Throw out perfectly good goods

"Change your TV, change your life"- an actual slogan. I heard it last night. I'd also like to note, before i continue, the commercials where a woman throws her perfectly good washing machine into a pool so she will need to buy a new "red" one- to enrich her life. Also the commercial where the couple throws their phones into a lake because they are tired of them.

Now i ask you, is a company encouraging the disposal of working cell phones into a lake really showing any consideration for the environment whatsoever?

In their defence: It's drama, its a joke, you're not to take it literally.. . .Fine. . ..But wouldn't this be the same argument racists use to defend themselves? The redneck who uses the word Nig*** in a joke is just kidding right? No big deal. Humour is a very effective way to soften people up to a new idea. It allows the person to convey a message, but hold on to an easy way out. That way, if someone points out the negative aspect of your message, you can easily divert blame by stating that you were not serious and that the message should not be taken lightly. Dudes who pick up lots of girls in bars use this technique constantly; joke to a girl that you want to take her home, if she laughs- you stated your intentions and she did not object. On the other hand if she doesn't find it funny- "hey relax chick, i was just joking". Guys trying to pick up chicks is pretty harmless, things like racism and environmental destruction are not.

What message are these companies softening? Well obviously they're not condoning the disposal of cellphones into lakes, this is not the intention of the ad. However, the ad is intended to convince you to throw out your perfectly good phone- from this they stand to make millions. Now if i joke to a friend that they have an ugly phone and should throw it out; the total environmental destruction from that message would be very very slight. If that message is repeated to millions of people (as happens on TV), the environmental affect is very great. I absolutely guarantee that somewhere some idiot has thrown his phone into a lake as a means of disposal and he got the idea from this commercial. Conversely, the somewhat smarter portion of the population disposed on their phones into a landfill when they tired of the colour.