WTF: Environment-Focused ‘The Lorax’ Pushes SUVs
By Angie Han/Feb. 27, 2012 6:00 am EST
[via Mother Jones]
To be completely fair, the CX-5 has been rated by the EPA as the most fuel-efficient non-hybrid SUV available. I can see why Mazda would be eager to play up the green angle. Still, considering that cars in general and SUVs in particular are considered to be awful for the environment, it’s hard to swallow the ad’s claim that the CX-5 is “Truffula tree friendly.”
Sadly, this isn’t the only not-so-green product the Lorax is selling — there are also Lorax-themed disposable diapers. I’m not saying people shouldn’t buy SUVs or disposable diapers, but using the Lorax to promote products known for being environmentally unfriendly seems to undermine, oh, I don’t know, the entire message of the tale. As Mediaite puts it, “Having The Lorax shill for a sport utility vehicle is like using clips of Requiem For A Dream to sell diet pills, it goes completely against the spirit of the source material!”
I’ll stop now, because I can’t do better than this Seussian critique from Jason Bittel at Fitting Group:
For the Lorax’s mula-making machine -
Whoever is in charge of branding
Have you read the book you’re hijacking?
Did you misinterpret what it means?
Read the rest of Bittel’s poem here.
