# Abusive Ad by Chevrolet



## moonmamma3 (Feb 5, 2004)

Please consider writing or calling Chevrolet and protesting their ad which depicts kids, one after another, with bars of soap shoved in their mouths enduring this physical punishment.

Soaping is not only emotionally hurtful to many kids, it can also cause allergic effects ranging from mild to severe. Chevrolet is exploiting our most vulnerable members of society (children), and legitmizing this harsh punishment (parents may actually *think* to use this and *act on* it in a moment of frustration due to this ad), and minimizing childrens' hurt and humiliation from this act. Chevrolet is going for a base level "laugh" and "advertising" of their product without thinking of *the bigger picture* here.

Here's the link -- http://www.chevrolet.com/index_home.html

Moonmamma (the ad is still on their website, at their home page -- let it download, and you will see "On Television" and a still picture of the commercial)


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## DreamsInDigital (Sep 18, 2003)

OMG







That is a HORRIBLE commercial!!!!!!!!!!!!!

*goes off to write her letter*


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## sadie_sabot (Dec 17, 2002)

THANK YOU!!!

I was at my sister's house on sunday and her dh was having a super bowl party. We had all wacthed the Moveon.org ad that CBS refused to air and had been talking about that. I was freakin' amazed and appalled then to see that Chevrolet ad! I was speechless! Is it supposed to be funny or something?

Grrr. By the way, do you have an address for chevrolet?


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## ~Megan~ (Nov 7, 2002)

sent an email


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## juicylucy (May 20, 2002)

uggghhhhhh

what a disgusting advert


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## MamaSoleil (Apr 24, 2002)

Did it take forever for you to load too????


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## juicylucy (May 20, 2002)

when I chose 'low', it loaded faster.


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## PurplePixiePooh (Aug 5, 2003)

Sent my letter off...this kind of garbage is so infuriating!

I hope they not only pull the ad, but issue a public apology for advocating child abuse.


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## Mona (May 22, 2003)

from one who did get their mouth washed out with soap, that commercial was awful!!!!


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## PurplePixiePooh (Aug 5, 2003)

Now I am furious and ready for a more "drastic " step.

I emailed cev. to tell them that their commercial was trash, and got a stupid canned pat on the head letter in return.

I want to talk to someobody who actually can do something about this, but who do I ask for if I call? Usually all you get is some low ranking bored CS rep who cares more about their nail polish than the call.

who do I ask for or need I demand?


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## Clarity (Nov 19, 2001)

I wrtoe them and they said:
Thank you for contacting the Chevrolet Customer Assistance Center. We appreciate you taking the time to write us in regards to Chevrolet advertisement concerns.

We appreciate your comments and opinions regarding advertising at Chevrolet. We apologize if our ad wasn't appeasing to you. We do a number of different advertising themes; unfortunately one ad cannot effectively encompass our entire customer base. It is never our intention to offend any of our current or potential customers and if we have done so in your case, please accept our apologies. Again, we appreciate your feedback and have documented your comments.

If you should need to contact us in the future, simply reply to this message or call our Chevrolet Customer Assistance Center at 1-800-222-1020. Customer Relationship Managers are available Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m., Eastern Time. The service request number is 1-185639036.

Again, thank you for contacting Chevrolet.


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## sadie_sabot (Dec 17, 2002)

I can't get the link for "contact us" to work. Can someone tell me what their email address is?


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## Clarity (Nov 19, 2001)

it's an online form, no email addy though my reply came from [email protected]

or postal
Chevrolet
P.O. Box 33170
Detroit, MI 48232-5170


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## BrooklynDoula (Oct 23, 2002)

I wrote an email just now - thanks for bring it to my attention. (I told them 5 was in the market for a car and wouldn't buy theirs now, as I think this helps get their attention)


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## Nemmer (Sep 30, 2002)

: I can't believe that! I just wrote an email too! How disgusting of them.







:


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## Nemmer (Sep 30, 2002)

Wow, quick response from them...

