So, reader reactions?
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Chris Mooney is host of the Point of Inquiry podcast and the author of three books, The Republican War on Science, Storm World, and Unscientific America. He was recently seen on MSNBC's "The Last Word" discussing "The Science of Why We Don't Believe Science," and recently wrote for The American Prospect magazine about how the reality-based community is moving to the left.
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February 7th, 2010 at 10:34 pm
Green, yet it mocks the enviromental movement. I don’t get it.
February 7th, 2010 at 10:37 pm
I thought it was cute, but mostly because there was an anteater on a leash.
February 7th, 2010 at 10:37 pm
hated it.
February 7th, 2010 at 10:40 pm
A long, reactionary way to go to promote a green automobile. Frankly I think Audi’s “we’re green” message is undercut by the snarky “we’ll police everything else” context.
February 7th, 2010 at 11:00 pm
Continues to associate “sensationalism” with environmentalism. The reaction in the group I was with was “Well, Congress did ban incandescent bulbs…not surprising that the green police arrested a man for not using CFLs.” Sigh… Not an ad to win skeptics over with, that’s for sure.
February 7th, 2010 at 11:00 pm
Loved it. Someone finally captured the chruch of the greens opression. I might even buy one.Of course the humourless bishops I’ sure will get their knickers in a knot.
February 7th, 2010 at 11:01 pm
What a joke. This is another reason most of the world casts a suspicious eye at the environmental movement.
By the way, Audi is the same company that owns Lamborghini. That’s right, the exotic Italian supercar manufacturer whose lineup of vehicles burns a gallon of fuel in fewer than 15 miles. Of their own models, fewer than half achieve better than 25mpg on the freeway.
Hypocrisy in its highest form… a sports car maker pleading energy efficiency. But Hollywood loved it…
February 7th, 2010 at 11:43 pm
It was a fail. It reinforced some negative stereotype of environmental issues (which is sort of fine, because Al Gore does it), but it seemed to me that it undercut its own award by mocking the importance of being “green” …just a little.
February 7th, 2010 at 11:48 pm
Sure, its funny but America’s fascism is funny. Its smiley face fascism. Not all totalitarian models are Orwellian, Stalinist or Maoist. Statism is a slow but inexorable growth in government power at the cost of individual freedom. Once the left gets ahold of the levers of state power they will them to force you to live your life according to their grand plan to remake the world.
Woe to the politically incorrect or the enemy of the planet that doesn’t recycle.
Fight fascism… kill the Federal Monster.
February 7th, 2010 at 11:57 pm
Conservative humor is rather lame.
February 7th, 2010 at 11:59 pm
It’s funny. Unless you don’t have a sense of humor about such things.
February 8th, 2010 at 12:05 am
Total fail. The presentation of the teaparty nightmare of environmental police is not a good way to sell cars. Imagine selling bandaids to leftists with a commercial dramatizing extrajudicial kidnapping and torture, played for laughs. Stupid and a waste of money.
February 8th, 2010 at 12:20 am
In an age where the US is contemplating jail time for not using the government mandated health care, I think this is a terrible re-enforcement of coercive government. From Audi’s web site:
“The Green Police are a humorous group of individuals that have joined forces in an effort to collectively help guide consumers to make the right decision when it comes to the environment. They’re not here to judge, merely to guide these decisions.”
Let me remind you that men with guns and powers to arrest ARE there to judge and the only place they guide you is to prison. A car manufacturer from a nation with a very bad history of authoritarian government should be wiser. This isn’t quirky, funny or humorous.
February 8th, 2010 at 12:43 am
I hated this ad… things appear to be “funny” to some people because they are “extreme”, don’t realize that some of things in the ad are trying to be passed in US legislation under “Cap and Trade”… like forcing you by law to change your lightbulbs to more expensive ones… or will forcibly regulate the temperature of your home to the “green” temperature whether you’re hot or cold… whoever signed on this Audi ad was an idiot… just like the people who want your freedom of choice to be a governments decision. Looks like this ad doesn’t seem so extreme or so funny anymore…
February 8th, 2010 at 1:04 am
Regarding CFL lights . . . you should switch to them because they save you money in the long run, not because they’re necessarily any greener. At $1 a pop, but using 1/4 of the electricity or less of similar incandescent bulbs, and lasting 2-3 times as long . . . yeah, it’s a fiscally sensible choice to make. They pay for themselves in the first few months.
You don’t need green police to steer you in the right direction, you need someone good at math.
