JC Penny uses red-white-green for "patriotic" Veteran's Day ad

[quote name='SpeedyG']Umm.... Why?[/QUOTE]

Isn't it obvious? The US colors are Red-White-Blue. They use Red-White-Green. That's the colors of the MEXICAN flag. This is supposed to be a Veteran's Day advertisement, this guy gets back from the war and they have his wife and daughters on the stairs in "red/white/green" because they don't have a blue coat. They shouldn't have even done that or had her in a sweater or something that's blue...
 
Or you could be reading too much into this. Maybe it's just kids wearing jackets and the jacket colors aren't supposed to be symbolic...
 
[quote name='SpeedyG']Or you could be reading too much into this. Maybe it's just kids wearing jackets and the jacket colors aren't supposed to be symbolic...[/QUOTE]
Possible though I really don't think so. It's their Veteran's Day ad for the Vets Day sale after all. They even show him coming home from overseas and they're waving American flags...
 
Frankly I'd be more insulted that they picked such a poor subject to put in cammies and shoot. Couldn't they actually just get a shot of a service member returning home. Instead we get a very generic US Type uniform with a pudgy dude who needs a haircut!
 
holy fuck are you reaching here.

I thought perhaps the ad itself had red/white/green backdrop or something. Then I looked at it. It's just a coat, man.

THE LEAVES ON THAT TREE ARE BROWN AND GREEN! THEM'S COMMIE COLORS! ROAOOOOOOAR
 
[quote name='perdition(troy']That's for sure, they took a nose dive again this past week with their profits being down even more than they were projected to be.[/QUOTE]

They hired an exec responsible for Apple's really clean ads. That's why the circulars look like this.

I actually went there to buy some dockers and no one would check me out so I left them on a random shelf. The store is way better but the staff was just as bad as Kmart.
 
I honestly that it was Red White Green as in starting with the first two U.S. colors and then inserting "Green" as a reference to money...

i.e. the red blue and green sale... as in we're going to save you lots of green...
 
The ad is clearly meant to appeal to Hispanics, and that's the way the country is going and Americans have decided that is clearly okay. The debate is settled as far as I am concerned.
 
Haha, did it ever occur to anyone there might not be a blue vest for sale? I mean, false advertising and all. Regardless, someone is getting fired for poor taste/insight.
 
I read the comments first and really expected not to see anything but I do see how the ad could be seen the way the OP said. It does seem like the ad is there to appeal to the Hispanic population but for the most part that does not bother me. What does bother me is using Mexico symbolism to do that. There is nothing wrong showing Hispanic people in your ads if that is the demo you are trying to reach. The US may be a melting pot but part of that is we identify as Americans first and recognize our heritage second. I feel this way no matter if your family came from Germany, Poland, Russia, Mexico, etc.
 
[quote name='Blaster man']Isn't it obvious? The US colors are Red-White-Blue. They use Red-White-Green. That's the colors of the MEXICAN flag. This is supposed to be a Veteran's Day advertisement, this guy gets back from the war and they have his wife and daughters on the stairs in "red/white/green" because they don't have a blue coat. They shouldn't have even done that or had her in a sweater or something that's blue...[/QUOTE]

The little girl is holding an American flag...
 
I mean just having those 3 colors may have been unintended but the fact the are in the same left to right order as the Mexican flag seems deliberate. I guess there is a 1 in 6 chance it was just random ordering but doubtful. Again for me it is more an issue of heritage vs nationalism.
 
[quote name='Jodou']Haha, did it ever occur to anyone there might not be a blue vest for sale? I mean, false advertising and all. Regardless, someone is getting fired for poor taste/insight.[/QUOTE]

The ad has a blue sweater inside of it.

Look closely at the open mouth's of the top two, don't you just expect to see a little mouth from alien pop out? Okay maybe that's just me...
 
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[quote name='cancerman1120']The US may be a melting pot but part of that is we identify as Americans first and recognize our heritage second. I feel this way no matter if your family came from Germany, Poland, Russia, Mexico, etc.[/QUOTE]
That's not the way it is anymore. The family on my dad's side can trace its ancestry back to Mexico, and my grandfather was a guy who hated seeing the Mexican flag displayed. But he's dead and guys like that are either dead or dying. The new generation believes in accommodation, not assimilation.

You can have open borders or you can have a progressive welfare state/accommodation. But you cannot have both and expect to have the same country after many decades. I don't find this ad offensive, but I do find offensive the incident in which the American flag was taken down at a post office in Maywood, CA and a Mexican flag was raised in its place. I can tell you that not all Hispanics believe in that sort of thing, not even the majority, but there are too many who do running around here. Here is a liberal source on that story: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x2000822

My views on immigration mirror Gary Johnson's failed platform.
 
[quote name='ZombieToast']If this is offensive to you, you ARE easily offended. Very much so.[/QUOTE]

Are you in agreement though that the meaning behind this ad was to draw Hispanic shoppers by the subtle imagery of the Mexican flag? That is really the only thing that bothers me.

We are a diverse country so seeing people of different backgrounds has never even registered as odd to me in advertising. What is odd is to advertise using Nationalism as the hook. We see "Made in America" all the time but that seems appropriate since we live in the USA. I am definitely of the mindset of assimilation over accommodation when it comes to nationalism. I have plenty of old world traditions left in my family, especially during Thanksgiving and Christmas but we don't fly the flag of Germany or Poland in celebration of those traditions.

This issue may be something I am to the right on the spectrum of thought but it just seems that if I become a citizen of a country your allegiance is to that country.
 
