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Some Blog I Wrote

stuff i think about and then type on a keyboard

Wednesday, May 18, 2005


Car Porn

Richard Jeni once defined human pornography as "things that never happen to you." I define automobile pornography, or "car porn" to the layperson, as "things you'll never do with your own car."

Advertising is rife with car porn, be it a Hummer 3 in rough sandy terrain, a Bonneville in the Salt Flats, a BMW on a speedway, an Xterra parked on the side of a mountain bike trail, or a Lexus driving down a deserted, winding, wooded, scenic road. In many cases, these are incidents of lifestyle advertising -- a capitalist/consumerist take on identity politics.

How about a Hummer ad featuring the driver with a goofy grin in his or her face holding a 1040-A featuring the windfall from the tax loophole his or her household received just from purchasing the unnecessary behemoth? A Hummer ad featuring onlookers giving the driver the finger? An Escalade ad with the driver fueling the car and gazing at the meter with a sickened look on his or her face? A Cadillac with nothing visible in the cabin but big poofy hair and hats? Any brand of truck in Texas or Florida being used for nothing more than transportation?

Once in a while, someone comes from left field and offers some great viral advertising. The Counterfeit Mini campaign is the most recent example.


Posted by GiromiDe @ 7:45 PM
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1 Comments:

At Wed May 18, 11:18:00 PM CDT, Anonymous Anonymous wrote...

You stink, hippie! 8 miles to the gallon and 3 tons curb weight is perfectly valid for driving around town and getting groceries.

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