This is Nissan's latest triumph of the copy editor's art.
It is called the Nissan Juke, and comes complete with the usual multimedia blitz, a Wikipedia page, a Facebook home, a Twitter presence, etc.
And while I am only pretty sure that some (member or members) of their marketing department's "master race of highly gifted toddlers" (h/t "Malcolm Tucker") made enough off of this campaign to buy themselves a second home...
...I would be willing to bet the mortgage money that no one involved in making this decision had any idea that the name "Jukes" has a long and not-exactly-fashion-forward history. From Wiki:
The Jukes and the Kallikaks were pseudonyms for two families used as examples during the latter 19th century and early 20th century to argue that there was a genetic disposition toward anti-social behavior or low intelligence. The arguments were used to bolster advocacy of eugenics, or the pseudo-scientific breeding of human beings, by demonstrating that traits deemed socially inferior could be passed down from generation to generation.So....anybody want to "friend"a Juke now?
As a general concept the Jukes Family represented inherited criminality and the Kallikak Family inherited mental retardation.
The Jukes family was described by Richard L. Dugdale in 1877 in The Jukes: A Study in Crime, Pauperism, Disease and Heredity.
...
Seriously, I would have to think pretty hard to come up with three descriptions I would want associated with my brand, new automobile less than "Crime", "Pauperism" and "Disease" (well, maybe "socially inferior", "low intelligence" and "eugenics", but it would be a very close call.)
So, Nissan, before sinking several million dollars into your next big campaign for the "Catamite" or the "Slattern" how about doing something really edgy, like putting someone in charge who is vaguely aware of that vast swath of life, history, culture and literature that existed before Tosh 2.0.
13 comments:
Urban dictionary doesn't have any flattering definitions either.
A car designed and marketed solely to separate the rare demographic of 20 somethings, who have yet to ruin their credit, and actually have a job, from their first steady paycheck...for the next 5 years.
..by 20 somethings, who actually have jobs...etc. but a scarce knowledge of history.
Kind of the way Fudruckers morphs in to Buttfuckers in Idiocracy.
Edgy indeed.....
Are you being sarcastic, or just a foolish old curmudgeon? I was completely unaware of that use of the word "juke." However, I have always enjoyed football. When a player "jukes" he is making a feint, in order to fool the defenders, in order nimbly and quickly get past them. Since this is a turbo-charged small vehicle, I believe they were only thinking of the first definition given in most dictionaries. If your tongue is firmly planted in your cheek, it's hard to tell on this post.
Reminds me of when GM tried to market the Chevy Nova in Mexico and South America. None of the geniuses in that company realized that "Nova" means "no go" en Espanol. They eventually changed the name of the car and it sold well. Another shining example of why the Feds had to scrape GM off the bricks a few years back.
There was also the Mitsubishi Pajero - "the Mitsubishi Pajero (called Montero in Spain), "pajero" having the slang sense 'masturbator, wanker, jack-off' in Spain and significant parts of Latin America."
yeah Hooten's right i think; there aren't any institutional reinforcements in place reinvesting "juke" with the meaning Driftglass offered (which isn't to say Drifty is a sarcastic old curmudgeon)
Reminds me of the Toyota Cressida.
A friend had one, a very nice car it was too, but, of course, it was immediately dubbed "The Trojan Whore."
There's a lot to be said for a classical education... Or even Google if you're not sure about something.
I hadn't heard of Jukes either. So I click on feeling dumb and dejected, but then I run across a Stephen Fry video posted by none other than the Driftglass partner in podcast crime Blue Gal.
Definite curmudgeon.
Nobody but us old humps remembers the Jukes & Kallikaks any more ... they've taken a trip down the Memory Hole which is ironically apropos, since we seem to be well on our merry oblivious way to becoming a whole planet's worth of them - one Tweet at a time.
(Now THAT's how you let loose a good curmudge.)
Toyota, proudly stamps the bold capital letters TRD (Toyota Racing Division), on the sides of thousands of their trucks (including mine). All I can think of when I see it see it is TURD!! ...despite the fact that I love that Tacoma!
My buddy insists the SLT on the side of his dodge does not stand for slut...but for shitty little truck.
VW flogging a pricey SUV named after the poorest nomadic people on the face of the earth. ..Taureg
Hyundai Accent (Accident? ... Koren Accent?)
Ford Taurus (say it slowly)
Remember the Reebok running shoe named "Incubus"?
your next big campaign for the "Catamite" or the "Slattern"
...Not to mention the sporty "Trollop" and the surly "Malkin."
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