"Thank you for contacting Chevrolet. We do apologize for any concern the SSR ad may have caused. The ad is meant to be humorous and endearing. It is in no way intended as a statement of any kind on appropriate methods of parental discipline. The children in the ad never had actual soap in their mouths. Appropriate props were used in accordance with all laws/rules governing commercial production. We will make a record of your concern and thank you for your input."

uke


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## sadie_sabot (Dec 17, 2002)

I just called them and the guy on the phone was very apologetic and said that in hindsight they recognize it may be offensive. he also said they've been getting a lot of calls.

good. jerks.

thanks for the contact information, by the way!

Now I want to get contact info for CBS to cuss them out for showing that ad while refusing to air the MoveOn.org ad.


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## moonmamma3 (Feb 5, 2004)

Oh, you all have brought tears to my eyes... I was about to give this up today ... thinking it's no use -- but I am energized even more now. Did everyone get their contact info. that they needed? I'm not sure who to ask for when you call... it probably won't matter, but the call should be recorded/summarized in some way.

I think I am also weepy right now, because my memory of seeing my brother suffer with a "soaping" as a child has been triggered as well! That's absolutely right, it is NOT fun or "endearing" or "cute" in anyway.

Chevy does need to remove the ad, issue an apology and a statement that soap is NOT alright for kids' mouths.

One woman who could come out publicly against this ad would be Bernice Kanner... she is a Super Bowl ad and marketing expert -- she changed her mind about the ad I hear, and I hope she speaks out against it.

Peace and love to you all,

mm


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## pilesoflaundry (Dec 9, 2003)

One more reason for us not to buy a chevy again (our current chevy van totally sucks!)

I emailed my complaint!! In a nutshell I said that was insulting to have a child even pretending to swear over some stupid car and that soap in a child's mouth is cruel and gross and it may teach other's that is it okay but really is toxic.

Keep sendin' em in I hope we get the ad pulled







.


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## moonmamma3 (Feb 5, 2004)

Here's the latest series of letters....

"Dear Ms. H-,

Again, I understand your opinion of our advertisement during the
Superbowl, and
again on our website. As you are continually dissatisfied with the
responses
you have received from the Customer Assistance Center, if you would
like, you
can write a letter to Chevrolet Corporate Offices. You can do so at
the
following address:

Chevrolet
P.O. Box 33170
Detroit, MI 48232-5170

We have documented your concerns, and Chevrolet is fully aware of the
dissatisfaction of you and many other customers. Unfortunately, at
this time,
the Customer Assistance Center has not been privy to the decisions of
management
concerning this issue, though we do know that they are working
diligently to
rectify the situation they have created.

This is the final decision of the Chevrolet Customer Assistance
Center, and we
can no longer address issues on this topic. Please feel free to
contact us
should you have any other concerns.

If you should need to contact us in the future, simply reply to this
message or
call our Chevrolet Customer Assistance Center at 1-800-222-1020.
Customer
Relationship Managers are available Monday through Friday from 8:00
a.m. to
11:00 p.m., Eastern Time.

Again, thank you for contacting Chevrolet.

Sincerely,

Samantha Murphy
Customer Relationship Manager
Chevrolet Customer Assistance Center

#Subject=RE: Abusive Ad/Commercial

-----Original Message-----
From: L
Sent: 2/6/04 6:03:47 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: RE: Abusive Ad/Commercial

Dear Mr. Thompson and Chevrolet Management,

So Chevrolet thinks abusive treatment of children is humorous and
something
dear? Is this what you are saying is Chevrolet's official standing
on this?

By showing repetitive images of kids with bars of soap in their
mouths for
"cussing", Chevy IS making a statement that this is a viable
parenting
choice. The ad depicts no other alternatives. It sends a message
that this is
commonplace, this is acceptable. It SHOWS the image of a child
having this
done, over and over.

Why is it important for you to state that the actors had no soap in
their
mouths, and that there were props? Is it because real soap in the
mouth would
be considered cruel and unusual treatement? Yes, it would. Yet,
this is lots
of kids' reality today! According to a "Save the Children"
statistic,
in an average year 12% of children experience "ingestion punishment",
which often times is SOAP. This translates to over a million
children in this
country. This harsh punishment is STILL being done to REAL children
here in the
USA. Chevy's images of "soaping" are supporting and illustrating
this
abuse.

