http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U0QVfCUW9l8
A couple of years ago, one of us came across this commerical which was shown on an end of the year Funniest Commericals. It caught our eye because not only was it witty but controversial and it was not an original American advertisement.
After viewing this commerical, do you believe it was culturally offensive towards Hinduism or does the humor overshadow any negative connotations? If you were part of this culture, how would you feel about this product and how it was advertised? Would you still consider buying these markers?
A couple of years ago, one of us came across this commerical which was shown on an end of the year Funniest Commericals. It caught our eye because not only was it witty but controversial and it was not an original American advertisement.
After viewing this commerical, do you believe it was culturally offensive towards Hinduism or does the humor overshadow any negative connotations? If you were part of this culture, how would you feel about this product and how it was advertised? Would you still consider buying these markers?
After viewing the video, I think it could potentially be viewed as culturally offensive, but I personally don’t take it that way. When I watched this video clip, the main thing I noticed was that the women wear bangles, a locket, and a vermillion mark on their forehead to show they are married. In this case, I see the vermillion mark as a representation of her husband’s life. When the professional mourners ran into the house to take away the things that showed the woman was married, the mark wouldn’t come off. Since it could not be removed it foreshadowed that the husband would survive, which he clearly did. After many of the professional mourners tried to scrub the mark off of the wife’s forehead and it would not come off, it shows that this permanent marker really works. It seems like a very good product except that from the video it makes me think that even if I get the marker on my hands it will not come off, which is not so appealing.
ReplyDeleteThe main way I could see this video to be culturally offensive is through the representation of the vermillion mark. In the Hindu culture, this mark is very important because it shows that a woman is married and her husband is still alive. When he dies, the wife is stripped of the mark. Since the vermillion mark is so significant in this culture, the people may find it offensive that what is supposed to be a vermillion mark is really just a mark from a permanent marker. This could be viewed as undermining the significance of the mark.
After watching this video, I do not believe that this is culturally offensive to Hindus merely because many commercials that I see daily make fun of American norms and I certainly don't take offense! On the contrary, I believe that drawing attention to social norms and using these as advertising tactics bring more attention to the product(s) at hand.
ReplyDeleteThis commercial is quite ingenious yet also simultaneously informative. For those who don't know much about the Hindu culture, the commercial provides a brief overview of their practices, setting up a great advertising tactic.
By making the vermillion the husband's lifeline, it would be almost impossible for him to die due to the use of a permanent marker! His survival was caused directly by the permanent marker, signifying how reliable a permanent marker it is.
I would definitely consider buying the markers, especially if I were part of that culture. I love commercials that try to bring humor to television, even if the commercial makes fun of people like myself. I'm not surprised at all that this is one of the "Funniest Commercials"!
After watching the commercial, I do not think it is offensive to Hindus, but I can see how some people might find it to be. As I was watching it, I thought it was clever and it had some meanings in it that I didn't really get until watching it again. For instance, the first time I watched it I just thought her husband died and they couldn't get the vermillion mark off her head. But the second time around, I realized the vermillion mark was the "husband's lifeline" and the fact that they kept trying to get it off but couldn't, meant that the husband was not actually dead. The part where people might get offended is the fact that the company is making making a little joke out of something so important to their culture and, like Nicole said, showing that the vermillion mark is simply permanent marker.
ReplyDeleteIf I were apart of this culture I wouldn't be offended. In fact, my culture gets made fun of on a regular basis by commercials and television shows and I don't get offended by them. I just laugh and let it go.
Overall, I think the commercial is a good advertisement of the marker. It gives you a little background information before it starts, it makes you laugh, and it shows that the product is a good, reliable permanent marker. I would definitely consider buying this marker next time I need a permanent marker.
After watching this commercial, I can see how some people might find it offensive to Hindus, but I didn't view it that way. I think the humor outweighed anything offensive. I thought this was a creative commercial and it really tried to show that the markers are of high quality and will actually be permanent. They did a good job showcasing the product they wanted to sell, while adding a little humor. I would consider buying this marker after watching the commercial.
