The good people at Copenhagenize brought to our attention the following Hungarian ad promoting cycling:
Copenhagenize translates the script roughly as this:
Lady: Would you like some tea?
Man: Yes, that would be lovely, thanks.
Telltale noises from the other side of the wall.
Lady [muttering under her breath]: You should rather be biking, too, Rezso.The tagline at the end is “You should rather be biking, too”
Now compare this to the recent ad running for AutoZone during the Olympics and Tour de France of all programs.
In the AutoZone ad, a poor kid on a bike repairs an old clunker by the side of the road using parts for AutoZone. (I imagine he is paying for it with fine his minimum wage job with no health insurance at Walmart.) At the end he says,
“It basically took me the whole summer. And I don’t know how many times I need to go to AutoZone, but at least now when I go, it’s not on my bike.”
That sound you are hearing now is a single tear falling off my face being shed for my country.
Yes, this poor schmuck has traded a low cost, self sufficient, health and wealth building form of transportation for a future of endless debt and a growing waist line (assuming that car will make it more than 500 miles.) Way to go, Autozone!
Here we go again down the road of the myth of the American automobile. The bicycle is a toy or only the tool of those so unfortunate to have life deal them a losing hand. The car will make you happy and successful. What a crock!
I think we need to look to the Hungarians to see how out of wack our priorities are (no pun intended.) I mean, would you rather work an extra 4-6 hours a week to make your car and insurance payments or would you rather have more sex?
I thought so.
on Aug 19th, 2008 at 1:43 pm
Okay, great ad! Just one thing I don’t like, the stereotype that drinking tea is dull. They should be drinking flavored coffee or some flowery tea,if tea at all.
on Aug 20th, 2008 at 12:46 am
while the first advert was highlighted on Copenhagenize, it is in fact a Hungarian advert.
that second advert is just scary.
on Aug 20th, 2008 at 8:01 am
Thanks, Mikael. I’ve made a correction to the article.
on Aug 20th, 2008 at 9:15 am
Thats a Stupid add for Autozone, while the Car will end up costing him Thousands of $ Dollars in Petrol ,Maintenance, Insurance, and will Depreciate very Quickly and be very bad for his Health. A very good Quality Bike would cost let us say $ 1,000-2.000 and last him his entire Life with minimum Maintenance Costs and help him remain Fit into Old Age and he would not get the American Disease of Big Belly. I like your Austin Blog very much, it is interesting.
Happy Ranndoneuring. Dublin Ireland 3.25 pm G.M.T.
on Aug 20th, 2008 at 4:41 pm
I think the question to ask about that Autozone ad is, “what happened 5 miles down the road?” That is one heck of a clunker car, I’m sure it wouldn’t last long at all, clearly not as long as a well-cared-for bicycle. Of course, maybe it was just all the cycling on dirt roads that got the poor kid in the first place…
on Aug 20th, 2008 at 8:40 pm
I liked the first ad better.
on Aug 2nd, 2010 at 11:51 am
One of the best things that ever happened to me happened in my car. One day on my commute to work my car radio just stopped working. So, for about 6 months I drove around not hearing ads.
Then, one day, the radio suddenly starting working again. I never ‘liked’ the ads on the radio, but now I found them to be obnoxious. I already didn’t watch that much TV, but increasingly began to find TV ads annoying as well.
Then I noticed the stuff between the ads on TV was mostly crap, so I got rid of my cable connection. Without the constant bombardment of commercials I began to have crazy and radical ideas about lots of things. Then I got rid of my car.
I just hope Autozone didn’t sell that kid a radio. I’d like to think he figures it out eventually. Maybe we’ll see him years from now, like the old Marlboro Man, renouncing the ad he helped make in his youth.