allthumbs Posted January 9, 2003 Share Posted January 9, 2003 By KATHARINE Q. SEELYE WASHINGTON, Jan. 7 — Ratcheting up the debate over sport utility vehicles, new television commercials suggest that people who buy the vehicles are supporting terrorists. The commercials are so provocative that some television stations are refusing to run them. Patterned after the commercials that try to discourage drug use by suggesting that profits from illegal drugs go to terrorists, the new commercials say that money for gas needed for S.U.V.'s goes to terrorists. "This is George," a girl's voice says of an oblivious man at a gas station. "This is the gas that George bought for his S.U.V." The screen then shows a map of the Middle East. "These are the countries where the executives bought the oil that made the gas that George bought for his S.U.V." The picture switches to a scene of armed terrorists in a desert. "And these are the terrorists who get money from those countries every time George fills up his S.U.V." A second commercial depicts a series of ordinary Americans saying things like: "I helped hijack an airplane"; "I gave money to a terrorist training camp in a foreign country"; "What if I need to go off-road?" At the close, the screen is filled with the words: "What is your S.U.V. doing to our national security?" The two 30-second commercials are the brainchild of the author and columnist Arianna Huffington. Her target audience, she said, is Detroit and Congress, especially the Republicans and Democrats who last year voted against a bill, sponsored by Senators John McCain, Republican of Arizona, and John Kerry, Democrat of Massachusetts, that would have raised fuel-efficiency standards. Spokesmen for the automakers dismissed the commercials. Eron Shosteck, a spokesman for the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, said of Ms. Huffington, "Her opinion is out-voted every year by Americans who buy S.U.V.'s for their safety, comfort and versatility." He said that S.U.V.'s now account for 21 percent of the market. In an interview, Senator Kerry distanced himself from the commercials. He said that rather than oppose S.U.V.'s outright, he believed they should be more efficient. "I haven't seen these commercials," he said, "but anybody can drive as large an S.U.V. as they want, though it can be more efficient than it is today." Ms. Huffington's group, which calls itself the Detroit Project, has bought almost $200,000 of air time for the commercials, to run from Sunday to Thursday. While the group may lose some viewers if stations refuse to run the advertisements, the message is attracting attention through news coverage. The advertisements are to be broadcast on "Meet The Press," "Face the Nation" and "This Week With George Stephanopoulos" in Detroit, Los Angeles, New York and Washington. But some local affiliates say they will not run them. At the ABC affiliate in New York, Art Moore, director of programming, said, "There were a lot of statements being made that were not backed up, and they're talking about hot-button issues." Ms. Huffington said she got the idea for the commercials while watching the antidrug commercials, sponsored by the Bush administration. In her syndicated column, she asked readers if they would be willing to pay for "a people's ad campaign to jolt our leaders into reality." She said she received 5,000 e-mail messages and eventually raised $50,000 from the public. Bigger contributors included Steve Bing, the film producer; Larry David, the comedian and "Seinfeld" co-creator; and Norman Lear, the television producer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catbirdseat Posted January 9, 2003 Share Posted January 9, 2003 I say make them more fuel efficient. Why not use more aluminum in the construction of SUV's? It would make them lighter and less prone to tipping over. And it would put our local boys back to work at the aluminum smelters here in WA. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sexual_chocolate Posted January 9, 2003 Share Posted January 9, 2003 I like it! It's usually really hard for such an ad to make it on the networks, cuz of the power major corporate advertisers have, so it's nice to see a counter-example. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j_b Posted January 9, 2003 Share Posted January 9, 2003 I hope we get to see it around here; it sounds like it is fun. At the ABC affiliate in New York, Art Moore, director of programming, said, "There were a lot of statements being made that were not backed up, and they're talking about hot-button issues." by opposition to all the other ads which presumably make well backed up claims and are only about one issue (getting your cash). "So how does the babe improve the performance of my car?" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iain Posted January 9, 2003 Share Posted January 9, 2003 I knew it was only a matter of time before this story made its way here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MtnGoat Posted January 9, 2003 Share Posted January 9, 2003 A purely political move to slam SUV's, while completely ignoring that even if this is true, it also applies to *all* oil users and users of oil products. If you fly on an airplane, you're paying terrorists. If you live in a older home and heat with oil, you're paying terrorists. If you use petroderived plastics, which is nearly all of them, you're paying terrorists. If you ride the ferry, or take a ship anywhere, you're paying terrorists. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
allthumbs Posted January 9, 2003 Author Share Posted January 9, 2003 I fail to see the connection between fuel and terrorists. This is a connection certain factions want you to believe. Personally, I think they've been watching too many movies and television and actually believe the crap that they see there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sexual_chocolate Posted January 9, 2003 Share Posted January 9, 2003 Plus, as Mtgoat forgot to mention, we even breathe the same air as the terrorists. This often gets overlooked when we politicize these issues. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sk Posted January 9, 2003 Share Posted January 9, 2003 I see way more of a possible connection between oil and terorist than I do between maryjane and terorists.... oil=middleeast maryjane=canada Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sexual_chocolate Posted January 9, 2003 Share Posted January 9, 2003 In response to Poster: trask Subject: Re: TV Ads Say S.U.V. Owners Support Terrorists I fail to see the connection between fuel and terrorists. I fail to see the connection between Trask and a brain. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