Again, I urge Chevrolet to DO THE RIGHT THING... pull the plug on
this
commercial, make a public apology and retraction, and do some public
service ads
against child abuse.

And I would appreciate a letter from Management, not a form letter.
Even though
I appreciate your form letter is "morphing", evidence that there is
much protest against this ad.

L- H-

<<Dear Ms H-,

Thank you for contacting the Chevrolet Customer Assistance Center. We
appreciate you taking the time to write us in regards to your
advertising
concerns.

The ad is meant to be humorous and endearing. It is in no way
intended as a
statement of any kind on appropriate methods of parental discipline.
The
children in the ad never had actual soap in their mouths. Appropriate
props
were
used in accordance with all laws/rules governing commercial
production.

If you should need to contact us in the future, simply reply to this
message or
call our Chevrolet Customer Assistance Center at 1-800-222-1020.
Customer
Relationship Managers are available Monday through Friday from 8:00
a.m. to
11:00 p.m., Eastern Time.

Again, thank you for contacting Chevrolet.

Sincerely,

Alan Thompson
Customer Relationship Manager
Chevrolet Customer Assistance Center


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## Alvenchrst (Feb 3, 2003)

Humm, that is a bad commercial. They went too far. My parents used soap on me once. Although I'm not emotionally scarred and I think it taught me an effective lesson. Simply in my experience it wasn't that bad. But I just think there is so much room for actual abuse to happen when using it that it wasn't appropriate for TV.


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## Clarity (Nov 19, 2001)

a few years ago there was a horrible trial about a woman who was forcing a child to inject soap, vinegar and hot peppers until he was ill as a punishment. The other poster was correct, ingestion abuse does happen, and it's horrible. SOap injection can cause a lot of intestinal pain and diarrhea.


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## moonmamma3 (Feb 5, 2004)

Ashley, I really appreciate it when those not hurt personally by something can see the potential for hurt, and have empathy for those who have been hurt by "soap in the mouth" (or other harsh things). I find your empathy and insight so very wonderful!

And absolutely, Clarity... soap ingestion can cause negative health effects.

That ad (still on the website, and still being aired as far as I know... plus! I learned they plan to use it in Cinema advertising -- great a captive audience.... ) -- that ad is inappropriate.

I'm directing my letters now to Kim Kosak, the Director of Advertising and Sales Promotion at GM in Detroit and to Campbell-Ewald of Warren Michigan, the advertising firm who made the commercial.

Thanks everyone.

mm


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## Clarity (Nov 19, 2001)

uh, no, because "a christmas story" is set in like 1950, when that kind of discipline was considered acceptable. Chevy is selling cars in 2004. it no longer is.


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## Clarity (Nov 19, 2001)

I didn't think it was funny, even in the movie, I just thought it was. In a context even of a humorous movie, I'd rather history be portrayed fairly accurately, since it is a period piece. But I can see my opinion would differ from some since I have a heavier than average interest in history and sociology. And reports say, it was fairly common then. But purely for laughs (a la chevy) or depicted as a desirable modern day practice, that's where I draw my personal line. I see a difference.


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## Mona (May 22, 2003)

I don't think people are aware how often that practice still goes on today. That fact alone makes it NOT FUNNY IMO.


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## Ms.Doula (Apr 3, 2003)

I dont see the add now... does that mean it was pulled??









Pitty. I wanted to see what is now being called "ingestion abuse". Since I have never heard of it (nor have I thought of it as a form of abuse) but a punishment for using your mouth in inapropriate ways..... Hmmmmmmm. Oh well.








:


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## Mona (May 22, 2003)

punishment in one's eye is obviously abuse in anothers...
but that is a different thread I guess.


