Ad campaign - more dumb romance readers
Oct. 3rd, 2006 08:56 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jmc_bksI noticed an ad on the wall in the Metro last night that just pissed me off. Two photos of the same guy, side by side. In one, he's reading a romance novel and the caption is "Average subway reading." In the other, he's reading Plato's Republic and the caption is "Greater Washington subway reading." The small print went on to talk about the Greater Washington Initiative, and how educated people are in this area.
WTF? First, I've never seen a guy on the Metro reading a romance novel as lurid as the one the guy in the ad was. The newspaper or Express or magazine is more the norm, either that or work papers. And the only people I see reading "serious" stuff -- students. Second, does anyone really think that reading Plato means you are smart? Seriously, it was required reading in freshman philosophy in college. Every moron in my class had to read it -- it didn't mean they were smart or ed-jah-micated, it just meant it was mandatory. Third, talk about an insult to romance readers everywhere. We are apparently undereducated and not the target audience (or desired workforce) for Greater Washington.
Talk about pretentious.
So what is this GWI that is responsible for the ad? According to its website, it is the "regional economic development marketing organization that assists firms in expanding their business in the District of Columbia, Northern Virginia and suburban Maryland."I'm thinking about sending them an email about their stereotypes and assumptions. My letter is ready, but for proofing by a friend, and will be sent this evening.
WTF? First, I've never seen a guy on the Metro reading a romance novel as lurid as the one the guy in the ad was. The newspaper or Express or magazine is more the norm, either that or work papers. And the only people I see reading "serious" stuff -- students. Second, does anyone really think that reading Plato means you are smart? Seriously, it was required reading in freshman philosophy in college. Every moron in my class had to read it -- it didn't mean they were smart or ed-jah-micated, it just meant it was mandatory. Third, talk about an insult to romance readers everywhere. We are apparently undereducated and not the target audience (or desired workforce) for Greater Washington.
Talk about pretentious.
So what is this GWI that is responsible for the ad? According to its website, it is the "regional economic development marketing organization that assists firms in expanding their business in the District of Columbia, Northern Virginia and suburban Maryland."
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What point?
Date: 2006-10-06 07:57 pm (UTC)You are entitled to like the ad. By the same token, I am entitled to not like the ad.
Must you make assumptions about what I know? Contrary to your comment, I am very aware of DC's creative economy and its growth. The metro area has a great deal to offer to many businesses. Drawing attention to that may have been the goal of the ad, but that isn't my point or the cause of my disgruntlement. My problem with the ad isn't the message that DC has a high concentration of advanced degrees and would be a good place to locate/relocate a business, nor is it a matter of the ad not "making sense." I am offended by the ad because it insults a large group of readers in order to make potential businesses feel smarter/better about themselves and the GW-area.
I believe the ad's small print and large photos are implying that romance readers are less educated and less desirable. The Plato reader is a GWI-desirable potential employee; the small print points out that the GW area has a large concentration of advanced degrees and smart people. The person viewing the ad is led by the captions to the ad's implicit conclusion, that the "average" non-Plato reader is less educated and a less desirable employee.
Frankly, I believe that there must be a way to highlight DC's high concentration of advanced degrees without insulting or belittling people. Especially people who read. [If you would like to know how educated and how widely read the "average" romance reader is, please check out stats at www.rwa.org.]