Corporate Exploitation of Activism

The Superbowl has become a major event each year, attracting thousands of viewers not just with Football, but also with its unique commercials. Corporations spend millions on advertising slots in order to have their products reach as many Americans as possible. The desire to be memorable causes each company to try and make the funniest, most inspiring, or most cringe-worthy advertisement to capture the minds of the public. At this years 2018 Superbowl, car manufacturer Ram drew attention when it used civil rights icon Martin Luther King Jr in its advertisement. The ad used an excerpt from his "Drum Major Instinct" speech combined with its own motto of "built to serve" to sell pickup trucks. This move drew criticism from the tone deaf way it used MLK's words, and the fact that it ignores the full reality of MLK's
politics and activism. Although it is frequently glossed over when MLK is brought up today, he was highly critical of the capitalist economic system that he saw oppressing African Americans. In fact, the very same speech that Ram quoted for their advertisement, King said: "Now the presence of this instinct explains why we are so often taken by advertisers. You know, those gentlemen of massive verbal persuasion. And they have a way of saying things to you that kind of gets you into buying. In order to be a man of distinction, you must drink this whiskey. In order to make your neighbors envious, you must drive this type of car. In order to be lovely to love you must wear this kind of lipstick or this kind of perfume. And you know, before you know it, you’re just buying that stuff. … I got to drive this car because it’s something about this car that makes my car a little better than my neighbor’s car. … I am sad to say that the nation in which we live is the supreme culprit. And I’m going to continue to say it to America". Kings saw advertisement as a tool used to put working class people into conflict with eachother, preventing them from fully cooperating with each other against the cause of their oppression. Using his words to advance the exact mentality that he fought against is a complete corruption of the original intent of his speech.