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## cottonwood (Nov 20, 2001)

It doesn't matter if it causes physical harm or not -- it's still abusive. It's strange to me that we (as a culture) feel okay about doing this to a child -- some people even feel okay about having had it done to _them_ as children -- but if we think about an adult doing it to another adult, then it's definitely not okay. What about if the ad had depicted husbands "disciplining" their wives by causing them discomfort and embarrassment? If my husband -- or anyone -- sought to teach me a lesson he thought I needed by shoving a bar of soap in my mouth I certainly would not be continuing a relationship with him. And it's not because I never do anything wrong. It's because my body belongs to _me_ and nobody has the right to do anything to it I don't want done.

If it is abusive to treat someone who is 20 or 40 or 60 years old in this way, it is abusive to treat someone who is 5 or 10 years old in this way.

God, discrimination against kids is so pervasive in our culture. Let's face it, kids are just not regarded as fully human like the rest of us, deserving of basic human rights. They are _property_, you know.


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## MelMel (Nov 9, 2002)

nak

i didnt see this commercial...but i used to get my 'mouth washed out with soap' when i was little, once in a while (i didnt even say bad things, my mom was just a bit loopy...maybe she thought i was a worse kid than i was, who knows what goes on in her head







)
anyway, it didnt seem like an innocent punishment to me..i can still taste it, and she would leave it in so long...i remember swishing and rinsing trying to get it all out, then the inside of my mouth would crack and burn for a few days.

so i always hated that part of 'christmas story' didnt think it was funny at all.







:


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## moonmamma3 (Feb 5, 2004)

Hey there everyone... YES, I think they officially pulled the Commercial! At least it off their website totally. And the other "super bowl" ads are still there. You know... those of us who wrote in and complained, it really may have had an impact. Thank you one and all.

The question about "The Christmas Story" is an interesting one. I have been thinking about that. I vaguely remember the movie, I saw it in the theater with my then boyfriend, now my husband. I have never rented the video and showed it to my kids. Truly, I don't remember too much about the movie in detail. But I'm sure the "soap punishment" wouldn't have been too funny to me, since I was so scared to see a real one when I was little. In the movie... doesn't the boy express dismay and frustration at the punishment and fantasize about going blind from "soap poisoning" or something? I think this is significant, because it shows his feelings that this is a mistreatment of him... he is thinking revenge "that'll get 'em" (his parents) if he goes blind. This is a lot different than the stoic kids silently enduring the physical punishment of the commercial (creepy). I think with a movie, especially a video -- one can pause it and talk to your children; one can opt to not show it - one can prepare them for the whole genre and setting, that it's in the 50's and life was different back then. We can even "fib" (or is it wishful thinking!) and say parents don't do this to kids anymore, so our little kids won't worry about it. The unfortunate part is, I saw a 1994 statistic at the "save the children" site, and 12% of children that year had "ingestion punishment", with soap specficially mentioned. That's still a LOT of children (oh, I see I already talked of this in another post!).

With a commercial in 2004, and showing SEVERAL children one after another with bars of soap wedged in their mouth (some being there so long, it's foaming) -- it is more of an affront, it is more alarming. This is a company exploiting these images *for profit*, to get a laugh at something that is abusive, so that people "think of chevrolet"(???). It was all a bit weird to me.

Yes, I agree with 'blueviolet' who spoke so elequently about bias against kids today in this society. It's my opinion, that if any other group of humans was depicted like this, getting soap forced in their mouth for punishment or control -- it wouldn't even have been conceived yet alone made into a commercial. I think some people convince themselves that somehow the dependent nature of kids, and the need to "guide" them and be responsible for them, means that they can be treated in more harsh ways for "discipline" sake. Yet, if we were to look at similar relationships -- like other authority figures with people over 18 years of age (teachers, bosses, police officers, military, even prisoners -- oh, and there's grandma who needs to live with younger people and depends on them for care)... CP is wrong and abusive. This right of protection just hasn't been provided to children... yet.

Please let me know if this commercial shows up in any theaters! That would be a shame. For now -- it is GONE from the website.

Thanks everyone!

mm


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## moonmamma3 (Feb 5, 2004)

CP = Corporal Punishment, in my last post. I can't get in to edit.

that's all.


