The Ad Council’s latest (from a Stuart Elliott piece in the NYT):
The campaign, created pro bono by the New York office of Arnold Worldwide, urges an end to using derogatory language, particularly labeling anything deemed negative or unpleasant as “so gay.” That is underlined by the theme of the campaign: “When you say, ‘That’s so gay,’ do you realize what you say? Knock it off.”
… In the commercial featuring Ms. Sykes, three teenage boys at a pizzeria are making fun of a silly statue of a pizza chef. One says, “That’s so gay, really gay,” to which Ms. Sykes replies, “Please don’t say that,” and then asks how he would like it if she were to say something she disliked was “so ‘16-year-old boy with a cheesy mustache.’
Nice work — I love the humorous treatment of a loaded topic. Helps to defuse the anxiety of bringing it up.
An alternative approach is the one by student Liberal Democrats in the UK, which is to reclaim the word more positively in their ‘Homophobia is gay’ campaign
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-2607.html
What I like about this in addition to the humor is the call for an empathic imagination.
Our capacity to imagine feelings can make an idea pretty sticky indeed.
Keep creating…a brand worth raving about,
Mike
I’m looking forward to seeing that campaign and finding out how it impacts kids.
Good one. Humor is an ingenious way to get people to consider important topics without melodrama. It’s a dangerous weapon too, when used by prevaricating slime-balls. I’d have to say I’ve used it both ways at one time or another…but enough about me.
Sounds a lot like thought control. When will these people and governments learn to just leave us alone? Everything has to be political. Why do they want to control our minds and how we talk?
Do people realize how Stalist these campaigns are? These campaigns are so-Stalinist-lite. If you think differently than this (government-associated) “Ad Council” i.e. thought council, what then? Are you not a patriot or a citizen?
The Advertising Council was incorporated in February 1942 as the War Advertising Council for the purpose of mobilizing the advertising industry in support of the war effort (wiki) Back door thought control.
Love your book and blog, but that ad campaign is just gay.
Sorry…couldn’t resist.