Monday, February 1, 2010

So bad, it's good? Or just so bad?

The Telegraph reports that the following ad was withdrawn by the Austrian Military by order of the country's Defence Minister:



Another YouTube poster (and apparent fan of Mafia Wars), gives this rough translation:
Audi Driver: hey Girls, wanna go for a spin in my fast ride?
Girls: ehh not sure, there's not even enough space for all of us
Soldier: wazzup girls, in the mood for a joyride?
Girls: *yaaaaay*
Soldier: join the army if you wanna drive a tank
Soldier2: jump in, starting engine
Audi Driver: hey, what about the spin?
Girl: forget it, I want to drive something big
Narrator: the Austrian Armed Forces offer unique opportunities for young people who are at least 18 — everything else is just everyday life

Low-budget production, apparently amateur acting, vehicular penis envy, and downblouse shots... What's not to love?

According to Judith Goetz of the Austrian Students' Union, quite a bit:

"The video is trashy and an embarrassment... It is totally archaic to show such an obviously sexist video at a time when women are already part of the Austrian military."




Indeed, the commercial is offensive — in many ways. It appears to insult the intelligence of young men as well as women.

But is that what they were intending all along? One of the inevitable downfalls of aging is that younger people stop making sense. Not to mention that humour rarely translates well (especially from German or Japanese!) What I'd really like to know is what the average Austrian 18-year-old thought about this ad.

Col Johann Millonig, from the Austrian army's marketing department, claims this ad is "so dorky it's brilliant".

I'll leave that up to you to decide.

1 comment:

  1. Haha! This ad is hilarious… although it does look like a foreign-language version of something you'd see on 'Air Farce' or 'Saturday Night Live'. But then again, I'm not an Austrian teenager, like you say.

    ReplyDelete