The Best Defense

How does an American industry under siege respond when public opinion turns against them? With advertising! It cures everything.

I mean, the woman from America's Oil and Natural Gas has me convinced that a) I own the industry, b) they don't make THAT much money and c) that fixing the economic crisis is a no-brainer! (hint: the solution involves drilling for oil)

You kind of had to know that things were bad when during the most watched political season ever, the only people with enough money to advertise during the Sunday morning political shows were oil companies, and their message was: "Please stop hating us, it's bad for business."

Which of course is the message behind any Trade Association.  Trade Association advertising is fun to spot since it's a commercial, but it's like the most feel good of all commercials because it doesn't care which brand of the product you buy, as long as you buy SOMETHING.  Beef - it's what's for dinner!  And if beef is too specific for your tastes, the American Meat Institute doesn't play favorites.  (How can you not appreciate the man who reminds you that having a ham sandwich with a hot dog chaser is healthier than the spinach salad and pomengranate juice?)

It is fortunate that we have institutes such as these to provide us, the public, with the latest reliable information to inform our consumer choices.  Without the Resilient Floor Covering Institute, how would we know that Resilient Floor Coverings like vinyl are "green" building materials?   (Except when they aren't.)

Should we be worried that organizations exist whose sole purpose is to make you eat high fructose corn syrup and hot dogs while surrounded by as much vinyl as possible, irrespective of each product's actual positive or negative qualities?  Does it not run counter to the meritocracy of a capitalist society to use advertising to obscure the deficiencies of a product or service?  Shouldn't we be kind of pissed off that the money we spend on these things is turned around and used to make sure we never realize we've bought a lemon?

Damn, I think that was the premise of that Mac ad.

At least I know that the National Frozen Pizza Institute would never steer me wrong.