False Advertisement

Just when you thought blatantly obtrusive advertising couldn’t go any farther, it did. A few years ago a paleontologist unearthed what may be the largest tyrannosaurus rex skeleton ever to be discovered. This was sure to be big news in the world of science and for all dino-loving folk out there. The lucky digger published his findings in scientific journals and a little later, the story made it into the public press. But wait a second. If you’re a careful observer, you would have noticed that the date on which the bones were uncovered, according to the mass media such as CNN, differed by a few weeks from that stated in those scientific journals. What gives? It recently came to light that our heroic scientist was being funded by Universal Studios who, not coincidentally, was about to release its summer smash Jurassic Park 3. In order to drum up more excitement around the film, the Hollywood powerhouse convinced our paleontologist to fudge the discovery date too more closely coincide with the movie’s premiere. So all of us who don’t subscribe to Paleontology Weekly but heard about the story in our local newspaper or on TV, were deliberately given false information so Universal could milk us out of a few extra bucks.

You may be thinking, “Big deal. What do I care if the bones were dug up in June or July?” True, I don’t really care either. But the precedent this sets is alarming. If a relatively minor fact such as a date can be altered for the sake of advertisement, where does it end? I think it is even more disturbing considering that this involves a pretty significant scientific discovery. I wouldn’t be surprised if the moon landing was faked so they could sell more crappy, dehydrated astronaut ice cream. The line between news in the mass media, i.e. television, and entertainment was being blurred too much in the first place. Now science, the sole pillar of truth and understanding, is being seduced into a nasty ménage à trois.

In a similar vein, a deformed bulging varicose vein, I saw a commercial the other day for the “National Treasure” DVD. If you buy now, you get a free replica of the Declaration of Independence as seen in the movie! One of history’s most important documents is being treated as a simple movie prop like a light saber from Star Wars. Hmmm. Now throw in a light saber and I’ll take two.