February 8th, 2010 at 1:09 am
I tend to agree with Michelle on this too. This was way too authoritarian a message for me. Very bad. One minute me and all my friends were laughing, the next the room was uncomfortably silent. I was outraged, initially, it really hit a lot of buttons with me. I sat back and tried to divorce those feelings, and still ended up coming away with a sour taste in my mouth and a lead weight in my stomach. If that really started happening here, I’d either be on my way to another country, or fighting the movement tooth and nail. I’m not against the idea of being environmentally responsible, but I am now fully against the Green Movement. Using the environment as a reason to bludgeon me into submission is just as wrong as using National Security. I do not like this, sir or madam, I do not.
One more point. I find it interesting that I am more offended by this than I was by the Tebow anti-abortion add. I’m pro-choice, but that add was at least tasteful and respectful.
February 8th, 2010 at 1:48 am
it made me want to burn a tire.
February 8th, 2010 at 4:28 am
It’s a commercial. The fact that you’re talking about it at all, for better or for worse, is the whole point.
February 8th, 2010 at 4:52 am
It would have worked anywhere else in the developed world, but most Americans take themselves too seriously to find the humor in it.
Also, the tone was inconsistent.
February 8th, 2010 at 6:58 am
Cathy #15…here is what happens if one of those things break…and no this is not a joke. This is actually what you’re supposed to do since CFLs are so toxic according to the EPA. Compare that to what you have to do with a regular bulb which is a 2 step process…sweep, and throw away. I think I’d rather spend an extra $0.25 a year on electrcity per bulb thank you very much.
1. Before you clean-up: air out
* Make sure all people and pets leave the room.
* Don’t allow anyone to walk through the area where the break occurred.
* Open a window.
* Exit the room and stay out for a minimum of 15 minutes or more.
* Shut off any centralized heating or cooling systems in the building.
2. Clean-up steps: hard surfaces
* Do not use a vacuum or broom to clean up.
* Carefully scoop up the broken glass and powder using stiff paper such as cardstock, cardboard or paperboard.
* Place the broken pieces and powder into a glass jar with metal lid or in a plastic bag that can be sealed.
* Use duct tape to pick up any leftover glass fragments and/or powder.
* Wipe the area clean with disposable wet wipes. Place the used wipes into the glass jar or plastic bag.
3. Clean-up steps: carpeting or rug
* Carefully scoop up the broken glass and place the pieces into a glass jar with metal lid or in a plastic bag that can be sealed.
* Use duct tape to pick up any leftover glass fragments and/or powder.
* Once you have picked up as much material as possible, a vacuum may be used to collect the remaining debris.
* Remove the vacuum bag (or empty and clean the canister).
* Place the bag or vacuum debris in a plastic bag that can be sealed.
4. Clean-up steps: clothing, bedding and other material
* If the debris from the broken bulb is unable to be cleaned from the fabric, discard the clothing bedding or other material.
* Do not wash the material. Mercury from the broken bulb can contaminate the washing machine and the water.
* You can, however, wash clothing or other materials that did not come into direct contact with the broken bulb. This includes any clothing being worn at the time the bulb broke, as long as direct contact wasn’t made.
* If shoes come into direct contact with powder from the bulb or broken glass, wipe them off with disposable wet wipes. Place the used wipes in a glass jar or plastic bag for disposal.
5. Disposal of clean-up materials
* Immediately place all materials used for clean up in an outdoor trash container. These can be disposed of with your normal trash pickup.
* Wash your hands after disposing of all clean-up materials and containers.
* The EPA advises, “Check with your local or state government about disposal requirements in your specific area. Some states do not allow such trash disposal. Instead, they require that broken and unbroken mercury-containing bulbs be taken to a local recycling center.”
6. Future cleaning of carpeting or rug:
* Air out the room during and after vacuuming.
* The next few times you vacuum, shut off any centralized heating or cooling systems and open a window before begining.
* Keep the air system off and the window open for at least 15 minutes after vacuuming.
February 8th, 2010 at 7:31 am
It’s European. The demographic for Superbowl ads is surely more Bud light. See uncertain Principles for *that*.
It’s nicely satirical on the enforcement of European-style social responsibilities, but many people in the the US seem to have a strong reaction against anything that restricts their individual rights and freedoms, and this ad keys into that quite strongly.
February 8th, 2010 at 8:48 am
Yeah! I can’t wait to live in a place like that. A nice police state like WWII Germany, or Mao’s China, or maybe Stalins russia! You kids! playing with your funny ideas that have already failed to the extent that millions and millions of people were murdered by systems just like that. I guess I just am too old and able to remember and all that stuff to be able to lighten up and see the “humor” in a great commercial like that.
