Chrysler's irresponsible advertising

I’m not a big fan of advertising but I do grudgingly recognize it as a necessary evil.

On the other hand, advertising should not actually BE evil.

There is an ad campaign running right now for Chrysler Ram trucks that brazenly encourages young people to do dangerous things under the banner of “live your life!”

It mocks mothers with a series of ‘you’ll put your eye out’ type warnings from off screen motherly voices as young folks engage in activities like driving recklessly, cliff diving, etc. The tag line, after relating driving a Dodge to engaging in thrill-seeking is, “Sorry, Mom!”

When do we get to be done with anti-social advertising?

When will we stop immersing girls in depictions of ‘perfect’ bodies? Or using ‘the most interesting man in the world’ to push drugs? (Yes, alcohol is a drug.) Or using rudeness as an inside joke (remember the ‘fresh’ ads for Mentos)?

Advertising people seem to think that ‘edgy’ is the epitome of persuasion. But when edgy is simply a synonym for irresponsible, I vote with my feet.

There are actors whose movies I won’t watch, companies whose products I won’t buy and stores I won’t patronize because I don’t want to contribute to their messages. Admittedly, neither the Walmart people nor Ben Stiller are likely shaking in their boots. And since I’m not likely to ever buy another pickup truck, the Dodge folks are probably not sorely vexed at my refusal to consider purchasing their products.

But I can’t help harboring the (probably insane) hope that enough people will believe and act as I do to make a difference.

UPDATE NOTE: I thought Ram was still a Dodge brand but Chrysler has pulled it out as its own brand line. Sorry for the error, but my opinion stands.