allthumbs Posted January 9, 2003 Author Share Posted January 9, 2003 SC, u is so dumb when i say fuck you, you say you're welcome Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sexual_chocolate Posted January 9, 2003 Share Posted January 9, 2003 No, thank YOU. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gregm Posted January 9, 2003 Share Posted January 9, 2003 If you fly on an airplane, you're paying terrorists. If you live in a older home and heat with oil, you're paying terrorists. If you use petroderived plastics, which is nearly all of them, you're paying terrorists. If you ride the ferry, or take a ship anywhere, you're paying terrorists. i think the point they are trying to make is a lot of the people driving SUVs around could be meet all their transportation needs with a more fuel efficient vehicle instead of a status/sexy vehicle. it's a point i think most people basically understand. i kind of don't like the ad though because, well, i drive an SUV. i kind of need an SUV for logging roads, and i don't think anyone thinks my '89 with 192K pathfinder is status/sexy. it's like a pickup truck to me. i thought they should have included a disclaimer for "real" SUV users, so basically they are stereotyping motherfuckers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MtnGoat Posted January 9, 2003 Share Posted January 9, 2003 If that's their point, they should make that point. Ad's aren't made by mistake, they don't write themselves. As it is they attack one segment of the population, cause of the moment being those horrible SUVs, when waste of resources occurs everytime someone decides they "need" to vacation by jet, for example. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
allthumbs Posted January 9, 2003 Author Share Posted January 9, 2003 This topic is a little touchy, IMHO, because we love our big cars, trucks, SUVs we always have, YES myself included. We also know that our dependence on foreign oil has become an Achilles heel for the U.S. Personally I would love it if we could thumb our noses at the OPEC nations when they threaten to cutback on oil production. It would be great if we didn't have to police them so much to protect the flow of oil to our country. If we look at our trucks, the big gas and diesel trucks we know and love so well, they were designed to haul heavy loads, which they do admirably . They really weren't meant to be commuter vechicles and many use them for this purpose only. I didn't use my Expedition for commuting back when, I did my research and bought a cheaper Sub. Impreza. What's wrong with coming up with fossil fuel alternatives, why not work to make our cars more efficient? In the long run, what will be more important driving big inefficient vehicles thereby creating more dependency on foreign oil (and quite possibly fattening terrorist coffers) or driving smaller more efficient cars and being able to stick it to those who harbor and support terrorists. Stick to 'em where it hurts, in the pocket book. It's not a matter of what we deserve, whether we've earned the 'right' to drive a large expensive vehicle but the direct cost of operating the vehicle and the intangible costs too.... Kind of like wanting to have our cake and eat too.... This is not meant as a slam for or against anyone here, just trying to look at this from a different angle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave_Schuldt Posted January 9, 2003 Share Posted January 9, 2003 I heard there was a bumper sticker that made the same point. There may not be a direct link, however, it should be our patriotic duty to reduce our dependance on forign oil. The ads sound cool. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlpineK Posted January 9, 2003 Share Posted January 9, 2003 From what I read GM and others are suppose to start introducing a bunch of hybrid cars and trucks over the next few years. Not just super compact cars, but trucks that can haul trailers etc. I'm for the adds if they make people think about what they are doing and help push the demand for fuel efficient cars and trucks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
allthumbs Posted January 9, 2003 Author Share Posted January 9, 2003 I'm totally for any alternative fuel. I'm sick and tired of the oil trump card. Lets's try something else and let the ragheads drown in their black gold. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vegetablebelay Posted January 9, 2003 Share Posted January 9, 2003 All th more reason to start drilling in ANWR. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
allthumbs Posted January 9, 2003 Author Share Posted January 9, 2003 so it will be Cochise Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sexual_chocolate Posted January 9, 2003 Share Posted January 9, 2003 Hey we could render quite a bit of fat from your head, I think. That'll fuel an SUV for a little while.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MtnGoat Posted January 9, 2003 Share Posted January 9, 2003 Since only 12% of US oil comes from the mideast, the easiest way to deny them control is to not buy it from them anymore, while expanding our purchases from other sources, as well as drilling our own. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vegetablebelay Posted January 9, 2003 Share Posted January 9, 2003 Maybe you can look into poop as a fuel alternative for us, mkay? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
allthumbs Posted January 9, 2003 Author Share Posted January 9, 2003 Isn't that what I just said, Professor? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlpineK Posted January 9, 2003 Share Posted January 9, 2003 All th more reason to start drilling in ANWR. I'm sure we already would be if there was enough oil to offset our import needs, but since there isn't I think better gas mileage is the way to go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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