The key to the idea of the "melting pot" is the mixing and creating of a singular American culture, not the retaining of a separate cultural identity.

Our strength has always been in the combination of separate cultures to form a shifting but wholly American culture, not some kind of random mix of distinctly separate cultures coexisting.

The term is "One out of many", no "many out of many."

Who would have thought that a damn beverage commercial would cause such a kerfuffle?

(02-03-2014 12:42 PM)Smaug Wrote:  

(02-03-2014 12:37 PM)DrTorch Wrote:  

(02-03-2014 12:24 PM)Smaug Wrote:  That's a fair point, and I'd only counter with this, foreign enclaves in neighborhoods are not a new phenomenon. The same thing happened with the waves of eastern European immigrants in the mid-19th through early 20th century, and they assimilated.

That's an exaggeration. Such fictitious folklore is part of the problem.

There weren't enclaves of eastern Europeans who spoke only their native language in the past century and a half?

Oh, yet another leading question. How clever of y

(02-03-2014 12:44 PM)Fo Shizzle Wrote:  Who would have thought that a damn beverage commercial would cause such a kerfuffle?

I suspect the commercial makers did.

(02-03-2014 12:44 PM)HeartOfDixie Wrote:  The key to the idea of the "melting pot" is the mixing and creating of a singular American culture, not the retaining of a separate cultural identity.

Our strength has always been in the combination of separate cultures to form a shifting but wholly American culture,

That was certainly NOT the strength that triggered and won the Revolution.

Yeah, because companies want their advertisements to piss people off.

(02-02-2014 10:21 PM)oklalittledixie Wrote:  

(02-02-2014 10:20 PM)EagleX Wrote:  My only thought was, "I don't see how that's going to sell many cokes".

That's the problem with America.

A much bigger problem is people bickering over minutiae while their rights are being stripped away. Case in point: obsessing over an ad for sugar water while being perfectly okay with the NSA trampling the Constitution.

(02-03-2014 12:45 PM)DrTorch Wrote:  

(02-03-2014 12:44 PM)HeartOfDixie Wrote:  The key to the idea of the "melting pot" is the mixing and creating of a singular American culture, not the retaining of a separate cultural identity.

Our strength has always been in the combination of separate cultures to form a shifting but wholly American culture,

That was certainly NOT the strength that triggered and won the Revolution.

At that point in time we were a pretty homogeneous society, at least relative to 50 years later when the United States began to hit its stride.

We can't forget that for about 25 years after the Revolution the United States was a backwater.

(02-03-2014 12:46 PM)Smaug Wrote:  Yeah, because companies want their advertisements to piss people off.

You really are uninformed of this topic.

Advertisers want their ads to be remembered. That is the metric they believe is important.

There are many controversial ads that marketers will claim are successful b/c they are remembered.

Generally not by companies like Coke.

(02-03-2014 12:51 PM)Smaug Wrote:  Generally not by companies like Coke.

Whether Coke considers it a success is a completely different question.

And I don't assume that there is just a single opinion w/in Coke.

My guess is that there is a fair bit of discussion and disagreement w/in Coke as to where to go from here.

Wow, I guess it's good that Coke didn't go with their first choice of song: "Allah Bless America".

(02-03-2014 12:46 PM)Smaug Wrote:  Yeah, because companies want their advertisements to piss people off.

Oh contraire mon frère, creating a stink to bring attention to the brand is marketing 101.

It also has a lot to do with companies like Coke trying to cash in on a PERCEIVED shift in acceptance.

(02-03-2014 01:03 PM)oklalittledixie Wrote:  Oh contraire mon frère,

Speak English, ya librul bastage.

(02-03-2014 01:03 PM)oklalittledixie Wrote:  

(02-03-2014 12:46 PM)Smaug Wrote:  Yeah, because companies want their advertisements to piss people off.

Oh contraire mon frère, creating a stink to bring attention to the brand is marketing 101.

It also has a lot to do with companies like Coke trying to cash in on a PERCEIVED shift in acceptance.

Coke is a global brand though so marketing to non english speakers is probably something it does every day.

(02-03-2014 01:13 PM)VA49er Wrote:  

(02-03-2014 01:03 PM)oklalittledixie Wrote:  

(02-03-2014 12:46 PM)Smaug Wrote:  Yeah, because companies want their advertisements to piss people off.

Oh contraire mon frère, creating a stink to bring attention to the brand is marketing 101.

It also has a lot to do with companies like Coke trying to cash in on a PERCEIVED shift in acceptance.

Coke is a global brand though so marketing to non english speakers is probably something it does every day.

sure, but this was an obvious pushing of the limits.

(02-03-2014 12:38 PM)JDTulane Wrote:  Nothing more American than recognizing our awesomeness at being one people of many backgrounds.

So why the hyphens?

(02-03-2014 10:35 AM)DrTorch Wrote:  

(02-03-2014 10:30 AM)Fitbud Wrote:  Well said. It's unfortunate that some in this country believe that they are more deserving of it than others and that they were here before anyone else.

It's unfortunate that you voice an ignorant opinion, and try to influence young people.

Influence young people?

How old are you?

I think it's (at least a short term) success for Coke because people have talked about Coke more in the last 20 hours than they have in quite some time. The publicity in this case alone will likely be enough to at least make the commercial net positive in terms of value for them.

(02-03-2014 01:49 PM)All Dukes_All Day Wrote:  I think it's (at least a short term) success for Coke because people have talked about Coke more in the last 20 hours than they have in quite some time. The publicity in this case alone will likely be enough to at least make the commercial net positive in terms of value for them.

Enron got a lot of publicity, too.