Some mornings I read the New York Times online, eschewing the tabloid sensationalism of the Daily News and the Post. Today was one of those mornings, but unfortunately I was not spared the yellow journalism. One headline that stood out while browsing the main page was Stuart Elliot’s, “Super Bowl Ads of Cartoonish Violence, Perhaps Reflecting Toll of War”. Dumbfounded by the title, I decided to take a closer look and was treated to this introduction:

No commercial that appeared last night during Super Bowl XLI directly addressed Iraq, unlike a patriotic spot for Budweiser beer that ran during the game two years ago. But the ongoing war seemed to linger just below the surface of many of this year’s commercials.

If you are interested in Elliot’s explanation and a FV style article critique, stay tuned…

The premise of Elliot’s article is to establish a common thread of violence and aggression in many of the commercials and to suggest that the ongoing war in Iraq was an influence, either conscious or subconscious, in creating such “violent” advertising.

For instance, in a commercial for Bud Light beer, sold by Anheuser-Busch, one man beat the other at a game of rock, paper, scissors by throwing a rock at his opponent’s head.

In another Bud Light spot, face-slapping replaced fist-bumping as the cool way for people to show affection for one another. In a FedEx commercial, set on the moon, an astronaut was wiped out by a meteor. In a spot for Snickers candy, sold by Mars, two co-workers sought to prove their masculinity by tearing off patches of chest hair.

Here Elliot gives some examples of violence and aggression seen during last night’s Super Bowl ads. Okay, like Bud Light has jacked up the testosterone of their ads as a response to Iraq? The King of Beers beer-gut friendly jock juice doesn’t exactly have the image of class and refinement. This is the company that sponsored the “Bud Bowl” in the 90s, but maybe Elliot would have you believe was a metaphor for Desert Storm. Anyone familiar with Bud Light knows that the company is no stranger to aggro-male overload. He also fails to mention that the ripping of the chest hair was preceded by the two co-workers kissing while sharing a Snickers bar Lady and The Tramp style…not exactly the most manly of acts.

There was also a bank robbery (E*Trade Financial), fierce battles among office workers trapped in a jungle (CareerBuilder), menacing hitchhikers (Bud Light again) and a clash between a monster and a superhero reminiscent of a horror movie (Garmin).

The Career Builder ad was spoofing Survivor (please bring the partying monkeys back), I don’t totally remember the E*Trade commercial (my bad, I think I was making nachos), and the Garmin ad was a totally ridiculous ironic joke, complete with bad hair metal band. If Elliot thinks a robot destroying a map version of Optimus Prime with a blue laser is violent, then I have some Takashi Miike films I can recommend.

During other wars, Madison Avenue has appealed to a yearning for peace. That was expressed in several Super Bowl spots evocative of “Hilltop,” the classic Coca-Cola commercial from 1971, when the Vietnam War divided a world that needed to be taught to sing in perfect harmony.

Comparing the war in Iraq to the Vietnam is terms of conflict is a no-brainer, but the culture of our society is much different today than during Vietnam. Protests are few and far between, flowers are not adorning any hairdos, and the weed is rolled in blunts. Advertisers in the early 70s were just doing what all advertisers do; appealing to their audience. Selling product really has little to do with a message, it has more to do with market research and finding an angle. Never judge an ad or commercial at face value, companies are the most sly foxes you can ever get in bed with. So for one to think that Coca-Cola was pushing peace during the Vietnam War for sake of benevolence, is ignorant.

Bottom line is that Elliot is just grasping at straws with this article. It’s probable that he was just aiming to stir up some controversy, using the incendiary nature of all things Iraq, but his theory is just too ridiculous. But I could be wrong though…maybe lasers and bitch slaps are the equivalent of WMDs and IEDs.