are a couple of things that make us less sensitive to past feelings of "the enemy". Distance in time from the events, and also a general recognition that governments make choices on behalf of nations of people, that do not reflect a nations true feelings, or are supported by one-sided fabrications of what the real truth is, propogated by those nations governments.

In the past when communication methods were very limited, it would have been easy to stir the fears and emotions of people, about an evil empire coming to attack their way of life. On both sides.

Fortunately today, for much of us, we have enough sources of global opinions to make us weigh what's propoganda and what's reality and attempt to make a judgement on this.

Which is why I've loved short wave radio in the past. You sure do get a different spin on global situations from different countries. Even living in Toronto, I've been blessed with access to all the US broadcasters as well as all the Canadian ones, resulting in an attitude of weighing opinions and information, before coming to my own conclusions.

There are many political discussions that can arise from this, which I believe we need to steer clear of, as they are not appropriate, nor productive for this forum, as there is no "right" answer, so it's best not to even go there. So I'm with Grip and Eric on this one, and I agree with Homer that it is a bit of a stumble, or it's a calculated risk on Nissan's part, based on their target audience and real knowledge of the story.

It would be interesting to know how much of this, was Nissan's choice, vs. the Agency's choice.

But they're trying to push a Japanese truck into a American dominated market. So built in America and anything else they can think of that's building that good old down home image is what they would shoot for.

But that's just my 2 cents..

 

[mgthe3]

Yeah, I recognized the irony of the song the first time I saw the commercial and did remark about it to my wife ("I can't believe they are using that") who is 43.....and she didn't get it.....so the younger folks probably won't as well.

There are a lot of things attributed to this country or that one....when actually it is usually a personal choice of the person who ordered/did the atrocity. I have a very close Brit bud who tends to say "your.....or you guys...or Americans..." when either complaining about an attitude or position on something international. I quickly correct him and say, "you mean our president...or congress.....or lawmakers.....or sheep" when he does that generalization. I guess if one of my relatives was killed by a certain nationality fighting in the forces of that nation, I probably would have a twinge of animocity towards that population. But really, it was the person who would have killed that relative, not the country....so it all becomes silly. Sorta like the black kids in my youngest son's school telling him once that he is "gonna get dissed because he is white and white folks had slaves". How rediculous is that? Did my son have them? Have any of my relatives had them? NOT!
It's the same thing.....

I think people are just people, not their geographical/chronological happenstance.

 

[Kris]

Very interesting discussion.

Today’s world is different. I agree with all the post above. Yes, some commercials do have bad taste but, $$$ rules! Homer, you are investor, aren’t you…..

Many members of my family died in many wars, from hands of Russians, Germans, Austrians. My family “missed” Auschwitz by 1hr - good people warned them. And yet I have many German friends. No hard feelings. Through my travel I learned one thing – people are the same everywhere. Good and bad. The bad in great minority, thanks God!

This is very unfortunate that the actions of Governments, or for that matter dictators are associated with ordinary people. And media are to blame as well due to the way they report “news”. Let’s rise above this and open our minds.

Homer, no I do not support the commercial, let’s make it clear. But let’s do not associate today’s people with what happened 60 years ago. DO NOT forget but put it in the right perspective.

 

[GripperDon]

Promised not to post about the subject and I am Not

This is about what Kris said.

"Today’s world is different. I agree with all the post above. Yes, some commercials do have bad taste but, $$$ rules! Homer, you are investor, aren’t you….."

Actually Kris I am. BUT I sold all my energy holdings, Specifically beacuse I don't want blood money from the Corporate Looters. robbing the folks that have to buy Gas.

I feel that when Integerity looses to Greed, we also loose the County and ourselves.

So since I feel that way I could not be a part of it.

I hope everyone of those overpaid executives, looses every dime thay ever have and try to live like the average Joe they are looting.

Parts of this "Still Greatest Country' are out of control, but I am and will always be "Proud to Be an American. The land of caring principled people. I am sure you are one of them Kris, I just wanted to react to the statement regarding the investors part.

I hear it a lot, "You sold you Oil stock????? If we all sold them they would get the message and lower prices. Paraphasing Clintion's famous phrase of "It's the economy Stupid" Well it's "Greed, not Supply and Demand" IMO

 

[Kris]

Don,

I could not agree more............