SAS And the Culture War: Why is business being politicised?
Is, si s latest, commercial, victim. Of an international. Conspiracy or. Is. It just a tone-deaf Fiasco. Created, by an incompetent organization. The opinions, differ depending on who you ask, my name is Henry, Johnson and, I'm an independent libertarian, entrepreneur. And social, commentator, last, Tuesday, the Scandinavian, Airlines systems. SAS. Launched. A new video commercial, with, a message, that a domestic, Scandinavian. Culture does not exist, the film was so heavily criticised that it was taken, down just a few hours after, being published online. Why, does a company choose. This as a marketing, message in the first place why. Was the commercial ill received and. What does it tell us about the, state of Swedish. Corporations. These, are some of the questions that I will discuss in this week's video if, you appreciate, my videos please feel free to support me using one of the payment options on the left this. Channel is completely self, financed, and would not be possible without, your ongoing and, generous, support if, you want to see more in-depth, videos on Sweden, you can check out my Swedish youtube channel here all my videos there have English subtitles, for your viewing pleasure also. Do not forget to hit the subscribe button down below if you've not already done so and make sure to hit that pesky Bell, icon so, you just might get notified, when I release new material, which, I do every, Sunday evening, at 7 p.m. Central. European Time, today. I talk about advertising. Adversaries. And. Attacks. Stay. Tuned. Forward. The Light Brigade, whilst, there a man dismay'd, not. Though the soldier knew someone, had blundered theirs. Not. To make reply theirs. Not. To reason why theirs. But. To do and die. Into. The valley of death rode. The six. Hundred, thus, reads the second, verse of Lord Alfred, Tennyson's, classic, poem, about the light brigades, disastrous. Attack during the Crimean War of 1854. Which, relates one, of the most painful military. Decisions, in modern time, Tennyson's. Poem is a suitable, framing, for the recent and much ridiculed, SAS commercial, which, likely, is one of the biggest marketing, Fiasco's, in modern, time the, film was produced by, the Danish, advertising, agency and Co and was. Directed, by Swedish, film producer Gustav, uol's on the. Central message of the commercial, is that there is no such thing as a domestic, Scandinavian. Culture and that. Everything, is, copied, what. Is truly, Scandinavian. Absolutely. Nothing. There. Is no such thing. Everything. Is copied. Just a, few hours after, its launch the video was, taken down at. This time it had received, 274. Likes and, over. 13,000. 600, dislikes, and the company had been flooded by critical, messages, the marketing, Fiasco is more interesting, than the insipid, message, of the film itself as it says something about our zeitgeist. The current, sentiment, concerning, the role of culture in society but, also about. The state of modern, corporate, management, and communication. So. With, Tennyson's, poem, as a framework, I now, present the. Tragedy, of, the SAS, commercial. In four, verses. The. Ambition, behind a statement that no Scandinavian, or Swedish, culture exists, has. Its roots in the desire, to combat. Nationalistic. And conservative. Social, movements by emphasizing. That openness. And diversity. Is creating. And upholding. Scandinavian. Culture this. Ambition, is generally, expressed through, efforts, to find the roots of, perceived, Swedish, phenomenons, in foreign. Cultures rumor, has it the oso Swedish, meatballs, might, not be a Swedish, as you think but, Turkish the. Purpose of this is, to rob nationalistic. And isolationist. Movements, of their cultural, fellowship, an, example of this is when, superintendent.
In Need long falls at the government-run, Authority, forum, for living history in. 2015. Gave a lecture for, one of the key points was, to claim that there. Was no native. Swedish, culture, long. Falls later stated, that she had been quoted, out of context. What, she meant to say was that there was no such thing as the, uniform, Swedish, culture that. Goes back beyond, the ages, longbows, is correct but claiming, that there is no such thing as a uniform, Swedish culture that goes back to times immemorial, but. A statement like this makes. The entire concept, of culture. Meaningless. Since, it applies to all cultures and societies in. The whole world if, you will you could just as well argue, that there is nothing, native to earth whatsoever, as the, planet originally. It was formed, by gases, and particles from other, places in the Milky Way there. Is no such thing as a culture, which has existed, in isolation. Since the dawn of time, but. This in no way contradicts. The fact that there exists, was a Danish, is Swedish and a Norwegian culture, even. So once. Native, culture, can be difficult, to perceive, as, it, is often so deeply, embedded in, the identity, of each citizen that, it is taken for granted and, thus becomes, largely transparent, this, is the reason that then the minister of integration, Mona, Sahlin in 2002. Mews that she could, not think of what Swedish, culture might be this. Is a display of grave, ignorance, where, her native, culture, was taken for granted to, a degree, where. It was not perceived, to, exist at. All another. Example of this cultural. Expropriation. Was demonstrated. By the textile. Archaeologist. Anna colossal, of the University, of Uppsala in. 2017. When. She, claimed that the Viking, runes could. Be traced to Arabic, roots if you first cut the runes up then, rotate, to the pieces and finally read, them in a mirror her. Theory was quickly dismissed by scientists, but not before it had been enthusiastically. Communicated. By public, service media, as. It increasingly, became, perceived, as modern, progressive, and woke, to question. And to dismiss, cultural. Traits more. And more advertising, and communication. Agencies, adopted. This stance as the, basis, for their campaigns. Another. Example of this is when the high street retail, chain or lamps embarrassed. Themselves by advertising. A