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-   -   Ikea's new add about "creepy goths" being a bad influence (https://www.gothic.net/boards/showthread.php?t=6341)

chelseagirl 06-26-2007 10:53 AM

Ikea's new add about "creepy goths" being a bad influence
 
I'm reposting this here as I saw it on another forum I'm a member of:

http://i135.photobucket.com/albums/q...andom/ikea.jpg

Here's the ad on the Ikea website

http://links.ikea-usa.com/servlet/Ma...NTQzNjcS1&mt=1

Want to tell Ikea exactly what you think about their new little ad?
Here ya go...


customer_care@ushelp.ikea.com

1-800-434-4532,
or write us at:
IKEA North America Services, LLC
Attention: Privacy Notice
420 Alan Wood Rd
Conshohocken, PA 19428

USA press contact
Mona Astra Liss
+1-610-8340180-5852

DeathChii 06-26-2007 10:55 AM

What the...?
I didn't mind the "brightens up the room, unlike that creepy gothic roomate" I just didn't like the "bad influence" part =[

Methadrine 06-26-2007 11:06 AM

Exactly: What the...?

Oh well, I live in bloody IKEA-land so I'm going to check the swedish site and see if they are just as silly.

...and no, they weren't.

(quite funny though, I'm sure they meant Emo's.. ;))

Underwater Ophelia 06-26-2007 11:06 AM

It's just a joke...I think a lot of you guys are being way too sensitive.

DeathChii 06-26-2007 11:19 AM

Yeah, I know it's just a joke, that's why I didn't mind it. The bad influence was a bit far though.
It's like saying "So your children will be safe driving, unlike their asian friends!" which is fine and then "That are a bad influence." <--- not cool O_o

Underwater Ophelia 06-26-2007 11:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DeathChii
Yeah, I know it's just a joke, that's why I didn't mind it. The bad influence was a bit far though.
It's like saying "So your children will be safe driving, unlike their asian friends!" which is fine and then "That are a bad influence." <--- not cool O_o

I don't think it's wrong to say they're a bad influence. For one, it was a joke. Two, goth kids are a bad influence.

DeathChii 06-26-2007 11:46 AM

I know it's a joke =P I don't care
but other people might actually beleive it's true.

chelseagirl 06-26-2007 12:28 PM

I'm not that upset about it, but I do think the whole "bad influence" think is a little annoying. If the ad had just been "brightens up your grad's dorm, unlike a creepy gothic roomate", I would definitely have laughed and thought it quite funny.

Lady_Lacrimosa_Umbrae 06-26-2007 03:07 PM

I agree with chelseagirl. I suppose they're just as media-influenced and worried about angsty teen cult cutters as most people in the mainstream.

Aaroneet 06-26-2007 03:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Underwater Ophelia
It's just a joke...I think a lot of you guys are being way too sensitive.


Honestly, I agree with that. If anything, we're becoming so worried about political correctness that we're losing ourselves in our own paranoia. The media portrays everything that is "feared" by the natural man with stereotypes. It's just human nature.

Lapin 06-26-2007 03:52 PM

Now see, it would have been funny, if not for the last line. Whoever wrote it went too far, and made it kind of weird and dragged out.

Velvet_Mansfield 06-26-2007 04:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lapin
Now see, it would have been funny, if not for the last line. Whoever wrote it went too far, and made it kind of weird and dragged out.


I agree with that. The end bit about being a a bad influence sounded odd and preachy, and didn't really fit the slogan.
Aside from that, it made me laugh.

badteccy 06-26-2007 05:13 PM

The "bad influence" part was un-needed and not funny.

Haunted House 06-26-2007 05:38 PM

They could have ment a bad influence on how your room looks. C'mon, not everyone is a fan of black sheets and Bauhaus posters.

Alaizabel Cray 06-26-2007 10:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Haunted House
They could have ment a bad influence on how your room looks. C'mon, not everyone is a fan of black sheets and Bauhaus posters.