February 8th, 2010 at 9:07 am
I don’t like it for this reason: cars are not “green” no matter how you spin it, even if its running on biofuels.
How often do americans tank up? Say, once a week or so? The energy capacity of diesel is about 40 megajoules/liter, a tank is what, 15 gallons, or 60 liters – thats 2400 megajoules/week consumed just to move an individual around, yet look at all the fuss in the commercial over a 100 watt incandescent light bulb – if that were to burn 3 hours a day for one week, it would use 100 x 3600 x 3 x 7 = 7 or 8 megajoules/week.
Most of the energy consumed by the car is to move the 2000-4000 lb car – when the person weighs, what, one twentieth of that?
February 8th, 2010 at 9:54 am
What did you think about the google commercial on the superbowl last night?
February 8th, 2010 at 10:00 am
CFLs not that much more efficient and more dangerous than traditional bulbs. Why not make LED light bulbs? They’re safer and use even less energy.
That TDI is just as efficient as the Prius as well, achieving 50+ mpg on the highway. Hybrid technology is overrated, clean diesel is the way to go.
February 8th, 2010 at 10:18 am
#18 Dave is Right.
The point is to be talked about. On the other hand, the larger point is to have someone buy your car.
Here’s the thing – Is your target market rich Greenies – than don’t use sledge hammer humor to sell it.
If your real market (which is what I suspect), the non-greenies, the ones who resent the coming changes, then you have given them an open ticket to buy a “greenish” car that clearly smacks the greenies in the face.
Ultimately I think it will be a great marketing tool to their non-green target. And they will probably get some of ‘on the fence’ people, who see why the thing is humorous – because they are worried about those things, but also realize that these changes need to be made.
Its a commercial in a free speech world. Don’t get your panties in a wad. The more you talk the more money they make – because more people watch and more people start to think the funny is real. Like the people who get all of their news from John Stewart.
February 8th, 2010 at 11:26 am
The ad was funny but would be intimidating for some and did not exactly give out positive vibes. It tries to portray a kind of “green police” state.
February 8th, 2010 at 11:28 am
@25
They have LED bulbs; expensive, but they’ll practically never burn out.
February 8th, 2010 at 11:35 am
I haven’t come across any, but I’d buy them.
February 8th, 2010 at 11:39 am
Showing a totalitarian “green police” state encourages the sale of cars? That ad absolutely failed in its objective. Try again (or not), Audi.
February 8th, 2010 at 12:46 pm
I think the ad is saying. with all of this environmental nonsense infringing on people’s freedoms, you can drive a cool car that is “evironmentally friendly” without making a preachy statement like Prius and Insight. I thought it was very funny. I think it targets a consumer like me who loathes the environmental movement, but wouldn’t mind owning a high quality, good looking car that gets good fuel economy.
February 8th, 2010 at 1:05 pm
Loved this ad,
It really showed Al Gore’s radical vision of America’s l future .
February 8th, 2010 at 3:23 pm
I went to their website and complained by email:
http://www.audiusa.com/us/brand/en/about/main/contact_audi.html
It was a disturbing ad and left my entire family very uncomfortable.
February 8th, 2010 at 4:26 pm
I thought it was good satire. It makes the point you do not have to preach green or force people to be green. You just have to make products that are green that can compete with non green products. CFLs save money in the long run but are more expensive in the short term. That is not how consumers think. Composting is the biggest pain in the a#$ when you can just throw the orange peel away. Won’t it degrade in the land fill just as easy as it will my compost heap? I am not going to be put out to find a coffee chain that does not serve its coffee in Styrofoam. Audi is saying this car is green but is not an inconvenience or added expense. Whether that is true or not remains to be seen.
February 8th, 2010 at 4:34 pm
You people just want to get on here and show how “smart” you are. This is my impression of you all at your computers, “Hey look at me, I know everything in the world and I’m going to get on this blog and use all my big words! My OPINION is FACT and don’t argue with me!” And really #23, how long did it take you to write out all that bs about megajoules?! It’s a commercial! Lighten up America!
February 8th, 2010 at 5:32 pm
I thought it was funny.
I was going to say “lighten up” next, but then I read Amanda’s comment. She describes comment number 23 as “all that bs about megajoules.” Um, that was math and reasoning, Amanda. It makes me sad that you cannot distinguish it from BS.