Christmas, tapestry, as, busting. The myth of the Swedish, Christmas and. Among other things claim that Santa, Claus was. Of Turkish, origin those. Of you who know the history of the Christian faith will. Remember that Santa, Claus that, is Saint, Nicholas of mere, earth lived. And worked in a part of the world that was at the time Greek. After. A heavy ridicule, the retailer, changed, the wording of, the campaign into. Celebrating. All, sorts, of Christmases, and their diversity a, few, months later global. Razor blade, manufacturer, Gillette, attempted. To capitalize, on feminist, identity, politics which, is sometimes. Referred to as pink washing this. Basically, means, attempting. To become popular through virtue. Signaling, by. Superficially. Repackaging. Your brand identity with. Popular, moral, posturing the campaign, led to massive, criticize, macht Gillette with, loss of revenue and consumer, boycotts, as a result Gillette. And aliens, are, not alone, in trying to make money through virtue singly, the, Danish shoe firm Bianco. Man the German car manufacturer, Oddie have. Also both tried, their hand at woke. Marketing. Both, with. Negative, results equal. Pain is, not enough, in.
Fact The. Bianco commercial, was. Produced, by the very, same agency. That also, produced, the ill-fated, commercial. For SAS. As. Demonstrated. Several. Warning. Presidents, existed. Against. Woke marketing, campaigns, when, SAS, decided. To enter the ring if you want to capitalize, on aligning. Your company, with trending. Moral stances. It requires, exceptional. Finish, beat ski field both. Timing, content. And in terms of delivery even, considering these challenges, it is remarkable. That they failed so thoroughly, by, choosing, a completely. Outdated, and, wildly. Unpopular, message, for the commercial, the, film instead, wildly. Misses, the mark as an upstanding. Progressive, stance and, instead becomes more reminiscent of an embarrassing, mama. Dancing, after having three glasses of chardonnay moment. Or. To quote writers. Sasame Helio song this. Is the kind of poppycock. People, and myself wrote, around. 2008. The, Christmas tree is from Germany meatballs, or a Turkish and democracy, is great, producing. And launching, an extremely. Expensive commercial. Film like this one means, you have numerous, meetings. Numerous. Milestones a numerous. Approval. Processes, in place it, is likely that dozens. Of people have been involved in the project even, at the concept stage, storyboards. Will been drawn up and pitched to the SAS, marketing, executives. Schematic. Pre cuts have, been screened. Background. Music score, invoice turtles, have been screen color-grading. Has, been adapted to fit the brand guidelines, of the company finessing. Polishing. Packaging. And not, once, did, anyone. Put, the brakes on to ask the question. Will. Our customers. Appreciate. This message, how. Is this, even possible. There. Are two possible, explanations to, this trainwreck of a commercial. One. It, is possible, that the whole film crew and the. Advertising parole and the responsible, marketing executives, at the airline all, belong, to such an isolated. And homogeneous social, klieg that. They're completely, out of touch as. To what is going on in Western society as large most. Likely several of them must also have been in a coma since somewhere around early, 2015, but let, I digress, to. The. Second, and more, plausible, explanation is. That the communication and, advertising. Agencies. That advise, companies, like, these have. Become caught, up in. Ideological, posturing, for, so long that they no longer represent. Business interests. But. Instead now engage in ideological, propaganda. Rather. Than sales, driving. Advertising. From, this ideological, horizon. It doesn't matter if the company's customers, are antagonized. The overall. Purpose, is, to change, society. So. That society. Fits. The ideological. Message rather. Than creating, a message that is attractive, to society, as it is an. Accelerating, trend within the Western market economy is to demand that large corporations, should take responsibility for, solving. Societal, sustainability. And economic problems, in society during. 2019. Nearly 200, global, publicly. Traded companies, declared. That their primary purpose no. Longer was to serve their shareholders, interest but. Instead their, staff and the, community at large this. Is partly a strategic. Fans hoping, to preempt, attacks on big business from ambitious, left-wing, politicians, that want to regulate them and meddle in their board compositions, but it is also a response, to the fact that younger, staff want. To work for firms that take a stand, on the moral and political questions. Of the day now. However well-meaning this, may be this, new form of collective capitalism. Is likely, to do much more harm than, good it risks entrenching. Unaccountable. Managers, without, business, experience, in vital. Roles within, companies, that's, why my, professionalism. Is, probably, earned. These important, as. Humanism. This. Threatens. Profitability, which. Is the core prerequisite. For the, success, of capitalism, the, current situation can, be compared to the managerial, capitalism. Of the 1960s. Where top level board members together with union, bosses and politicians, made, decisions, over, the heads of both shareholders. And, consumers. This, structure, is military, the. Chain of command is clear. Subordinated. Bosses report, to the upper ones the. Upper ones sent orders down the pyramid this model of governance is. Based on ideological. Loyalty. You, do not question your, orders openly. You follow, them in accordance, with an overall. Ideological. Plan this, is, the governance, model that, brought General, Motors to its knees this. Is, the governance, model that, made manufacturing. Industry, in Sweden, unprofitable. During, the 1970s. This is the governance, model that, fueled hyperinflation. And, made, the then newly appointed SAS. CEO, John, calls on write the revolutionary. Of management classic, demolish. The, pyramids, in 1985. These, were the vertical, pyramids, of power, that, ironically, are now being resurrected under.