That makes a little more sense, but I do agree that the "bad influence" comment wasn't necessary to the ad. The "brightens up the room..." comment was pretty funny, but then it sounded like they were trying to tell parents what kind of people their kids should associate with (which is both random and not Ikea's place to say). I'm not angry or writing a letter or anything, but it definitely made me cock my head to the side and say "huh?"

KontanKarite 06-29-2007 11:46 AM

I DID write a letter. It was not angry or spiteful in any way. I just feel that I had to say something.

To whome it may concern,

Let me start off by saying that Ikea is a pretty good company that for the most part, sells some good furniture and other home accessories.

But this was brought up to my attention: http://links.ikea-usa.com/servlet/Ma...NTQzNjcS1&mt=1

There's really nothing wrong with it up until you get to the part about the gothic roommate. I don't feel that it's fair to make such an assumption to help sell your products. Not only are you selling your product, but you are also selling the idea that goths are bad people who are bad influences. I'm simply stating that as a customer who enjoys your products, (especially the black and metal furniture), that you are insulting a section of your customer base.

I just wanted to inform the company about the ad as a concerned customer and a goth.

Thank you for your time,

Joshua Conner

Clockwork 06-29-2007 01:16 PM

Well handled, Kontan. Now, I wonder which randomly generated staff name will send you a copy-and-paste false sympathy response?

I might have laughed if it weren't for the last line, which ruined the flow of the joke and is stepping a little too far out of line. I'm more inclined to raise my eyebrow, however, than to be offended.

Cyntrox 06-29-2007 01:21 PM

Yeah, tell us when they reply! :D

Linen 06-29-2007 01:43 PM

This reminds me of Jay Leno's bit where he shows strange ads in the beginning. Like a newspaper ad for a sale on pajamas at JCPenney, and it says in fine print, "Now you can stop borrowing grandpa's boxers". Or something really odd & random like that.

I wonder who they hire to write these things?

Underwater Ophelia 06-29-2007 05:29 PM

It's not likely they're going to reply, especially if their ad was true to their feelings, in which case, they don't give a shit.

KontanKarite 07-01-2007 10:51 AM

They did reply and they meant it as a joke. Obviously. BUT, I would just have to wonder if it would have been the same way if they had replaced goth with another word like... I dunno, give me something... anything.

Hell, most of the goths I've met have a great sense of style in some aspect.

I know myself would find melted red candles and skulls to be slightly tacky as home decor.

Whatever. They said they got a LOT of feedback. I just hate to think what some angsty Mansonite would have said. :(

It kinda makes me not blame people for their reactions on goths in the first place, even if they're grossly unfounded.

Methadrine 07-01-2007 11:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KontanKarite
They did reply and they meant it as a joke. Obviously. BUT, I would just have to wonder if it would have been the same way if they had replaced goth with another word like... I dunno, give me something... anything.

"pink, fluffy 'Paris Hilton wannabe'-roomie"?

KontanKarite 07-01-2007 12:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Methadrine
"pink, fluffy 'Paris Hilton wannabe'-roomie"?


Actually, that would be too... long.

I was thinking more on the lines of like... I dunno, a name that many people can identify with. You know like... Christian, Muslim, White, Black, Asian, Punk, Yuppie, Prep, Chav...

Oh well.

Cyntrox 07-01-2007 12:27 PM

Well, it seems you can mock goths... But imagine if it had said something like: "Unlike that creepy *insert debasing word for gay people*, who can be a bad influence."

Methadrine 07-01-2007 12:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KontanKarite
Actually, that would be too... long.

I was thinking more on the lines of like... I dunno, a name that many people can identify with. You know like... Christian, Muslim, White, Black, Asian, Punk, Yuppie, Prep, Chav...

Oh well.

I'd go for the word "normal" in that case. Bet it would upset some people to great lengths.


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