We need to be worried about people like Amanda, not about super bowl commercials.
February 8th, 2010 at 5:33 pm
[...] Tubes are still dissecting the ads with Audi’s eco-fascism coming out a loser. So too repetitive Dodge ads that suggest that men are beaten down by women except when it comes to [...]
February 8th, 2010 at 6:16 pm
As I surmise here, I bet Al Gore found the ad hilarious:
http://www.collide-a-scape.com/2010/02/08/the-green-police-commercial/
Readers at this site mirror the split reax at Romm’s shop and, to a lesser extent, Grist.
Half are saying lighten up, the other half are too worried about reinforcing bogeyman green stereotypes to allow themselves to laugh. So Sheril, what do yo think of the commercial?
February 8th, 2010 at 6:48 pm
In case my previous comment wasn’t clear, I meant that readers at The Intersection appear split on the commercial.
February 8th, 2010 at 7:30 pm
[...] Tubes are still dissecting the ads with Audi’s eco-fascism coming out a loser. So too repetitive Dodge ads that suggest that men are beaten down by women except when it comes to [...]
February 8th, 2010 at 7:49 pm
C’mon people! I’m as green as they get and I can admit the “Green Movement” is full of people who take themselves too seriously and relish in more of the preachiness of the whole thing than in what they’re actually preaching. If you’re an environmentalist and this hit some devastating sour note and made you physically ill, then it probably hit its mark. Lighten up.
February 8th, 2010 at 9:46 pm
Love this ad. It’s funny, and it points out the intrusive Orwellian aspect of the environmental movement. Bravo.
February 8th, 2010 at 11:47 pm
Attn libertarian-leaners: is the environmental movement socialist or fascist? You have to pick one.
February 9th, 2010 at 4:16 am
“You have to pick one”
Really? Can you define fascism? Hint, the Wikipedia definition, last time I checked anyway, is wrong.
February 9th, 2010 at 5:34 am
Great stuff Audi. Amateur hour for both scientists and communicators is over. Let the informed public discourse begin. DaveS
February 9th, 2010 at 9:17 am
Amanda@35
About 15 minutes or something like that. Honestly, I didn’t keep track.
Yeah its a only a commercial, but its part of a larger tapestry of a culture
that glorifies automobiles, which are possibly the worst aspect of modern
American consumption. And not just because they’re so environmentally
devastating, but because they waste so much energy, and THAT is a
national security issue.
That little back-of-the-envelope estimate was to support my point, which in retrospect
I should have stated more clearly: automobiles consume HUNDREDS of times
more energy than the incandescent bulbs which are all the rage these days.
Was it the unit of energy that set you off? Watts are defined as joules per second, thats what
determined the choice. Or is it estimate itself or the math? Personally, I wish more americans
would sit down and similarly survey their own energy usage. In any case, perhaps
The Ant and the Grasshopper better conveys the message?
February 9th, 2010 at 9:29 am
correction: that should read
automobiles waste HUNDREDS of times more energy than incandescent bulbs…
February 9th, 2010 at 11:23 am
I love all the, “I was disturbed,” or, “uncomfortable,” comments; it shows that the viewer can relate to the possibility that something like this is actually conceivable to them and they would not want to live in a place like that (and neither would I, but I still thought it was funny, because I can recognize satire when I see it.)
It was a great commercial. All the greenies can hate it if they want – file that hatred right next to their self-loathing.
February 9th, 2010 at 3:03 pm
No such thing as bad publicity! I think Audi played to the “green” controversy very nicely. Pretty much everyone with half a brain will acknowledge that we need to conserve. Having it crammed down my throat by some smug, jet setting liberal is what makes it fall flat. Al Gore was the worst thing that ever happened to the green movement, because it polarized it along political lines instead of presenting it as a sensible direction.
If you’re really that offended by a stupid car commercial, go outside and hug a tree on the way to work. I’ll be waiting at the office to console you and sign your paycheck.
February 9th, 2010 at 5:45 pm
Greenies should self terminate and help save the world by their selfless action! Anything less is pure hypocrisy on their part. Hear their great leader speak!http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1YCatox0Lxo&NR=1
February 9th, 2010 at 7:37 pm
I loved the ad. I went and test drove one… LOVED it.
Just because Global Warming has been outed as a hoax doesn’t mean we shouldn’t conserve in the interest of conservation of resources.
I’m buying the Audi TDI.
February 10th, 2010 at 12:08 pm
It was a bad ad. Lighten up. Somebody might be fired unless sales go up.