Posted 4/07/2008 05:19:00 PM by Douglas

This kind of fake controversy makes me tired from the first soundbite, yet I feel the need to link the image:

Ok, we get it. Whitey stole the American South West from Mexico in 1850. We're all bad people and should feel guilty as hell that San Diego doesn't look like Tijuana or Denver doesn't look like Guadalajara (yet). But what's really offensive is the corporate response:

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.

By Paula Eriksson, VP Corporate Communications, V&S Absolut Spirits

Could you get any more fucking patronizing, Paula? It's a liquor ad, and you're trying to get Mexicans to think back on the "good old days" when California was still Mexico? I know there are lots of groups that are advocating for the "recapture" of the southwest by Mexico and more specifically, Mexicans. But there are still millions of people that are risking their lives to get here. Hell, the Mexican government produced and distributed their own instructional comic book for a safe, happy, and illegal border crossing. Imagine your dismay if you just walked all the way through the desert to get to California to find you're back in Mexico?!? How far is it to Canada, Pepe?