Your national trauma is my edgy commercial mise en scène

posted at 4:57 pm on December 2, 2006 by Allahpundit

The Towers have just collapsed, thousands of people are dead beneath the smoking rubble upon which he stands, but is he phased? Nope. Not only does he have his headphones on, he can’t even be bothered to face the scene. Total. Badass.

His cool indifference shames me. I fear this post-apocalyptic hipster shemale may haunt my very dreams.

benq.jpg

According to Gizmodo, the text reads, “Even if the world is destroy[ed] to dust, I still believe in music.” MacDailyNews says the BenQ boycott is on.

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Tuning out reality.

JammieWearingFool on December 2, 2006 at 4:59 PM

Why not? Much of the country has ‘changed channels’; it can easily lead to the downfall of Western civilization. Rome repeats itself, this time with TV remote or game controller in hand.

Mike O on December 2, 2006 at 5:02 PM

It’s a Taiwanese company. Note the text.

Allahpundit on December 2, 2006 at 5:02 PM

Selfishness on parade. I wasn’t affected. So why do I care? It’s the theme of the world, these days.

lorien1973 on December 2, 2006 at 5:16 PM

“Like dude, my ipod can protect me from terrorists. I’ll just start playing music from HAIR and a major sit in with erupt spontaneously.”

Crackhead!

E L Frederick (Sniper One) on December 2, 2006 at 5:17 PM

I wonder, that if this dude was shot in the head, if he’d appreciate everyone standing around listening “Janie’s Got a Gun” on their ipod and laughing at him.

lorien1973 on December 2, 2006 at 5:18 PM

Never heard of BenQ anyway but trying to avoid any product made in Taiwan would mean I no longer purchase electronics or cheap toys of any kind. Can’t do it. As for the ad, consider it roundly condemned, and the caption, intellectually vacuous.

thedecider on December 2, 2006 at 5:19 PM

I love the reaction of the people at the Gizmodo link..”Whats the big deal?”…what a bunch of asshats.

EnochCain on December 2, 2006 at 5:32 PM

The ones that deny its the WTC are the best. Obvious denial of reality.

HAHAHA I’m listening to “The Roof is on fire” while your house burns down. That is awesome.

lorien1973 on December 2, 2006 at 5:38 PM

BenQ… I think they were formerly GPX or something like that. They have stuff in the Fingerhut catalog now & then too. Low Budget pieces-o-crap stuff they sell.

SilverStar830 on December 2, 2006 at 5:47 PM

Sick. Disgusting. I’ll think twice before I buy any BenQ product.

infidel4life on December 2, 2006 at 5:52 PM

lorien,
“Yeah looks like a chapel to me”

EnochCain on December 2, 2006 at 5:53 PM

I’ve always liked the expressions:

mise en scène
mise en temp
mise en place

Let’s add to the series:

mise en réalité
mise en bon sens
mise en toilette

…add on…

Entelechy on December 2, 2006 at 5:59 PM

Taiwanese, huh?

Someone should photoshop that pic with a couple of Chinese soldiers sneaking up behind him, guns drawn, while he “believes”.

mesablue on December 2, 2006 at 6:14 PM

Why are we worrying about this when Britney Spears is sporting her clam all over town?

Y’all need to get your priorities straight!

quax1 on December 2, 2006 at 6:18 PM

My contributions!

who cares if kids are starving, as long as I have my music!
http://www.seohaiku.com/images/starving-kids.jpg

who cares if my city was just nuked, as long as I have my music!
http://www.seohaiku.com/images/nuclear-kid.jpg

lorien1973 on December 2, 2006 at 7:16 PM

Why are we worrying about this when Britney Spears is sporting her clam all over town?

Y’all need to get your priorities straight!

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAA Nice.

Enrique on December 2, 2006 at 7:16 PM

Fittingly, the IQs of those responsible for this ad campaign range from 9 to 11.

Jim Treacher on December 2, 2006 at 7:34 PM

His cool indifference shames me. I fear this post-apocalyptic hipster shemale may haunt my very dreams.

Channeling Tycho tonight, AP?

spmat on December 2, 2006 at 7:45 PM

Awesome, lorien! :D

Tuning Spork on December 2, 2006 at 8:55 PM

Why are we worrying about this when Britney Spears is sporting her clam all over town?

Y’all need to get your priorities straight!

quax1 on December 2, 2006 at 6:18 PM

I used to think she was hot till I saw her mediocre cha-cha.

infidel4life on December 2, 2006 at 9:48 PM

Who woulda thought that 5 years ago, Britney and Paris would become neck-neck in the skank race?

lorien1973 on December 2, 2006 at 9:53 PM

I used to think she was hot till I saw her mediocre cha-cha.

infidel4life

hahahahah … I think we were expecting the same thing and we were both sadly disappointed.

