The car maker, Subaru Canada, has had to take one of its radio ads off the air.
The ad tells people that “roads are an unpredictable place, so drive with confidence.” It then tells people that Subaru cars are very safe.
To demonstrate what it means by “unpredictable place,” the ad describes a truck driver who hasn’t slept in two days and is nearly asleep at the wheel. The trucker is also described as eating a bag of ketchup potato chips while he’s driving.
Subaru used the depiction of the sleepy, distracted trucker as one safety problem car drivers could encounter on the roads.
The ad implies that if you’re driving a Subaru, you will be safe, even with such unsafe truckers on the roads.
Truckers, however, objected to the ad.
The Canadian Trucking Alliance (CTA) is a group that represents truckers. They asked Subaru to stop airing the radio ads.
A spokesperson for the CTA said although the ads may be funny, it’s at the expense of hard-working truck drivers. He pointed out that it’s those very truck drivers who deliver the parts for the cars Subaru makes.
Subaru was quick to apologize to the truck drivers and pull the ads.
“The ad was devised with a sense of humour,” a spokesperson for Subaru told Today’sTrucking.com. He said Subaru counts on the trucking industry to deliver Subaru’s products “safely and on time… we know the professionalism they offer.”
CURRICULUM CONNECTIONS
By Kathleen Tilly
Writing/Discussion Prompt
What is a stereotype? Do you see any evidence of stereotyping in the Subaru advertisement? Do you think this stereotype is humorous or harmful? Are all stereotypes potentially harmful?
Reading Prompt:
This article was written from a neutral point of view (it doesn’t choose a side). How would this article be different if it was written from the perspective of a truck driver? What if it was written from the perspective of Subaru Canada?
Primary
Identify the point of view presented in a text and suggest some possible alternative perspectives (OME, Reading: 1.9).
Junior
Identify the point of view presented in texts, ask questions to identify missing or possible alternative points of view, and suggest some possible alternative perspectives (OME, Reading: 1.9).
Intermediate
Identify the point of view presented in texts, including increasingly complex or difficult texts; give evidence of any biases they may contain; and suggest other possible perspectives (OME, Reading: 1.9).
Grammar Feature: Contraction
A contraction is a word that is made from two words joined together using an apostrophe. Some examples are shouldn’t (should not), wouldn’t (would not) and he’s (he is). Find the contractions in this article and identify the words that combine to make them.
