Saudis protest ad showing them cursing Nissan by…cursing Nissan
Posted on August 13, 2008 • By Miriam Schwab
Category: Videos | Tags: Tags: advertisements, commercials, electric car, McCann Erickson, Nissan, Nissan Tiida, oil | 2 Comments
When we first came to Israel in the early 1990s, Israeli television was a pathetic affair. There were two channels, and the only semblance of competition between them was who could broadcast the oldest, most boring reruns possible. Commercials were worse: static screens with white text on a blue background telling us to buy something.
As television became more sophisticated, real commercials were introduced. In the beginning, they were horrific concoctions of bad humor and naked women (How do we get people to buy this toothpaste? Naked women! How should we get kids to buy Milky? Naked women!)
But like so many things with Israelis, it was just a matter of time before they got the hang of it, and now Israeli commercials are really fun to watch.
One theme that’s appeared in Israeli commercials lately is what our Arab neighbors are thinking. Take this ad created by the Israeli branch of McCann Erickson, where Iranians celebrate Ahmadinejad’s declaration that he will destroy Israel, until they realize this means they’ll miss the last episode of the Israeli show Danny Hollywood:
The latest installment in the Israeli-commercials-with-Arabs series didn’t go over as smoothly as the one above. A new commercial for the gas-efficient Nissan Tiida depicts some Arab oil magnates cursing the car for its efficiency. In response, Arab oil magnates protested this commercial which they saw as racist by…cursing Nissan. It reminds me of that time when the pope hinted that the Moslem world might be a bit too violent, and to protest that generalization Moslem world burned down a few churches and other things.
Anyways, here’s the ad:
I don’t know about you, but this ad doesn’t seem to be racist. The guys are dressed in the typical garb, they’re not ugly, and they look pretty normal. The idea that the oil magnates might feel animosity towards cars that sip gas is actually a…what’s that word…a joke.
So here’s an idea: everybody has an initiative for peace. I’ve seen Go-Karting for Peace, Playgrounds for Peace, Surfing for Peace. Maybe if people in this region had a sense of humor, things would be better. So who wants to join me in my new initiative: Sense of Humor for Middle East Peace?
What will you be driving in 2010? A Sneak Peek
Posted on May 13, 2008 • By Rebecca Markowitz
Category: Environment, Social, Technology | Tags: Tags: electric car, Environment, green, Project Better Place, Shai Agassi | 2 Comments
If you answered “One of the two yellow Hummers in Israel”, you may not really be interested in the rest of this post. For the rest of us, we could end up driving electric cars within the next 2 years, thanks to Shai Agassi and Renault. The latest model has been spotted circling around parking lots in Tel Aviv. I wonder who the lucky guy/gal is that gets to test it and is forced to drive around in circles all day. Weee!
While I admit that this is no flying car, the electric car will create cleaner air and lower our dependency on fossil fuels, a good thing considering the only oil Israel has is olive oil and it’s too tasty to be wasted on transportation.
Newsweek explains that 150 recharging stations aka ‘swaps’ will be built around Israel and will take the same amount of time to fill up as a traditional gas pump. You’ll also be able to recharge at home or the office for shorter distances. Drivers can pay for the recharging with monthly subscriptions, similar to a cellphone plan, and it should end up being cheaper than gas.
When these guilt-free and cheaper fueling electric cars become available to the public, I will definitely want one. But I ain’t getting on the roads until the national aggression level in Israeli drivers is lowered significantly. Where is Project Better Drivers? That is the real question here.
Shai Agassi, of Project Better Place, is speaking at the President’s Conference in Jerusalem this week, so hopefully we’ll learn of the latest status of the project and report it here on israelplug.
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