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## reilly's momma (Oct 3, 2002)

Just though everyone would be interested to know that depictions of this being done to adults are out there. King of The Hill just had an episode where this young man had his mouth washed out with soap, it was portrayed as a good thing, I think the character of Hank said something about doing what someone should've done a long time ago, telling him he had a potty mouth.


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## moonmamma3 (Feb 5, 2004)

eeeuuuwww... the 'king of the hill' scene sounds weird to me (the idea and making it). Did they actually show an adult doing this to another adult? Or talk of it, and "kind of show it" or allude to it, I wonder?

If I were a TV producer or Advertising producer, I wouldn't be putting images out there that could be seen as crazy or sick. But then, that's just my middle aged mentality I guess.

mm


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## reilly's momma (Oct 3, 2002)

It is a cartoon aimed at adults, & they showed the guy getting bent over the sink & a bar of soap shoved in his mouth


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## moonmamma3 (Feb 5, 2004)

Ohhhh, a cartoon! not a TV show with actors... sorry for the confusion.

mm


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## polka123 (Nov 27, 2003)

I LOVE King of the Hill & thought that episode was funny & as far as the Chevy AD...
lighten up folks .... the U.S. has become soooooo serious.
too politically correct - wow- no one can joke about anything anymore with out some saying, "OMG-dont go there"
there is REAL CHILD ABUSE going on out there - just watch your local news.
I love A Christmas Story also - this was a different time folks.
Should we ban Uncle Tom's Cabin b/d it had the N-word in it ??
Jeez, that how those folks talked then - learn from the sins of the past.
Many of us got spanked, mouths washed out w/soap, stood in the corner, put to bed w/out dinner, etc.
Many of us are not damaged from that.
c'mon folks.... its just an ad & whay bugs me is how many parents are opposed to spanking, etc but by their kids - violent video games & other crap.
lets worry about the homeless, beaten, sexually abused, staved kids.
Dont buy Chevy-if it bothers you.


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## MelMel (Nov 9, 2002)

oh, I LOVE the christmas story movie, my mom owns it (no sh$t :LOL ) and I usually borrow it a few times a year and watch it. It is such a cute movie....I just cringe and have to drink water to get the 'memory' taste out of my mouth when I watch that part.

I do think people should lighten up most of the time. but things like this are small ways that abuse is rationalized and snuck into everyday society. most people dont know where to draw the line.

polka. said 'Many of us got spanked, mouths washed out w/soap, stood in the corner, put to bed w/out dinner, etc.
Many of us are not damaged from that'

I had all these things, also, and I do think I was damaged from it. I see my relatives now doing these same things to their children (ones who say exactly what you have said), and then going farther (because once you accept these as normal, then you need to get even more severe with 'punishments') so where does it end? just because people used to do them, and have ALWAYS done them, doesnt mean when we know better, we shouldnt try to protect kids and try to put a stop to it. Or at least not trivialize it.

I used to hear my mom on the phone laughing about some way she had punished me, and her flippant attitude toward abusing me was far worse than the abuse itself.

I never saw the Chevy ad, but I am sure my mom thought it was funny







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## polka123 (Nov 27, 2003)

i dont really think it was funny but i dont accept this as normal.oh well -JMHO


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## moonmamma3 (Feb 5, 2004)

Polka123, I have to ask... how would you feel about a company using images of experimenting on animals to get a laugh?

Since I was emotionally harmed by spankings, watching a "soaping", and other punishments; and am empathetic to the many other stories that have been told to me about "the hurt inside" due to punishment -- I have always been a child advocate in my adult years. I know that raising children is possible and wonderful with positive discipline (non-punitive discipline).

And the bottomline for this thread... Chevy has done the right thing and removed the commercial. They made a mistake and have started the correction process. I, personally, feel they could do more, like a public service announcement about positive parenting and offering resources ;-).

mm


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## Mona (May 22, 2003)

http://www.mothering.com/discussions...hreadid=115687

FYI


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