ReplyDeleteI am not offended by the commercial personally; but I also am not a follower of the Hindu faith. I couldn't guess whether or not it is offensive to the Hindus. Then again, it is just about impossible to make a humorous piece about a certain group of people without someone getting offended. The only hope advertisers have is that their audience overlooks the focus on their religion, and finds the humor in it. That being said, I personally don't take much stock in permanent markers. I think they would sell just as well without advertisement. Permanent markers are products that are needed, they are a simple tool, not an item that people really desire. If the audience of this advertisement were all like me, they would have no inclination to buy these markers.
ReplyDeleteAbout a year or so ago Pepsi and Doritos did a commercial that mocked religion. The church in the commercial was having trouble getting people to come to mass. The priest prayed and was answered. Instead of going up to Communion to receive the the Eucharist, the priest was now passing out Doritos and Pepsi. The commercial doesn't exclusively say what religion they are exploiting, but being a Catholic I was not offended. I believe that sometimes people just have to take the commercials as a way for companies to advertise their product. With this commercial I think the concept is very similar. This marker company is using religion as a way of selling their product. Many people of this religion can see this commercial and laugh at its good natured humor. I would consider buying these markers. The company got their name out and the next time I needed to buy permanent markers I would try theirs.
ReplyDeleteThis is really a funny commercial. I bet that nobody can guess correctly the end before knowing it and that almost everyone would burst into laugh after seeing it. However, I consider it not only offensive towards Hinduism but also kind of towards human life. At the beginning of the commercial, audiences are immersed in kind of sad emotion build by the sorrowful scene and moving music. It really looks like a funeral for a dying man, and what all I have is pity and sadness. When the scene changes to that two old ladies being unable to erase the vermilion on the wife’s no matter how they try, I do felt funny, but also kind of angry. I felt like that an essentially serious funeral was ruined by something.
ReplyDeleteTo be honest, I don’t think I will by a marker of this brand after watching this, probably for no reason, may just because that I don’t feel well after watching.
In order for the company to relate to their audience and draw in their attention they used religion which is a big part of most people's daily life. As Brandon said, people can connect with this commercial and laugh with its good natured humor. The commercial also appeals to the viewer's emotions with a sad intro because the husband is dying but by the end women have struggled to try to remove the mark and the husband is alive so everyone is happy.
ReplyDeleteI think people will be able to overlook anything that might be culturally offensive. I do not find this commercial offensive and I don't think people who follow Hinduism would either. People like having personal commercials they can relate too. Like Adam said, permanent markers aren't something you stock up on or search around to find the highest quality. Even though I do think think this commercial will make people buy the product since it's just a simple permanent marker, it will give people a good laugh while watching it.
After watching this video I do not believe that it is culturally offensive, but that is because I do not practice Hinduism. I could see this being offensive to those who practice the religion because it is about an important part of their faith. Everyone is different though so some Hindus may find this offensive, but others may just laugh and find it very funny. I would definitely still consider buying these markers because according to the commercial they stay on very well which is what you want in a permanent marker.
ReplyDeleteUnless there is a formal or proper way to apply the mark the woman wears i would not consider this offensive. They simply made a small over exaggeration of the maker's power. While the rest of the time they seemed to be consistent with the culture.
ReplyDeleteThe makers of this commercial did a nice job making it relevant to non-Hindus with the description o the mark at the beginning. Without that explanation this would have been a meaningless and odd commercial for non-Hindus.
After viewing this commercial, I believe that it did not try to offend Hinduism culture at all, but I can see how it could be construed in that way. The information presented at the beginning of the video, along with the rest of the video being accurate of Hindi culture that I am aware of, makes this advertisement free of any culturally offensive material. The commercial is still creative and memorable, and it would encourage me to buy these markers to see how well they actually perform.
ReplyDeleteI do not believe that this commercial is very offensive. I agree with what was said earlier, there are many commercials on TV that make fun of Americans and other things and I do not take offense. The mark may be more important to Hindu's than I know, but I do not see this as being that offensive. The creators of the commercial were just being clever in how powerful their marker really is. They want people to realize that it is very hard to get rid of the mark, which is what the idea of a permanent marker is. They were definitely not trying to offend anyone but I guess it is possible that its offensive, but to me it is not. I think that it is hard for most of us to know because we do not fully understand Hinduism.