The US was never a melting pot...that's just a myth. Every wave of immigrants was met with fierce xenophobia and discrimination. Often times, that led to violence. Some groups were given white status and others weren't. The nationalism seen in some racial/ethnic groups is a reaction to ongoing discrimination and hostility.
 
[quote name='dohdough']The US was never a melting pot...that's just a myth. Every wave of immigrants was met with fierce xenophobia and discrimination. Often times, that led to violence. Some groups were given white status and others weren't. The nationalism seen in some racial/ethnic groups is a reaction to ongoing discrimination and hostility.[/QUOTE]

Look, Veteran's Day is a US holiday to honor our vets (many of which died for our country). How exactly do we honor them by displaying the colors of another country's flag?
 
[quote name='Blaster man']Look, Veteran's Day is a US holiday to honor our vets (many of which died for our country). How exactly do we honor them by displaying the colors of another country's flag?[/QUOTE]
By not looking at the marketing materials of discount clothiers for cynical expressions of patriotism. Oh and you're welcome.
 
[quote name='dohdough']By not looking at the marketing materials of discount clothiers for cynical expressions of patriotism. Oh and you're welcome.[/QUOTE]
Cool, I'll just know ahead of time what ads that come with the paper are going to display icons of other nations while purporting to be in support of those that died for our country then I'll not look at them. That will definitely honor them. Thanks for that helpful response.

IMO this advertisement is offensive because it spits in the face of people that DIED for this country.
 
[quote name='renique46']This topic is a slidecage/10[/QUOTE]

I'm a liberal but I've got people in my family that fought for the US and some that were hurt. Seeing this red-white-green bothers me. It doesn't even make sense.
 
[quote name='cancerman1120']Are you in agreement though that the meaning behind this ad was to draw Hispanic shoppers by the subtle imagery of the Mexican flag?[/QUOTE]
Not in the slightest, no. That doesn't even make sense to me. Do you honestly think they expect Mexicans to pick up the ad, see these sweaters, and think "Oh shit, this is the place for me to shop because their sweaters appeal to the country of my heritage!"? And better yet, maybe Italians and Iranians will have a similar revelation!

JC Penney's logo has been red, white, and blue for the last year...does that draw you in to their store because those colors appeal to your sense of patriotism? And who knows, maybe the folks at JC Penney really did hope this would somehow appeal to Mexicans across the country...if that's the case, I can't find a valid reason to care. Companies are free to target whatever demographic they think will bring in the most money for them. But like I said, I don't think that is even the case. If they put any thought into it at all, I would imagine that the colors were most likely chosen because of how common they are during this time of year.

But again, I can't find a valid reason to care. They're just colors.
 
Man some of you people really are batshit crazy. Thank god the colors of the vest weren't red and yellow. That would've caused a stroke.

It's just a fucking ad.
 
In a way I could say I don't see it.

The problem is the colors in those ads are too coincidental not to be emblematic of the flag, till you get to green which is the color of the Mexican flag.
Spokker I hope someone got ahold of that fucking flag and burned it. Mexico is an impoverished nation run by a group of 40 Oligarchic families who are selfishly keeping down wages. This move, alongside the costs of things in Mexico, makes the economy fundamentally broken. The only thing keeping it afloat would appear in hiring Illegal Immigrants to work jobs here, since something like 50% of Mexican GDP appears to be that money being sent down to Mexico.
I honestly don't understand how any Mexican living here could be proud to display that flag given the current situation I just described in Mexico.
 
[quote name='confoosious']Man some of you people really are batshit crazy. Thank god the colors of the vest weren't red and yellow. That would've caused a stroke.

It's just a fucking ad.[/QUOTE]
They might have a point if the person in white at least had some kind of eagle on the front of their vest. Heh. This is almost as bad as the people I see boycotting Target for putting up Christmas displays early and proclaiming that it somehow ruins Halloween and Thanksgiving.
 
[quote name='Blaster man']Look, Veteran's Day is a US holiday to honor our vets (many of which died for our country). How exactly do we honor them by displaying the colors of another country's flag?[/QUOTE]

Dude, the little girl IS HOLDING AN AMERICAN FLAG!

What is wrong with you, seriously?
 
When I saw the subject line I figured the color choice was due to Christmas season starting. Shrug.

[quote name='confoosious']Man some of you people really are batshit crazy. Thank god the colors of the vest weren't red and yellow.[/QUOTE]

Hulkamania Day.
 
You can put any three primary colors together and it'd be someone's flag.

I swear something is seriously wrong with some of you people. Lighten up Francis! The ad was probably shot by some art director who couldn't give two shits about politics.

You people, and not the mexicans, make me weep for America.


By the way, is CheapyD a SECRET ZAMBIAN? Look at the colors of his site. BLACK. ORANGE. AND GREEN!!! He's unpatriotic and deserves to get stoned. I need a harumph!
 
[quote name='confoosious']You can put any three primary colors together and it'd be someone's flag.

I swear something is seriously wrong with some of you people. Lighten up Francis! The ad was probably shot by some art director who couldn't give two shits about politics.

You people, and not the mexicans, make me weep for America.


By the way, is CheapyD a SECRET ZAMBIAN? Look at the colors of his site. BLACK. ORANGE. AND GREEN!!! He's unpatriotic and deserves to get stoned. I need a harumph![/QUOTE]

No, no, no, it's not the colors of the website that determine if Cheapy hates 'Murica it's the colors of the clothes he was wearing when he created the site. You goddamn hippy-loving commie...
 
Its clearly a hispanic family on this ad... And there is many Hispanic in the U.S Military. I see what you mean OP but to get offended is unnecesary
 
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