Alright, I know a lot of people say a lot of good things about Cheaper Than Dirt. I know a lot of people are getting some amount of money from them in the form of advertisements, endorsements, and sponsorships. I know CTD’s blog’s author stops by here periodically, and has put up a lot of useful posts regarding just about every topic related to firearms.
But this is just damned silly:
Emergency and Survival Kits When an emergency hits, we don’t always have enough warning to prepare for it. The movie 2012 released on November 13, describes what could potentially happen on 12/21/2012 based on the end of the Ancient Mayan calendar. Throughout history, the Mayan calendar correctly identified evolutionary events. According to the calendar we are now in the Fourth and Final age. Whether you believe or not, it still makes you think, what if all the electronics suddenly stopped working, an asteroid struck the earth, sunspots erase magnetic stored data, a flu pandemic effected millions, would you be able to survive with what you currently have. Fortunately you have time to prepare and we have taken the guess work out of it for you.
The reality of 2012 seems far fetched, but are you prepared for hurricanes, earth quakes, extended power outages, a wide spread pandemic, or turmoil from the Middle East? The primary requirements are food, fuel, water, and shelter; our kits contain basic survival items. FEMA, Homeland Security, and other Emergency Response Teams look to us to fulfill their needs during emergencies. We are experts at supplying the gear you need to survive.
Perfect for at home or the office, there is enough basic survival gear for a family of four for 30 days, these are good to have on hand for natural disasters or the 2012 phenomenon.
(Emphasis added, as if it was necessary.)
Yes, because using a fictional movie
based on a largely exploited, overhyped, and misinterpreted ancient calendar and featuring debunked and fallacious theories is obviously a good way to advertise and sensationalize your product!
Well, that “sensationalize” part might actually be right.
To their (limited) credit, they did admit that the events portrayed in the movie are “far fetched”… right before they again capitalized on the name- and fear-recognition of the “2012 phenomenon” right at the end of their advertisement. *sigh*
Believe me, I understand being prepared for the unexpected – much to my wife’s chagrin, I am already making plans for various corners of the house, what we can store where, what we can get now that we have the space/ability to keep it, and so forth. Even in the apartment, we had enough food in long-term, dessicant-filled storage to last the both of us upwards of a month if we had to – our only limitation was water, and we had contingencies for that as well. But those preparations were and will be made with the knowledge that actual bad things like record-freezing temperatures, earthquakes, floods, and whatever-the-hell else do happen… unlike things like the Earth’s crust melting, destabilizing, and spinning around.
As we discussed not too long ago here, people are more than within their rights, and more than welcome, to advertise their products however they see fit… and I am completely within my rights to call them out when I see them basing those advertisements on the fear of a silly fictional fabrication, especially when there is enough real bad stuff going on already.
God, I’ve even heard the “Earth’s poles will reverse and stop all electronics” from people who should know better, like an architect. Short of a nuclear war, your electronics are fine.
On the one hand, you’re right – the movie and the phenomenon is BS.
On the other hand, nobody went to college hoping to become a writer of catalog descriptions, and the National Enquirer rejects wind up employed somewhere.
I just hope his mom doesn’t read the catalog – She’d be crushed.
2012? I’m sweating the end of the world in 2038, when the calendar rolls over.
Eseell: Well, if the poles start spinning fast enough, the induced current in any electrical or electronic equipment would be something indeed!
Qbert: Eh, yeah, like I said, it probably does sensationalize the product, and maybe that will help it sell, and if it sells, the guy who wrote the advertisement gets his paycheck, so the cycle of life continues. Still, though, what with Katrina and Haiti and everything else that has been going on, you would think the writer would find something a little more realistic to field.
Standard Mischief: Yeah, that Y2K thing is going to be a… wait…