The Slogan of social, responsibility where. Ideologists. Are hired and installed, in key positions all. While, being sheltered from, financial, responsibilities. By, the excuse. Defending, socially. Important, values, I believe. He is a good man the. Whole damn thing, reads, like a horror story by, Iran, the. Market economy requires a, business, mindset, in order to provide growth and prosperity. This, means that owners, and shareholders ought, to be the ones calling the shots concerning, the direction, of their companies, not. Social. Justice, warriors. The, problem with collectivist. Capitalism. Is that it makes corporation. Just, like the public sector lose, their dynamism, by, replacing, it with bureaucratic. Perversion. To anything, outside the ideological, plan, there, is a word, for this, it's, called. Stagnation. Do. Not have to be Don Draper, to realize, that the film that SAS, made would, be a disaster, the, issue here isn't why, should people smoke it's why should people smoke Lucky Strike. Suggesting. That our customers, have a, what. Did you call it a death wish, I just. Don't see that on a billboard it, is enough to have. A pulse and to move outside the fairtrade baristas, soy milk refill stations, for this to be totally, obvious nonetheless. The. Commercial, was released and it, reached close to 14,000. Thumbs down in a few short hours first. They, closed the comment section a few, hours later the, commercial, was pulled off line altogether. The. Following morning, SAS. Puts, out a press release claiming. The commercial, to have been withdrawn due, to suspected. Malevolent. Attack. And that, their campaign, is suspected, of having been kidnapped. If you let Michael Marsh go now that'll, be the end of it. I will, not look for you I will. Not pursue you, but. If you don't I. Will. Look for you I, will. Find you. And. I will kill you what. Is this attack, supposed, to be that. The viewers did not give it enough thumbs up that. It got widely, shared around the globe welcome. To the Internet, it's, called the Internet and it's a fresh new way to check out sights by clothing and surf, music and it's all located, on this tiny cd-rom. This, is how digital communication. Works this is not an attack this. Is the sound of, ideological. Ambitions. Colliding. With reality. The, only undue, influence concerning. This campaign is, the polarization, it, is generating. As it is rejected, by people who, do not appreciate being, lectured, by their airline they, want a good experience, when they fly not a lesson in diversity policy, to, deny the existence of.
Scandinavian. Culture is reckless at, best and, harmful at worst because it, antagonizes. Not only nationalists. But even, the man on the street to. Deny culture, in the way that the essay, as commercial, does this. Knowingly. Or unknowingly. Playing. Into, the hands, of the destructive, side of nationalism. And the movements, that feed off of feelings of instability, and insecurity sure. Is it's easy to mock those upset, by something as trivial as a commercial, but this is not only tone-deaf. It is also arrogant, and, counterproductive. As it. Is needlessly. Further, polarizing. Society. Ultimately. This, is not about a commercial, but, rather about what happens when woken, aside e ology, and social engineering, is allowed to increasingly, penetrate, every corner of society, from politics, to culture, and even into the marketplace, if you trivialize this ideological, politics, cues. That the ideas, that are being touted or just, and right then. You need to realize that whatever tools, of propaganda, and indoctrination that. You tolerate now, very, very likely and very soon might be in the hands of people whose, opinions, you, do not agree with at, all, because. This is not about the quality of, the message. This. Is about, whether the culture, should. Be politicized, or, not to. Summarize, all this I would, again, like to quote Tennyson's, poem flashed. Older, Sabres, bear flashed, as they, turned, in air savoring. The gunner's they're charging. An arm while, all, the world one. Plunged. In the battery smoke right through, the line they broke Kazakh. And Russian reeled. From the sabre stroke, shattered. And sundered, then. They rode back but not, not. The 600 do. You feel that an ideologically. Free society, is preferable, to a society, that aspires, to school, its citizens. Ideologically. If, you do please. Share this video with your friends now why not subscribe to my youtube channel do. You have your own examples. Of the politicization, of society. Then, please, share your experiences. In the comments section, down below I appreciate. All respectful. Comments. My. Name is Henley Council and I choose, Liberty. Before. Paula, decision, thank. You very much for, watching this video.
2020-02-21 23:20
