Apparently, Now The Lorax Speaks For The SUVs
via The Washington Post:
Advertising doesn't generally offend me, but this is shameful: The Lorax, the main character of Dr. Seuss' classic tale of environmentalism (and the star of a movie hitting theaters today), is being used to sell SUVs.
The hare-brained scheme is part of the National Education Association’s “Read Across America tour — Driven by Mazda.” It's supposed to raise money for school libraries, but the reality is that Mazda is using this as an opportunity to connect with kids and get their parents to buy cars.
At a recent visit to a school in Virginia, Mazda presented a $1,000 check, and promised another $25 for every parent who comes in to test-drive a Mazda CX-5, which gets 35 miles to the gallon.
Dan Ryan, a Mazda representative, said: “That’s the kind of car we think the Lorax would like to drive."
Except, The Lorax wouldn't drive a car. He's too busy speaking for the trees, which are dying, because of the hostile environment created by SUVs.
Happy birthday, Theodor Seuss Geisel! Sorry we're marking it by tarnishing your memory!
News by Rob W. Hart
Rob W. Hart is the class director at LitReactor, as well as the associate publisher for MysteriousPress.com. He's the author of The Last Safe Place: A Zombie Novella, and his short stories have appeared in Shotgun Honey, Thuglit, Crime Factory, and Needle: A Magazine of Noir. He lives in New York City, and you can find his website at www.robwhart.com.
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Comments
Don't SUVs release CO2?
Oh My Gosh. I'm actually already kinda pissed off that they are remaking it into some sort of Disney-esque animated movie which will inevitably just engender a whole lotta capitalist BS, which is not at all what The Lorax or Dr. Suess were about. This really just proves how easily our culture perverts what few values we have left into money-making schemes.
What's next - Louis Vitton Star-Bellied Sneech t-shirts for $150 bucks each? U.S. Navy sponsored Butter Battle commercials aimed at recruiting new soldiers?
It sickens me. People need to tell Mazda that this whole campaign is offensive.