ReplyDeleteMedia and entertainment play on stereotypes all the time. Although in this commercial, its more of just a cultural ritual than a stereotype, but it is almost handled in the same way. The commercial was humorous and achieved its purpose. However, I think someone would be slightly over sensitive if they found this offensive. If anything, it is shares culture and informs as well as being funny. The only part I can imagine someone taking offense to is the professional mourners and you would have to be a real one to take offense to it. I liked and enjoyed this commercial and it is great marketing.
ReplyDeleteI see this commercial as more of a comment on the culture, more so than a mocking of their traditions. To me, it seems as though Camlin is simply using a very significant part of Indian culture as a means to promote their product. What I am doing is trying to compare this to a cultural tradition in the U.S. and I do not feel as though offense would be taken if a U.S. tradition was used in a similar manner in an American advertisement.
ReplyDeleteI don’t think this commercial is culturally offensive. The fact that the commercial took some time in the beginning to actually explain about this culture and religious views, definitely made my understanding of this video a lot easier. Many commercial these days take something from another culture and use it as the part of the commercial. Every new commercial comes get their idea from another similar like commercial so I don’t find it offensive at all.
ReplyDeleteEven if I was a part of this culture I wouldn’t take any offense to this. I think this is a nice way to market the item, which is the permanent marker and also another view of the culture. Not only did I just learn about a new marker product but I learned about the religion. The advertisement caught my attention and since it was humorous it also makes others keep watching the commercial rather than just ignoring it. I would still consider buying these markers.
I agree with Javier. This commercial shows the commitment that the wife has to her husband by allowing him to mark her forehead with a permanent marker. I saw it as showing that they made a silent vow that they will always be together as long as the mark remains on her forehead. Since the product is so reliable and permanent as it claims, the husband didn’t die and they remained together.
ReplyDeleteI did not find this commercial particularly offensive however this practice may be very sacred to those who do in fact practice the religion of hindudism. I do not believe that those behind producing this commercial meant for it to be offensive. There are many cases where commercials mock the practices of those in the American culture however maybe mocking another culture may be pushing the envelope a bit much. Overall I felt that this was a very clever and well produced commmerical.It provided the background information needed to understand the concept and the humor behind the message. I would still purchase this product because I did not take offense to this message nor do I feel the company was being disrespectful in its production.
ReplyDeleteI personally do not find this commercial culturally offensive. I find it comical and think that many other do. I laughed a little when I watched it and believe that it is a good advertisement to the product. I feel that there are probably some people that find this commercial offensive. Everyone has different opinions.
ReplyDeleteAs far as the commercial goes, I think it is a smart idea for advertisement even though I feel markers do not really need that much advertisement. The commercial is memorable and funny.
If I was Hindu I would not be offend of the commercial. And I would still consider buying the markers. They truly are permanent.
After viewing this commercial, I don’t personally find it offensive to the Hindu religion however; I could see very easily how it might offend some people as many others have noted. To those of the Hindu religion the vermillion mark is considered sacred and even just the act of using a marker to apply it may be offensive. That being said, the average audience member would most likely overlook this fact due to the humor it draws and the mere fact that it’s simply a commercial. If I was Hindu, I would think that the company strategically uses facts of my culture to cleverly advertise their product and nothing more. I would definitely consider buying these markers because it introduces a new product and instills curiosity about if these markers really are that permanent.
ReplyDeleteAs many other people have said, I don't personally find this commercial to be offensive. I believe that this commercials goal was to catch the audiences eye by making a joke about a tradition the majority of the people in the Hindu culture are familiar with. I do see how it could be taken as offensive because of how they portray such an important tradition but I believe that they did a good job overshadowing it with humor. Showing that the woman in the commercial was so dedicated to her husband that she allowed him to mark her forehead with permanent marker and then that brought him back to life in the end was very funny and was a great way to advertise their product. I believe that this commercials goal was to relate to people in a way they would understand and then laugh about. I would consider buying these markers because this commercial both caught my attention and showed me that the product does what it is supposed to do.
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