Just now I saw the above commercial for kayak.com. I suggest you watch it, if you can stomach it. For those who can not, allow me to describe it for you. An old man is packing a bag, in walks a younger man, his son I assume, and asks if the old man is going on a trip. The old man says he is returning to where it all began, and from the army picture on the wall, his age and the description of a combat beach landing, I assume this to be a D-Day reunion. The entire time the old man is talking, an old fashioned arrival/departure board is showing travel options. As the old vet reaches the climax of his speech, Cancun comes up on the board, and the son smiles. They are trying for a double entendre, and humor, but I find nothing funny about two hundred nine thousand allied deaths, especially when they are making light of such a massacre for profit. There is now way in hell that I will ever book anything with kayak.com. If I wanted to visit my family in Texas, and Kayak was the last travel agency on the planet, I would walk over hot coals for two thousand miles, rather than book a flight with these skid-marks. If they think that veterans are some joke, especially the greatest of us all, or not worthy of our attention and respect, than I REFUSE to give them my business. I will be boycotting them, and if it remains a boycott of one forever, than I am good with that. Commercials are meant to influence our purchasing decisions, and I must say this travesty of a commercial has certainly helped make up my mind, though I am sure not in the way they planned. Perhaps I am just too sensitive. I admit I have a dog in this fight and might not be objective, but somehow I doubt it. Tell me what you think about this commercial. All opinions welcome.
-----UPDATE-----
An anonymous reader posted a "Contact Us" link for Kayak.com so that I could gripe directly to the company that had ticked me off. I sent the following rant:
Due to your advertisement making fun of veterans, I will NEVER book anything with your company. Your sense of humor is deplorable. I have encouraged others to likewise boycott your company. I hope to soon see your company declaring bankruptcy.
I have to give Kayak props though, the CMO responded less than twelve hours later with this:
I have to give Kayak props though, the CMO responded less than twelve hours later with this:
Dear Sir,
I just read your e-mail, and I'm very sorry that our ad offended you. We definitely meant no disrespect. I have the utmost respect and gratitude for our veterans and the sacrifices they've made for us. I know what they did for us. I personally have many family members who have served or are currently serving including my father. One of our co-founders father's served in WWII as did the main actor's father. The ad is intended to convey that the character is poking fun at himself. We've also received positive feedback including from current service members and veterans though I'm not discounting your sentiments at all. Again, I sincerely apologize, and we certainly did not mean to offend you.
Respectfully, Robert
I just read your e-mail, and I'm very sorry that our ad offended you. We definitely meant no disrespect. I have the utmost respect and gratitude for our veterans and the sacrifices they've made for us. I know what they did for us. I personally have many family members who have served or are currently serving including my father. One of our co-founders father's served in WWII as did the main actor's father. The ad is intended to convey that the character is poking fun at himself. We've also received positive feedback including from current service members and veterans though I'm not discounting your sentiments at all. Again, I sincerely apologize, and we certainly did not mean to offend you.
Respectfully, Robert
I leave it for you to decide what they meant, but as for me, I stand by my original sentiments.
-----UPDATE 2.0-----
Today (12/7/09) I sent another email to Mr. Birge, thanking him for his quick response, and to let him know that his defense of the ad was posted. That pesky sense of fairness. Within two hours, he had responded to that email as well. For all that they have offended my sensibilities, I have got to give them credit, they read the gripes and are not afraid to respond. Here is what I wrote:
Thank You,
Right Wing Extreme
http://www.peoplesrepublicofamerica.blogspot.com/
His reply:
Dear Sir,
I appreciate your note back. Veteran's are one group that I would never intentionally ridicule, and I'm not a sensitive type. We truly did mean things in a different way, and I definitely didn't take your e-mail as a gripe.
With respect.
Robert
Props for the quick response, but I have to disagree, even I would call my original email to Kayak a gripe.
Mr. Birge,
I do appreciate your quick reply to my gripe. I have not changed my opinion on the humor of your commercial, though I do believe it more a case of poor taste (my opinion) rather than maliciousness. I understand, and have even seen, that there is positive feedback on this commercial. I try to keep a good sense of humor about most topics, and often laugh at my own absurdity, and even usually see the humor when my beliefs are lampooned. However, there is a growing trend to make our veterans, of which I am one, a target of ridicule and other humor that is in poor taste. It generally takes much to offend me, but this trend, and it's effects, do the job effectively. I urge you to take a close look at the content of future advertisements, as I am not the only one that found this particular ad disrespectful. If you were to continue to advertise with similar content, even tongue-in-cheek and innocently, it would definitely inflame many of a similar mindset to myself. While I still am not happy about the ad, I do however have a sense of fairness, and as such, posted your letter explaining the ad as an addendum to my original blog post. Once again, I thank you for your response, as well as the rapidity in responding. This shows a dedication to customer service that is severely lacking from most companies in this day and age.
I do appreciate your quick reply to my gripe. I have not changed my opinion on the humor of your commercial, though I do believe it more a case of poor taste (my opinion) rather than maliciousness. I understand, and have even seen, that there is positive feedback on this commercial. I try to keep a good sense of humor about most topics, and often laugh at my own absurdity, and even usually see the humor when my beliefs are lampooned. However, there is a growing trend to make our veterans, of which I am one, a target of ridicule and other humor that is in poor taste. It generally takes much to offend me, but this trend, and it's effects, do the job effectively. I urge you to take a close look at the content of future advertisements, as I am not the only one that found this particular ad disrespectful. If you were to continue to advertise with similar content, even tongue-in-cheek and innocently, it would definitely inflame many of a similar mindset to myself. While I still am not happy about the ad, I do however have a sense of fairness, and as such, posted your letter explaining the ad as an addendum to my original blog post. Once again, I thank you for your response, as well as the rapidity in responding. This shows a dedication to customer service that is severely lacking from most companies in this day and age.
Thank You,
Right Wing Extreme
http://www.peoplesrepublicofamerica.blogspot.com/
His reply:
Dear Sir,
I appreciate your note back. Veteran's are one group that I would never intentionally ridicule, and I'm not a sensitive type. We truly did mean things in a different way, and I definitely didn't take your e-mail as a gripe.
With respect.
Robert
Props for the quick response, but I have to disagree, even I would call my original email to Kayak a gripe.
GOD BLESS AMERICA AND DEATH TO HER ENEMIES!
