This country may be in danger. Could be losing something we can't afford to lose...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zj-vIOMtVY0
(1978 - those were the days.)

Worth the watch. And it's a dishwasher commercial.

What do you suppose this was in response to? I'm not getting what prompted this approach -- do you know?

Perhaps it is an advert of arrogance of American manufacturing and setting examples to "envy".

Fast forward 30 years. Now it's all about greed, doing things cheaply. Not a syllable need be said about product quality, or where it's made from.

Dunno, I suppose. For a dishwasher company, the content seemed to encompass a lot more.

I also recall a bunch of old GM commercials where the guy talks about being proud to be a quality control inspector and it's who he was. (Good thing Ford didn't copycat that commercial, what with the Pinto :nuke: and all...)

patriotic, buy American message? :shrug:

No kidding about the Pinto! :7

Back then, Japan was the up'n'comer for many foreign appliances...

Trouble is, anyone doing such a pro-America advert nowadays would get shot down for any number of reasons/excuseas.

As another DUer mentioned; it was somewhat "hyperbolic". :) But rather well polished and, in a abstract sort of way, not to mention hindsight, almost creepy.

we've become some weird anthro-robotic-Neanderthal hybrid which I don't recognize, nor do I care to.

:thumbsup:

:)


Still, exaggeration is the only way to sell a concept.

I know he was raking it in from commercials in those days (he did some for the bank I worked at - guy was a hoot), but it's pretty disappointing to hear such a belligerent approach.

Some whacko right wing CEO wanted that idiocy filmed, and got it.

even Eisenhower was a right winger and didn't do much to endanger America's status - governmental, corporate, et cetera.

I don't look at labels. I can't. I'm always compelled to look beyond them. And maybe I look too far beyond them at times. :shrug:

I've often wondered the amount of "Increased" pollution due to cheap goods coming from China and India that need replacing in a couple of months

Not only does the planet suffer the effects of manufacturing the goods with Non-existent pollution controls the 1st time, but the replacements goods must also be remanufactured numerous times as well.

Kind of like taking China and Indias pollution index and applying a logrythmic multiplyer to them

I know regulations are said to be eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeevil and everything else, but those countries, proud as they are, certainly can't be bothered - especially the one with THE highest piracy rate... While there are MANY products that are of good quality, more than enough are not and that's why bad reputations have been building. Especially China, who wanted the Olympics to improve their image. As with everything else in life, it doesn't make much sense.

Also, isn't pride a sin? It seems to be something we all - as nations, other groupings, and almost as often as individuals - share...

As in “I’m grateful to have been able to produce such a quality product”

None the less – China’s communist dictators ordered their peasant farmers to get off the farm and manufacture products with No Regard for what might happen to the planet. China’s 2 most significant commodities are Coal and Iron ore.

The end result was 1000s of Mom & Pop sized iron foundries billowing out pollution in unprecedented amounts.

China at the time lacked the Capitalist Venture Capitol machine we know and employ here in the West. The result was poorly manufactured products, from facilities lacking the proper design staff and Quality control measures.

But of course – none of this could have been possible without the Greed of Wall St.

though IMHO, when my generation goes that ideal will be full on dead. I'd say it's under 50% of Americans my age, and there is a MUCH smaller minority of younger folk who still care about quality over quantity.

In my house, everything we own has a specific function or has high sentimental value. We fix and repurpose almost everything. I have gone through 2 sets of self made slip covers for my living room furniture, but the pieces are still in perfect condition. I have my mother's 1958 refridgerator. It's seen the repairman once and runs perfect. My sister's 1986 fridge lasted 22 years when the repairs cost more than new so was replaced. My neice's 1998 fridge has already been worked on twice and is making strange noises again.

My mother had 3 purses. 1 for fall and winter, 1 for spring and summer, 1 for dress up. All three are still in perfect condition and she is still using them 50 years after buying them. I have a pair of shoes I bought at 23. They have been polished weekly for over 20 years, had several sets of soles and shoe strings put on them. They are better than the day I bought them but they need new soles and all the shoe repair guys are gone around here. I have been looking for over 2 years for a shoe to replace these - I have yet to find anything on the market suitable.


I babble -- perhaps I should have been born either a Shaker or Amish..........

Thanks for posting... It is sad to realize that we have done just what was always predicted of the hyper-capitalist ethos -- sold everything until there is nothing left to stand for.

america's collective attention deficit disorder can now only process 15 and 30 second spots.

I haven't had regular access to TV since I left for college. I was storing some furniture for a friend for a few months and used her TV in the 1990s. I see TV when I visit some of my family a few times a year, and sometimes when I petsit for friends. (One parrot loves to listen to Animal Planet!)

But I have a VERY hard time actually watching TV, especially because of the commercials. It's visually disorienting to me!

(As for the ad, not long after the ESA was passed, and bald eagles were still in a lot of trouble then.)

I've been horrified lately by some of the foreign products out there. Not cheap plastic junk from Asia, though that used to be looked down upon rather than ubiquitous.

The other day I read the labels on some apple juice in the grocery store. Mind you, I live in upstate NY, and park across the street from an apple orchard every day. I get peeved enough to see Washington apples out here. The regular juice was from China (at least the concentrate). The organic juice was from Turkey.

I also live near many large state forests, loggging trucks carry trees through town, etc. I bought some basic pine boards the other day to repair a piece of furniture. When I was sawing one of them near the price sticker, I noticed "made in Sweden".

How on earth is is cost-effective to produce these products, ship them long-distance, distribute them here? Very low wages and low environmental standards in China, but Sweden?