Bothered by the vonage commercial with the racist comment?

Posts: 7 · New Forum Member Joined: Jul 17, 2011 Posts: 7

While I'm not usually one to complain, boy do I hate that Vonage commercial they play every 15 min on tv.
I hate it sooo much!!

Partly because one idiot thinks "the white elephant in the room" is a common saying but, mostly because NOT ONE of the people involved in this multi-billion dollar ad campaign bothered to notice and/or correct him. I know what the actor meant to say or at least I hope he meant to say the "the elephant in the room".

However, that is not what he said and, I find hearing it incorrectly over and over is quite annoying to me. The phrase itself just sounded like it had a negative connotation. I figured that was just my impression of this stupid phrase but, when I googled it to see it it was a common phrase, I found my initial impression was correct.

The urban Dictionary defines it as such;
"white elephant in the room" : A discussion of European or Caucasian oppression of minorities in which a white person is present.

So all of this leaves me with the following possible options;
1) No one involved in the project bothered to watch or listen to it.
2) Someone thought it was a phrase and when they Googled it they saw results with the phrase (it is the name of a book) and thought that was enough due diligence.
3) They equate the other US phone systems with oppressing minorities.

Which do you feel is the answer? I mean they spent allot of cash on the media buy for this spot. It's on a few times an hour on several channels all the time.

Can wait to see how the poll goes and your thoughts on the topic.

Posts: 7 · New Forum Member Joined: Jul 17, 2011 Posts: 7

wow, so far 20 ppl have looked at this but, no one commented.
am I really the only person who found this weird and annoying?

Posts: 2257 · Posted: Sun Jul 17, 2011 9:06 pm Post subject:

VeX wrote:

wow, so far 20 ppl have looked at this but, no one commented...

19 of those 20 are most likely search engine bots, not human views.

Posts: 7 · New Forum Member Joined: Jul 17, 2011 Posts: 7

dconnor wrote:

VeX wrote:

wow, so far 20 ppl have looked at this but, no one commented...

19 of those 20 are most likely search engine bots, not human views.

lol, ok but, Conner, had you ever heard the phrase before?

Posts: 2257 · Posted: Sun Jul 17, 2011 9:54 pm Post subject:

VeX wrote:

dconnor wrote:

VeX wrote:

wow, so far 20 ppl have looked at this but, no one commented...

19 of those 20 are most likely search engine bots, not human views.

lol, ok but, Conner, had you ever heard the phrase before?

I have never heard the phrase, nor have I seen the commercial.

Posts: 7 · New Forum Member Joined: Jul 17, 2011 Posts: 7

still not one person has anything to add? almost 100 views and no one else voted in the poll?

Posts: 4 · New Forum Member Joined: Jul 20, 2011 Posts: 4

If you google "vonage white elephant" you'll find all sorts of people irritated by this irritating commercial. The irritating guy who uses the irritating mixed metaphor also has an irritating speech impediment. It's also irritating that the fake people in the commercial are so irritated with their pre-Vonage phone bills, and so "comforted" by the ones from Vonage.

I am so irritated by this commercial, I have written to Vonage twice about it, and despite automated assurances of a response within 48 hours, I've received no response in weeks. That's irritating, not comforting...Vonage is already lying to me, and I am not even a customer yet.

Actually, I can't imagine supporting a company that has irritated me thousands of times with an irritating commercial, and then lied to me twice.

--Irritated

Posts: 7 · New Forum Member Joined: Jul 17, 2011 Posts: 7

It's funny some folks on facebook were replying to my post about how much I hate this and why. I just see it as another indicator in the decline in pride in workmanship or work-ethic.

So I thought maybe I was the only one since I was getting no responses here, then I saw thousands of posts and tweets saying the same thing.

You don't think they made such an ignorant & ill sounding statement just to create some hubbub do you? I hate to give them that much credit but, on the other hand I pray that it isn't possible that every position in every department that signed off on this ad is help by sheeple and, not one of them had the steel to raise their voice and ask what the heck he is saying?

That you for chiming in pachyderm, it makes me feel so not alone.

Posts: 2 · New Forum Member Joined: Jul 29, 2011 Posts: 2

People are so upset over that commercial. That saying actually means several different things. You can take it as a racist remark but that just wouldn't make sense would it? Why would they go out of their way to make a racist remark when im sure half of their customers are of a different race considering they offer the lowest rates in international calling. Thats what wrong with people, everything has to be racist.

Posts: 7 · New Forum Member Joined: Jul 17, 2011 Posts: 7

While I pointed out that it has been defined as a racist comment, I'm more upset by how stupid the phrase sounds and that they ,let it get so far in the process.

That being said it, when the word is used as a racist term it is about folks being oppressed when white folks are involved. Maybe the "customer" who said it thought it was a phrase cause his grandmother said it often when he was a boy. Also, most of the Vonage commercial's messages seem to be target to "non-white" people living in the US with family abroad. I see no problem with that aspect of it, I'm sure that this demographic spends a good deal of money on phone calls. Other cultures seem to hold more respect for the family unit and so, I would assume that they speak on a more regular basis. However, weather my assumptions are correct or not the culmination of these factors could be interpreted as; That Ma Bell, that old white lady, is over charging you. Your more like us and we'll treat you better"

Just out of curiosity I wonder what the demographic breakdown is of Vonage users and who the founding fathers are.