SilverStar830 on December 2, 2006 at 9:55 PM

Who woulda thought that 5 years ago, Britney and Paris would become neck-neck in the skank race?

lorien1973 on December 2, 2006 at 9:53 PM

Really, it’s not that much of a leap, is it?

thedecider on December 2, 2006 at 9:58 PM

hahahahah … I think we were expecting the same thing and we were both sadly disappointed.

SilverStar830 on December 2, 2006 at 9:55 PM

Photographic Viagra?

E L Frederick (Sniper One) on December 2, 2006 at 10:07 PM

Taiwan, huh? The “she-male” might have its own smoldering ruins soon enough.

Reunification, Beeyatch!

What I find most offensive about Lady McBrit’s display are the razor cuts, more than anything else. Were there no Brazilian wax joints in the trailer park? Tighten up, now.

Kid from Brooklyn on December 2, 2006 at 10:13 PM

There we go with the trailer park again…*sigh* lol

EnochCain on December 2, 2006 at 10:22 PM

She brings that on herself. I didn’t tell her to walk barefoot into a public bathroom.

Kid from Brooklyn on December 2, 2006 at 10:24 PM

I just find the whole trailer park thing to be misleading…being from a trailer park does not make one trash…ask Paris Hilton.

EnochCain on December 2, 2006 at 10:25 PM

Well not really misleading…just unfair.

EnochCain on December 2, 2006 at 10:28 PM

Fair enough.

Kid from Brooklyn on December 2, 2006 at 11:15 PM

Even if the world is destroy[ed] to dust, I still believe in music.

This reminds me of my favorite rapper: Krayzie Bone.
He said that as long weed continue to exist, the world can burn away.

Ouabam on December 2, 2006 at 11:56 PM

Well, if the world burned away wouldnt the weed go with it?

EnochCain on December 3, 2006 at 12:03 AM

This reminds me of my favorite rapper: Krayzie Bone.
He said that as long weed continue to exist, the world can burn away.

Ouabam on December 2, 2006 at 11:56 PM

What is it with the druggie culture, Ouabam? As long as they’re high, who cares about anything else?

thedecider on December 3, 2006 at 1:00 AM

It’s a Michael Jackson, one gloved hand, nightmare.

At least Alice Cooper wore eyeliner.

Androgeny means you don’t know if yer coming or going.

Er…. yeah

Kini on December 3, 2006 at 2:20 AM

lorien1973, bravo!
can you make one with a typhoon-devastated village in the background?

stevezilla on December 3, 2006 at 8:42 AM

God gave us music. How ironic for this moped tough guy.

Mojave Mark on December 3, 2006 at 3:35 PM

As someone who used to live in Taiwan, I am not too surprised. Their advertising SUCKS. It’s stupid; about 85% pornographic, the rest anime and Hello Kitty. This is a different kind of offensive though. SOBs.
And whoever made that comment about reunification: grrrrr.

tikvah on December 3, 2006 at 4:22 PM

Reunification, Beeyatch!

That would be me. Any questions?

Kid from Brooklyn on December 3, 2006 at 6:01 PM

This advert comes from a culture where there are Nazi-themed tea house/noodle shops and people buy Iron Cross-style Nazi infantry helmets to wear while riding their 150cc motor scooters. From a culture where people get “Attack on America” t-shirts in the night markets featuring Osama bin Laden’s face prominently and almost heroically.

If that was all you knew about Taiwan, you’d think they love our enemies.

Fortunately, Taiwan is one of the most pro-American countries in Asia. They have a very peculiar and sometimes alien world view there, one where the impact of 9/11 wasn’t nearly as forceful as it was here, but one that nevertheless idolizes the States despite our own flaws (i.e. Jimmy Carter yanking the whole sovereign nation rug out from under them in 1979) Reviling the country over a rather stupid advert is pretty unfair. It’s like reviling America for its Fu Manchu movies.

At any rate, BenQ is one of the worst tech companies in Taiwan. It was founded as the “hip” electronics branch of the Acer corp, and took it’s name from its head honcho, some guy named Ben Q. (the Q standing for something I’m not sure about.) They make awful knock-off products and have absolutely horrible tech support. Boycott them, please, drive them under.

Mindcrime on December 3, 2006 at 6:02 PM

The Towers have just collapsed, thousands of people are dead beneath the smoking rubble upon which he stands, but is he phased? Nope.

He’s not fazed, either. :)

carlitos on December 4, 2006 at 12:01 PM