You are Nth American. Are you offended by Aldi's Australian Christmas Ad?

I wasn't insulted.  Interesting that Australia is one of the few countries where Aldi does television commercials.

It was interesting to read the Wikipedia entry on Aldi.

They just expanded into my area and I have been in a store once.  That might be the last.  I am an ex grocery store employee and perhaps snob.  A true fact is that when I travel the first place I go after checking into the hotel is a grocery store just to walk the aisles and get a sense of the area residents thru the pricing and product mix.

While I was at the FESTOOL Connect event I made sure to visit chains that I had never visited before as well as the old stand-boys.

Weird, but fun and informative.

Peter
 
I refuse to shop there! [mad]

But the fact their nearest location is over 300 miles away might be the reason. [tongue]
 
jobsworth said:
tjbnwi said:
I thought it was funny----until someone got offended-----then it became hilarious [big grin] [big grin]

Tom
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I find your post offensive

Hehehe
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It's becoming more hilarious with each post... [laughing] [laughing]

Tom
 
I think this thread raises more comments than it answers the question asked...

Looking deep way deep past the surface of this issue I see some fundamental truths about living down under, and living on the other side of the pond, living in the Old country etc shapes how we see the world...

Probably a whole book could be written on the subject. Fortunately I'm not the one who would be rash enough or stupid enough to write it..
 
I'm mildly amused by the content of the ad.

What I find ironically amusing, however is that the mild racist sentiments expressed are similar I believe to those shared by one of Australia's northern neighbours about we antipodean natives.

Think quite large island archipelago of about 1/4 billion souls who are somewhat paranoid about conducting joint military exercises or cooperation because..........
 
I'm thoroughly amused, because it's the first time I realized you poor aussies have Christmas in the summer.  [big grin] [big grin] [big grin]
 
I wasn't offended.

I did find the ad annoying, and were it not for this discussion, I would have turned to something else if I were on my tv.  It was too long for one, and hook only came after a minute in, meaning I wouldn't have even known it was Aldi.

I also think some people are too sensitive.

Aldi is owned by the Albrecht brothers who were two of the world's wealthiest men.  One of them died a few years back and his son took over. .  Aldi is really two separate companies an I s divided into North and South.  The North div. ran Trader Joe's in the USA, while Aldi USA was controlled by the South group.  I have no idea which one runs Australia.  It would be interesting if Aldi North runs Australia and is taking a shot at their American cousins.
 
aloysius said:
I'm mildly amused by the content of the ad.

What I find ironically amusing, however is that the mild racist sentiments expressed are similar I believe to those shared by one of Australia's northern neighbours about we antipodean natives.

Think quite large island archipelago of about 1/4 billion souls who are somewhat paranoid about conducting joint military exercises or cooperation because..........
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    Ummm, not sure where this comes from. I have watched the video, read the thread , and re-watched , and reread. I don't get the mild racism. Maybe it's because I don't live in Australia or on the island archipelago or I am just dense. In any case lets not make this topic into a discussion on racism, paranoia about joint military exercises, safe spaces on campuses, etc.

Seth
 
The thread is about a complaintent who is American.
So cultural bias could be possible, however I do not believe that Americans are considered a race, unless we talk about native indigenous North Americans. The melting-pot concept would indicate that diversity, so I guess everyone should be offended.

Whether song lines like, "I asked him if he wanted a vegemite sandwich" are considered racist, or culturally slandering, seems to have a positive snowflake derivative these days.. Which the thread also resonated with.

The positives here:
1) is that anyone headed to Australia should expect some gentle ribbing, as was evidenced in the commercial. If they react with offense, that gentle ribbing will likely change.
2) is that if they like you then you can get some ribbing, and if you get none, then they probably do not like you.

So from a public service sense in understanding Australians, this may be culturally interesting.

This is worth a view if one likes documentaries and dry comedy, and sums up Australian humour quite well:
 
Aaah, well, there we go then, maybe?

Probably should leave it at that.

Seth
 
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SRSemenza said:
Aaah, well, there we go then, maybe?
Probably should leave it at that.

Seth
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[size=13pt]Well maybe not [member=1619]SRSemenza[/member]    [smile]; a short from an Australian film of the early 1960s that explores/paradys the integration of Italian and Australian culture and society at the time - 'They're A Weird Mob'.

Interesting here, on the FOG that much of the film's scenes are around a building site. The film is based on a book of the same name and is easily viewable via UTube.
 
+1 on what Tom said! LOL. Perhaps if we ALL took ourselves a little less seriously.......

If you want to make an American's angry just start another SawStop thread. :-)
 
Motown said:
+1 on what Tom said! LOL. Perhaps if we ALL took ourselves a little less seriously.......

If you want to make an American's angry just start another SawStop thread. :-)
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doesn't come close to another metric vs imperial (or USCS to be specific) thread  [scared]
 
Untidy Shop said:
...a short from an Australian film of the early 1960s that explores/paradys the integration of Italian and Australian culture and society at the time - 'They're A Weird Mob'.
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Pretty funny clip...thanks for sharing.
 
Holmz said:
The thread is about a complaintent who is American.

So cultural bias could be possible, however I do not believe that Americans are considered a race, unless we talk about native indigenous North Americans. The melting-pot concept would indicate that diversity, so I guess everyone should be offended.

Whether song lines like, "I asked him if he wanted a vegemite sandwich" are considered racist, or culturally slandering, seems to have a positive snowflake derivative these days.. Which the thread also resonated with.
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Far too sensitive IMHO. If you want to see real "bias" at work you should see what the Ozzies do/say to us Brits!
 
[smile][size=13pt][member=61727]Job and Knock[/member]

Re Aussies and what they say about Brits. You are probably right, but much of this is now in the past and stems from mutual history.

Our convict settlers although mainly British, many under harsh conditions developed at best a 'mistrust' of the British ruling class. Then in WW1  many Australian Soldiers [Diggers] were slaughtered, not necessarily by the German or Turkish armies, but through inept leadership by the British Officer Class. After WW2 there were high rates of immigration from the UK in the 1950/60s.  As we know, even in the UK and elsewhere, much is said against the latest imigration arrivals to many counties. There is plenty of evidence of this today across the globe.

And there was as much anti Aussie commentary by mainly the English within this history too. A light hearted example. When I was touring educational facilities in the UK in 1990, a teacher said to me - "Oh, do you really have Media Studies in the Colonies". I took it for the 'banter' and fun it was and intended.  [smile]

As to what might be said now against the 'Brits', at least here, most of that is now left to the Ashes Cricket Series!  [big grin]

[size=10pt]
Today batsman have face guards and helmets.
 
I found it hilarious, especially those damned ugly Christmas sweaters.  Those things are so inexcusably atrocious.  They remind me of my first spouse...  [scared]
 
The only thing that offends me is all the thin skinned sissies that can't take a joke!!!! Seriously it's just a commercial there's more important things to worry about in life.
 
Cheese said:
I do rather enjoy all of the blonde hairdos...other than that, it's just people just getting their undies in a bundie.

Interesting, didn't know that Aldi's was Australian. Never been to one even though it's only about 5-6 miles away.
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No it's German. And killing the local
Duopoly of supermarkets out here.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
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