Riding with Bin Laden

Well, the show goes on. Bashing SUV owners continues, and it now also includes people who ride alone. Consuming fuel unnecessarily means supporting people who live from oil (like Bin Laden). The most populistic book is available from amazon.com. You can see its title page on the right-hand side.

A summary of the discussion is given on http://www.marketplace.org/shows/2003/01/08_mpp.html:
Controversial ads say SUV buyers are helping terrorists: The Detroit Project, an outgrowth of Americans for Fuel Efficient Cars, fired a salvo in the campaign against SUV ownership, telling Americans that filling up an SUV is like mailing a check to Osama bin Laden. The ad campaign, that some stations are refusing to run, mimics a series of government-sponsored anti-drug spots. Columnist Arianna Huffington, who’s behind the ads, says, with war on the horizon, Americans should be willing to downsize their gas-guzzling SUVs.

A TV spot puts it to the extreme. It is described in the following article that appeared in the New York Times on January 8, 2003. I downloaded it from http://www.americansforfuelefficientcars.org/readmore/nyt_010803.htm.

Picture of an SUV The Detroit Project - by Americans for Fuel Efficient Cars The Detroit Project - by Americans for Fuel Efficient Cars The Detroit Project - by Americans for Fuel Efficient Cars The Detroit Project - by Americans for Fuel Efficient Cars
the ads about us read more get involved
spacer

spacer

TV Ads Say S.U.V. Owners Support Terrorists
By KATHARINE Q. SEELYE, NY Times 1/8/03

WASHINGTON, Jan. 7 — Ratcheting up the debate over sport utility vehicles, new television commercials suggest that people who buy the vehicles are supporting terrorists. The commercials are so provocative that some television stations are refusing to run them.

Patterned after the commercials that try to discourage drug use by suggesting that profits from illegal drugs go to terrorists, the new commercials say that money for gas needed for S.U.V.'s goes to terrorists.

"This is George," a girl's voice says of an oblivious man at a gas station. "This is the gas that George bought for his S.U.V." The screen then shows a map of the Middle East. "These are the countries where the executives bought the oil that made the gas that George bought for his S.U.V." The picture switches to a scene of armed terrorists in a desert. "And these are the terrorists who get money from those countries every time George fills up his S.U.V."

A second commercial depicts a series of ordinary Americans saying things like: "I helped hijack an airplane"; "I gave money to a terrorist training camp in a foreign country"; "What if I need to go off-road?"

At the close, the screen is filled with the words: "What is your S.U.V. doing to our national security?"

The two 30-second commercials are the brainchild of the author and columnist Arianna Huffington. Her target audience, she said, is Detroit and Congress, especially the Republicans and Democrats who last year voted against a bill, sponsored by Senators John McCain, Republican of Arizona, and John Kerry, Democrat of Massachusetts, that would have raised fuel-efficiency standards.

Spokesmen for the automakers dismissed the commercials.

Eron Shosteck, a spokesman for the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, said of Ms. Huffington, "Her opinion is out-voted every year by Americans who buy S.U.V.'s for their safety, comfort and versatility." He said that S.U.V.'s now account for 21 percent of the market.

In an interview, Senator Kerry distanced himself from the commercials. He said that rather than oppose S.U.V.'s outright, he believed they should be more efficient.

"I haven't seen these commercials," he said, "but anybody can drive as large an S.U.V. as they want, though it can be more efficient than it is today."

Ms. Huffington's group, which calls itself the Detroit Project, has bought almost $200,000 of air time for the commercials, to run from Sunday to Thursday. While the group may lose some viewers if stations refuse to run the advertisements, the message is attracting attention through news coverage.

The advertisements are to be broadcast on "Meet The Press," "Face the Nation" and "This Week With George Stephanopoulos" in Detroit, Los Angeles, New York and Washington.

But some local affiliates say they will not run them. At the ABC affiliate in New York, Art Moore, director of programming, said, "There were a lot of statements being made that were not backed up, and they're talking about hot-button issues."

Ms. Huffington said she got the idea for the commercials while watching the antidrug commercials, sponsored by the Bush administration. In her syndicated column, she asked readers if they would be willing to pay for "a people's ad campaign to jolt our leaders into reality."

She said she received 5,000 e-mail messages and eventually raised $50,000 from the public. Bigger contributors included Steve Bing, the film producer; Larry David, the comedian and "Seinfeld" co-creator; and Norman Lear, the television producer.

 

spacer
donate online
You can help stop our dependence on foreign oil from the Middle East. Help get our TV ads on screens across America - click here to find out how you can make a donation online or through the mail.
spacer
watch the ads
The ads are here! Click here to watch the two controversial ads about SUVs and terrorism. You can also read the scripts. Don't forget to join Arianna's email list when you're done watching the ads.
spacer
watch the ads
Let the car corporations in Detroit know that fuel efficiency is important to our national security. Click here to send them an email.
spacer
tell someone
Send an email about our site by clicking here. If you've got your own Web site you can download banners and buttons to display on your site here.
spacer
What is your SUV doing to the world? What is your SUV doing to the world? What is your SUV doing to the world? What is your SUV doing to the world? What is your SUV doing to the world?

The Ads - About Us - Read More - Get Involved - Home
The Detroit Project by Americans for Fuel Efficient Cars - info@thedetroitproject.com
Americans For Fuel Efficient Cars 7966 Beverly Blvd. 2nd Floor Los Angeles, CA 90048
AriannaOnline.com - Web site by Campaign Momentum

 


Back to the main page