Compared to the U.S., the monetary value of Mexico’s imports has to be close to nothing. Rather, Mexico is much better at exportation — namely its people. But that is another topic for another time.
Today, I’d like for you to take a look at the following advertisement from the Swedish Vodka maker Absolut:
Notice anything? How about Aztlan?
The myth of Aztlan can best be explained by California’s Santa Barbara School District’s Chicano Studies textbook, “The Mexican American Heritage” by East Los Angeles high school teacher Carlos Jimenez. On page 84 there is a redrawn map of Mexico and the United States, showing Mexico with a full one-third more territory, all of it taken back from the United States. On page 107, it says “Latinos are now realizing that the power to control Aztlan may once again be in their hands.”
In an effort to sell more vodka, this company has decided to encourage radical groups like La Raza and MEChA in their quest to reacquire about a third of the United States. When called on it, Absolut responded thusly:
This particular ad, which ran in Mexico, was based upon historical perspectives and was created with a Mexican sensibility. In no way was this meant to offend or disparage, nor does it advocate an altering of borders, nor does it lend support to any anti-American sentiment, nor does it reflect immigration issues. Instead, it hearkens to a time which the population of Mexico may feel was more ideal.
As a global company, we recognize that people in different parts of the world may lend different perspectives or interpret our ads in a different way than was intended in that market. Obviously, this ad was run in Mexico, and not the US — that ad might have been very different.
How this company can claim this ad doesn’t “advocate the altering of borders, nor does it lend support to any anti-American sentiment” is beyond me. Surly these people cannot be this stupid. The aura of mistrust between Mexico and the U.S. with regards to immigration matters is palpable enough to smell anywhere in the world. It’s practically in the news every single day. One person who doesn’t buy the stuff Absolut is selling is Michelle Malkin, who says:
But first: The advertising firm that created the Absolut Reconquista ad is Teran/TBWA. Teran is based in Mexico City. The company’s website boasts a pretentious statement of philosophy advocating “disruption” as a “tool for change” and “agent of growth.” (Scroll your mouse over the little buttons in the upper-right margin.) The firm advocates “overturning assumptions and prejudices that get in the way of imagining new possibilities and visionary ideas that help create a larger share of the future.”
Translation: The company advocates overturning borders that get in the way of imagining new maps of North America that help Mexico create a larger share of the continent.
Well, I’m not as worked up over this as Michelle is, even though I tend to agree that this ad was not only a bad move by Absolut, but also gave some undeserved credibility to the Reconquista movement. I mean, if a globally-recognized company sees enough merit in Reconquista to base an ad campaign on it, there must be something to it, right?
Oh well. If I was a drinking man (and I used to be; screwdrivers were my favorite), I’d stop buying Absolut for awhile just to express my displeasure with the ad and the company’s lackluster response to the criticism. Your mileage may vary.
April 7th, 2008 at 12:02 pm
How is the map above any different from this one?
Popular on post cards at every Texas tourist attraction, the map depicts an oversized Texas that takes up all of Mexico and most of the USA. Why is this seen as a humorous testament to Texas pride, while the map above is deemed offensive and racist?
April 8th, 2008 at 6:49 am
The map above is seen as offensive because of the Reconquista movement, whose members do not see it as a joke but a goal. Plus, with the illegal immigration situation being what it is, to suggest that Mexico should begiven back the territories it lost long ago is not a good idea.
BTW, I never said it was racist.
April 8th, 2008 at 8:46 am
I don’t know of anyone in the “Reconquista movement”, but I suspect that they are probably taken less seriously than this bunch of yahoos who have proven to be far more violent and dangerous.
I actually met and interviewed members of this group when they held a convention in Lubbock sometime ago (the faction that was not out kidnapping people at the time).
From what I can glean off of various websites, the Mexican nationalist movements seem mostly geared towards making protest statements and advocating social reforms and nothing about any serious efforts to reclaim land in any formal or organized fashion. They just don’t strike me as all that frightening.
And, I suspect, their support is probably miniscule and is only magnified by anti-immigrant, right-wing blowhards like Michelle Malkin and her ilk who like to use them to try and stir up resentments among their readers.