Critics to Marketers: Suicide Is No Joke

Stuart Elliot
The New York Times
Wednesday, March 14th 2007
The Story
The Summary: Several people and groups are upset with television ads that feature their main characters facing suicide.

The backlash against a spate of advertising with suicide themes has claimed a third commercial. Washington Mutual has stopped running a spot that showed actors playing bankers poised atop a building as if about to jump.

The commercial for Washington Mutual, by Leo Burnett in Chicago, was among four spots — all appearing in early February — that had suicide as a central point in their humorous or lighthearted narratives.

Suicide is a serious issue. It's so serious, we can't talk about it. Suicide is scary. It's one of those scary things we think will go away if we avoid it, if we don't talk about it. It's at the top of the list of scary things to talk to teens about. (Other topics include sex and drugs) One of the largest myths about suicide is that talking about it to someone will put the idea in their head, but that's as far from the truth as anything. (again, like sex and drugs) You can't prevent something without discussing it.

So-called shockvertising, in the form of ads that are deliberately provocative to draw attention to themselves, is becoming increasingly popular. The reasons include a need to stand out amid the growing clutter and the rise of Web sites like YouTube, which enable people to watch repeatedly — and share with friends — attention-getting ads.

“So many commercials rely on shock value that we’ve gone to the edge on all possible shocks, death,” said Barbara Lippert, the ad critic for the trade publication Adweek.

“But suicide and buying stuff, they’re not exactly go-togethers,” Ms. Lippert said. “There’s an insensitivity that makes no sense.”

I don't find the WaMu ad (or the GM ad, for that matter) offensive. I don't see how they can be offensive. The suicide portrayed in the WaMu ad was a false threat, the suicide in the GM ad is that of a robot... in dream.

I don't see how these ads can harm overall. Neither of these ads make light of people with mental illness. The WaMu guys are old coots threatening a last ditch effort. The GM robot is at his last end. He's obviously depressed, but it's not making fun of depression in it's humor. I only see these ads as a way to spark conversation about suicide.

“It was not borne out of any desire to be dark or do harm,” Mr. Hirshberg said. Rather, “in building a character, a robot, to get across the idea of G.M.’s commitment to quality,” he added, “the most natural place to go for the story, if someone’s obsessed with quality and fails, is suicide.”

“In the last 10 years, 300,000 people have died from suicide in this country,” Mr. Gebbia said, yet “you see this kind of ad poking fun at suicide.”

“You wouldn’t see an ad poking fun at someone dying of AIDS or cancer,” he added. “We don’t think it’s appropriate to make fun of suicide or people with mental illness to sell products.”

A conversation starter about suicide in the mainstream media is something we need. Most movies about such topics get swept under the rug, ending up on channels that aren't taken seriously, like Lifetime, televison for women. Humor about serious topics can be offensive, but if done right, can be witty and enlighting, sparking conversation and raising awareness.