Advertising at Its Best
Compiled by Jabbewocky
Colgate introduced a toothpaste in France called Cue, the name of a notorious porno magazine.
An American t-shirt maker in Miami printed shirts for the Spanish market which promoted the Pope's visit. Instead of the desired " I saw the Pope" (el Papa), the shirts read "I saw the Potato" (la papa).
In Taiwan, the Pepsi slogan, "Come alive with the Pepsi Generation," translated into, "Pepsi will bring your ancestors back from the grave."
When Coors put its slogan, "Turn It Loose," into Spanish, it was read as, "Suffer from diarrhea."
Ford introduced the Pinto in Brazil only to find out Pinto is slang for "tiny male genitals."
When Parker Pen marketed a ball-point pen in Mexico, its ads were suppose to say, "It won't leak in your pocket and embarrass you." However the company thought the word "embarazar" (to impregnate) meant to embarrass, so the ad read: "It won't leak in your pocket and make you pregnant."
When Clairol introduced the "Mist Stick," a curling iron, into Germany, it translated as the "Manure Stick."
Religion or Superstition? By Peg Leg Cat
A scream echoes throughout the huge, banner-covered room. The shrill cry leaves hundreds of people with an uneasy feeling - a feeling of doubt. The robed stranger lifts the struggling, crying baby from the water and says another prayer. The masses are assured.This is but one of many religious practices performed by the Christian church each Sunday. To some it seems necessary and proper, to others it seems strange and even superstitious. Why do these people feel that every child must be dipped in water that was blessed by a priest they probably barely know? Many people seek assurance from such practices and the stories that accompany them.
What is the meaning of life? What happens when you die? Where did we come from? These sorts of questions are asked all the time by people across the world. Not having an answer is discomforting to many. Organized religion usually provides answers to these questions. So millions of people practice religion to feel assured of knowing the answers to life's hardest questions. For the most part, they take what they are told as fact and expect others to agree with them. Religious people raise their children to believe the stories they have been told also, and the children grow up assuming that everyone around them has the same beliefs.
But accompanying these answers comes rules and morals and orders and duties. With the promise of "eternal life," most Christians comply with all the rules their church gives them. These rules usually include sexism, racism, and homophobia; often conversion is encouraged. Also, the Christian Church regulates personal activities such as sex, marriage, and birth rights. The people who run the church claim that all of their values are supported by the bible, so their people should have those values too. These people also try to instill their values and beliefs into their peers and government. The massive Religious Right has much influence on the country and oppresses those who do not subscribe to their religion. It is clear that religion is used as a means of control that uses answers to powerful questions as lures into the Church.The behavior of the church destroys creativity throughout the population. Sure, it's good to seek answers to important questions, but if you do not answer them for yourself, all you are doing is subscribing to another's doctrine. It is blind submission to an oppressive system.
As soon as the church gains a person's trust, that person begins to devote more and more time to the church and its requests. Christian parents feel they need to send their children to Sunday school so they can grow up with "good values." Adolescent Christians either are coerced or volunteer to join youth groups that emphasize Christian life and morals. Growing up in such an environment keeps the child from exploring his or her own ideas on religion and life. Unconventional thinking - creativity - is viewed as wrong by influential Christians, and pupils are discouraged from free thought. This destruction of creativity is damaging to intelligence.
My belief is that it is important to examine life and religion for yourself. You should ponder reality. Read philosophical and religious works from many authors. Complying to indoctrinated belief systems causes a person to become more susceptible to the media and its tools of submission and control.
In order to have a healthy, intelligent population, people must liberate themselves from oppressive superstitions and seek their own comfort through the self. Comfort that is fed to you in the form of wine and bread is just a superficial way of feeling that you aren't alone in the universe. The only way to really know what's out there is to search for it. That means psychologically and physically searching the universe for its hidden mysteries and the answers to our most difficult questions.
Around the world, billions of people are questioning the common religions and beliefs that have been deeply ingrained in their societies. Those of us who can ask questions and keep our eyes and minds open won't be frightened by the truth as it is revealed. It is time to ignore the "it could be true" religions and the oppressive practices attached to them. Open your mind to the universe.
