Whistling Dixie
June 3, 2008
I noticed the weirdest thing the other day while I was watching television.
Someone had taken all of the Dixie commercials and replaced them with something completely different.
Now, when I say different, I mean to say that, while they were still showing Dixie commercials, they certainly weren’t the Dixie commercials I had grown up with.
You know the ones: Make Life Easy! Throw Away! No More Clean-up! No More Germs! Dixie promised a life of ease and convenience, of victimless consumerism and trash collection. The only thing you hurt was the pride of those who didn’t have the same foresight as you, who looked on in agony as your life’s schedule miraculously cleared up, while theirs was still tethered to the yoke of washing dishes!
Now?
The trend toward green products has placed disposable plates and cups in the same realm as oil spills and burning tires.
So let’s switch the spin, for a little bit.
This is the only version I could find on YouTube, pardon the poor quality.
Now, Dixie cups give you back your identity. You are no longer a woman washing dishes – you are a caring mother. You are one step closer to raising children who will make the right decisions. That’s what throwing away your dishes (instead of spending a crucial 15 minutes washing) will do for you.
On one hand, I applaud them for reinventing the brand, even if it means combating the onslaught of mainly beneficial Go Green messaging.
On the other, the pandering to Them Cute Kids seems so forced and non-genuine. It’s a play to every parent’s fear of not caring enough about his or her children. “I will no longer be defined by the number of dishes I wash!” she claims. Who said you were in the first place?
Of course, I already feel guilty enough when I throw away when I throw away a paper plate. So take it for what you will.
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