k wrote:
] ] A U.N. commercial depicts American girls playing in a
] ] soccer match. A girl steps on a landmine and there's a
] ] big explosion. Kids get blown apart. CNN and other
] ] networks don't want to air the ad.
]
] [ It's disturbing, that's for sure. God knows, we wouldn't
] want to upset anyone. -k]

Well, its kind of stupid. If there were land mines in the local park they would have been discovered when the lawn was mowed. A more realistic scenario would be one in which the local boys were exploring in the woods and stepped on one. In either event, I think seeing kids blow up is most likely to just make people laugh. If you filmed emergency vehicles and crying mothers instead you'd not only get aired, but you might actually get your point across.

Decius wrote:
] Well, its kind of stupid. If there were land mines in the
] local park they would have been discovered when the lawn was
] mowed. A more realistic scenario would be one in which the
] local boys were exploring in the woods and stepped on one. In
] either event, I think seeing kids blow up is most likely to
] just make people laugh. If you filmed emergency vehicles and
] crying mothers instead you'd not only get aired, but you might
] actually get your point across.

True. It would make more sense for a troop of Boy Scouts got taken out by a bouncing betty while on a hike..

Decius wrote:
] k wrote:
] ] ] A U.N. commercial depicts American girls playing in a
] ] ] soccer match. A girl steps on a landmine and there's a
] ] ] big explosion. Kids get blown apart. CNN and other
] ] ] networks don't want to air the ad.
] ]
] ] [ It's disturbing, that's for sure. God knows, we wouldn't
] ] want to upset anyone. -k]
]
] Well, its kind of stupid. If there were land mines in the
] local park they would have been discovered when the lawn was
] mowed. A more realistic scenario would be one in which the
] local boys were exploring in the woods and stepped on one. In
] either event, I think seeing kids blow up is most likely to
] just make people laugh. If you filmed emergency vehicles and
] crying mothers instead you'd not only get aired, but you might
] actually get your point across.

[ I guess so. Still I don't think the networks are rejecting it on the basis of it not being effective enough. -k]

k wrote:
] [ I guess so. Still I don't think the networks are rejecting
] it on the basis of it not being effective enough. -k]

Well, no they are rejecting it because it is shocking to watch little girls explode, but TV stations in California ran an anti meth ad that showed a house with a little baby in it exploding. Why is one OK and the other is not? People I guess are more willing to send tough messages about drugs then they are about land mines. This is likely because they've been hearing weaker messages about drugs for a long time and they are desenitized to it.

Decius wrote:
] Well, no they are rejecting it because it is shocking to watch
] little girls explode, but TV stations in California ran an
] anti meth ad that showed a house with a little baby in it
] exploding. Why is one OK and the other is not?

[ Exactly. I'm going with "people are retarded" as per usual. ]

]People I guess
] are more willing to send tough messages about drugs then they
] are about land mines. This is likely because they've been
] hearing weaker messages about drugs for a long time and they
] are desenitized to it.

[ That's a possibility. It may also be because drugs are a more identifiable risk or concern. No one here really knows anyone who got killed or maimed by a land mine, but we all know a drug addict or two, or at least think we understand how bad drugs are from watching Trainspotting. As usual, it's hard to get people to care about something they can't see with their own two eyes. This UN ad, perhaps not effectively, was trying to make that very point... that just because you don't see it doesn't mean it's not happening all over the place, and, oh, by the way, a lot of those mines still say "USA" on them. To be perfectly fair, I didn't whip out my checkbook right away either, so I guess in the most fundamental sense the ad wasn't successful since even someone who's sensitive to the message wasn't moved to send money right away. -k]