False Advertsing/Shameless Self Promotion
I thought I had blogged about this but apparently I had just vented to a friend by e-mail. Anyway, I was watching television last week (as I always do) and a commercial came on. There was a business man in a high-rise office with a shit-eating grin on his face talking about how corporate America has taken advantage of employees for so long that only 26 percent of the U.S. population actually uses their earned vacation time.
The sarcastic business man goes on and on about how we’re working weekends, we’re working late, we’re neglecting family and how employers in other countries offer substantially more time off to their workers than U.S. companies.
At the end, the screen goes blank and in simple white text is says “Take Back Your Vacation”. Then the screen goes blank again and addition text appears, providing a website to go to,
Anyway, I was so excited when I saw this! I was thinking how great it is that a movement is starting in this country to reclaim our vacations. I’ve always read how European countries give there employees 40 vacation days year (versus the standard U.S. amount of 10 vacation days…with many employers only offering 5 days for the first year). This issues has always offended me…and I attribute our lack of vacations to the high levels of stress, broken families, high blood pressure, suicides, road rage and other crimes. I truly believe that having adequate time off to collect yourself and relax creates a better, more relaxed and more civil society. It amazes me how many business people are so willing to have cell phones and pagers so they can be reached 24 hours per day, 7 days per week. Maybe I’m not motivated, but I don’t want my employer tracking me down at any time they choose.
OK – I got sidetracked. So, I went to this website* hoping to sign up for their mailing list and/or to find out how to be involved in this movement. So, I logged on, went to the site, and….
…it’s a freakin’ advertisement for Universal Studios!!!!
I was so pissed! They don’t care about our well-being. They want our money – that’s it. Aside from some statistics showing the amount of time off provided in other countries, there is nothing else really there except for shameless self-promotion. There is no movement to “take back our vacation time”. NADA! It’s a goddamn advertisement for an amusement park.
I’m pissed. Royally pissed. I feel misled, and I feel they’re just as bad as corporate America for rubbing it in our faces and then doing nothing about it to make change. ESPECIALLY since the advertising campaign looks like an authentic movement to make change. Nowhere on the TV commercial does it say it’s an ad for Universal Studios…not even in fine print or in logos.
While I was on the site (and fuming) I searched for a “contact us” option -but I couldn’t easily find one. I wanted to notify them about how offensive I found their ad campaign. But instead, I’m posting my feelings here on my blog so all five of my readers can know how I feel. It’s a start.
*I’m not going to post the website address here because I don’t want to be responsible for giving their site any more hits than necessary.
9 Comments
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Slow day huh?
Well, there is the Take Back Your Time movement:
http://www.simpleliving.net/timeday/ (or for a shorter url, http://www.timeday.org)
THAT’s actually what you were hoping this shameful amusement park thingie would be… an actual attempt at a movement. With, of course, a place to join their mailing list…
Yay! Karl’s getting some fire in his veins!
I think you should go to the Universal site, find their 800 number, and call and waste their money as you rant to them.
I’m with you, Snarl. I thought the same thing! So start the movenent already. I’ll join up. 🙂
Consider decaf.
Believe it or not, I don’t even drink coffee…or soda. I’m practically caffeine free (minus the occasional piece of chocolate).
I dont know you, I just found your blog online when I was researching the commercial myself. But I did want to tell you that they probably got lots of comments like yours and they changed the ad to make it known its an ad for Universal Studios. Just thought you would like to know.
Don’t you think that this kind of advertisement has the market penetration to reach people who don’t know that workers in the U.S. have a longer work week than any other workers in the industrialized world?
Even though it’s a purely commecial venture, it’s clearly informing people about workers rights issues.
Especially the Pharmacuetical industry ad, where he says, “Stay the course” (a bush phrase) “keep working because not taking your vacation results in depression, but we’ll give you a pill to make you happy”.
I would suggest, that rather than punish Universal for including this progressive, pro-labor information in thier ad, we should thank them for spending corporate money to promote workers rights for the first time in television history.
i found the commercial rather amusing. especially the happy pill portion. it’s funny because it’s true. i lost my father suddenly to a stroke over a year ago and everyone wanted to put me on a happy pill, instead of letting me go through the grieving process naturally. ridiculous. most americans don’t understand how to relax and holiday…at least it will give some folks a wake up call. and, maybe a few families will take vacation as a result…at universal or somewhere else. life is about choices after all, is it not?