Dear Editor,
My view regarding the Volkswagen (VW) Super Bowl advertisement is somewhat different from those I have heard and read about.
Jamaicans are truly endowed with an extremely awesome culture; one that has made JAMAICA a renowned brand. I am also happy that our "unique language" ... PATOIS is recognised by another prominent brand which associates Jamaica and the Jamaican people with happiness and resilience, which by nature we possess to move beyond challenges and make things happen.
My contention, however, is that the world is using our cultural resources; benefiting from it economically while we remain poor. For instance, for our 50th Independence anniversary celebration in August 2012, where were the many memorabilia made? Your answer is as good as mine. I was personally offended by this as some of the colours were not authentic, for example, yellow was used instead of gold and not to mention the neon green in some of their manufactured products. So then, let us link this to the VW Super Bowl advert. From my sense of hearing, the gentleman from Minnesota was not speaking authentic patios and so this could possibly be the stance of some persons who argued the issue of mockery. Personally, I do not sense any form of racism. Nevertheless, that is not the premise of my concern regarding the VW advertisement.
My viewpoint is that we lack vision; hence, we are missing out on some of the many opportunities that our brand can afford us. We allowed another country to make our independence celebration enterprising for them, thus improving their economy and so we missed out on doing likewise for ourselves. Again, we missed out on 'maximising' our opportunity from the VW Super Bowl advert. What do I mean by making such a statement? Well, many are saying that we will benefit from it in the future, since the Super Bowl had a remarkable reach to millions of spectators and audiences. I am not disputing this and somewhat endorse that sensation, but, is it guaranteed and will it be measurable? How many of us remember the supposedly expectations of Cricket World Cup 2007?
Secondly, I am extremely sensitive about the commodisation of our culture, especially our PATIOS which makes us very unique from the rest of the world, even from a regional perspective. My solution to this is that we need to patent PATOIS, so that it does not become a commodity. We cannot stop others from attempting to speak it, but they should not be allowed to use it in a business/marketing/commercial setting, whether it be for product labeling, advertisement, movie, you name it, unless given special permission or pay for the right to do so. Now, the counter argument might possibly be that this company could have used any other language around the world or intending companies can do likewise. My response is that many other languages are global languages, but ours is built on an ancestry we deem very special and hence, it should not be commoditised. It is the Jamaican language with its unique dialect coupled with a distinctive accent and embedded in the nature of creole.
In conversation about the VW ad with a professor from a US university, it was pointed out that Jamaica could have benefitted more from this commercial, if a Jamaican advertisement had followed right after the VW advertisement at the Super Bowl. This would have reinforced the happiness that can be had from visiting Jamaica. A wonderful suggestion indeed! If we had the patent enforced, we could have probably had a barter arrangement with the VW brand to derive this benefit as well as request of them to use a coffee cup with the JAMAICA brand on it.
Another interesting perspective emerged form a hearty discussion with a colleague of mine in Jamaica. She pondered about the impact the ad would have if VW had used a Germaican from Seaford Town instead of the man from Minnesota. Another fascinating point from our conversation was the possibility of having VW investing in Seaford Town, where there is a lot of German descendants and who would welcome any assistance they can get. This would also boost special interest tourism.
I beckon to the 'POWERS THAT BE' to be more proactive and seek out the many opportunities, but moreover, to advocate for the patenting of our PATIOS so that we will be able to strategically manage and market it as a part of our brand. Then.... borrowing the slogan from the VW ad ... everyone will ... " Get In ... Get Happy."
Gaunette Sinclair-Maragh
gaunsmar@yahoo
Protect the Jamaican culture
-->
My view regarding the Volkswagen (VW) Super Bowl advertisement is somewhat different from those I have heard and read about.
Jamaicans are truly endowed with an extremely awesome culture; one that has made JAMAICA a renowned brand. I am also happy that our "unique language" ... PATOIS is recognised by another prominent brand which associates Jamaica and the Jamaican people with happiness and resilience, which by nature we possess to move beyond challenges and make things happen.
My contention, however, is that the world is using our cultural resources; benefiting from it economically while we remain poor. For instance, for our 50th Independence anniversary celebration in August 2012, where were the many memorabilia made? Your answer is as good as mine. I was personally offended by this as some of the colours were not authentic, for example, yellow was used instead of gold and not to mention the neon green in some of their manufactured products. So then, let us link this to the VW Super Bowl advert. From my sense of hearing, the gentleman from Minnesota was not speaking authentic patios and so this could possibly be the stance of some persons who argued the issue of mockery. Personally, I do not sense any form of racism. Nevertheless, that is not the premise of my concern regarding the VW advertisement.
My viewpoint is that we lack vision; hence, we are missing out on some of the many opportunities that our brand can afford us. We allowed another country to make our independence celebration enterprising for them, thus improving their economy and so we missed out on doing likewise for ourselves. Again, we missed out on 'maximising' our opportunity from the VW Super Bowl advert. What do I mean by making such a statement? Well, many are saying that we will benefit from it in the future, since the Super Bowl had a remarkable reach to millions of spectators and audiences. I am not disputing this and somewhat endorse that sensation, but, is it guaranteed and will it be measurable? How many of us remember the supposedly expectations of Cricket World Cup 2007?
Secondly, I am extremely sensitive about the commodisation of our culture, especially our PATIOS which makes us very unique from the rest of the world, even from a regional perspective. My solution to this is that we need to patent PATOIS, so that it does not become a commodity. We cannot stop others from attempting to speak it, but they should not be allowed to use it in a business/marketing/commercial setting, whether it be for product labeling, advertisement, movie, you name it, unless given special permission or pay for the right to do so. Now, the counter argument might possibly be that this company could have used any other language around the world or intending companies can do likewise. My response is that many other languages are global languages, but ours is built on an ancestry we deem very special and hence, it should not be commoditised. It is the Jamaican language with its unique dialect coupled with a distinctive accent and embedded in the nature of creole.
In conversation about the VW ad with a professor from a US university, it was pointed out that Jamaica could have benefitted more from this commercial, if a Jamaican advertisement had followed right after the VW advertisement at the Super Bowl. This would have reinforced the happiness that can be had from visiting Jamaica. A wonderful suggestion indeed! If we had the patent enforced, we could have probably had a barter arrangement with the VW brand to derive this benefit as well as request of them to use a coffee cup with the JAMAICA brand on it.
Another interesting perspective emerged form a hearty discussion with a colleague of mine in Jamaica. She pondered about the impact the ad would have if VW had used a Germaican from Seaford Town instead of the man from Minnesota. Another fascinating point from our conversation was the possibility of having VW investing in Seaford Town, where there is a lot of German descendants and who would welcome any assistance they can get. This would also boost special interest tourism.
I beckon to the 'POWERS THAT BE' to be more proactive and seek out the many opportunities, but moreover, to advocate for the patenting of our PATIOS so that we will be able to strategically manage and market it as a part of our brand. Then.... borrowing the slogan from the VW ad ... everyone will ... " Get In ... Get Happy."
Gaunette Sinclair-Maragh
gaunsmar@yahoo
Protect the Jamaican culture
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